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TRUCKING INDUSTRY * USA - Large Truckers Haul Past Industry Stress
Though record fuel costs hurt the prospects for trucking companies, investors have poured money into the larger names, partly based on the returns derived from higher manufacturing demand and potential consolidation in the industry
New York,NY,USA -Today Share Market Tips -23 May 2008: -- ... While the Standard & Poor’s 500 has fallen 5% so far this year, a group of major ruck stocks monitored by Goldman Sachs rose 18% over the same period. Though it would seem rising oil prices would damp these stocks, many investors expect the large truck companies to benefit from industry consolidation, as record high fuel costs push many small players over the edge. Companies such as J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT), Knight Transportation Inc. (KNX), Werner Enterprises Inc. (WERN), Landstar Systems Inc. (LSTR), Con-Way Inc. (CNW) and C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW) are among those favored by Wall Street...
* A day at Cowan
I was so busy making a living that I didn’t have time to make a fortune.” –Ted Griller
Baltimore,MD,USA -Fleet Owner, by Sean Kilcarr -May 23, 2008: --... Ted is a veteran truck driver, who has spent 24 of his 32 years on the road with Cowan Systems and its predecessor, W.T. Cowan Inc... Cowan Systems LLC, it's a regional truckload carrier, that operates primarily east of the Mississippi River, north to Maine, and south to Florida... Cowan specializes in providing dedicated fleet service, mainly for beverage and other retail customers. Its fleet consists of 800 three-year-old and newer trucks, predominantly Volvo VN tractors (making up about 80% of the fleet), along with 450 owner-operator trucks – all pulling some 2,600 new 53-ft. lightweight plate trailers, most equipped with wide-base tires on their axles...
Dennis Morgan, Cowan’s COO, noted that, for the last year and the 20 years prior to it, drivers were the carrier’s number one cost. “This year, however, it is fuel,” he said. “You never cover the entire added cost of fuel, even with surcharges: you never recoup the cost of empty or deadhead miles. The spread between what is covered and what’s not continues to grow as the price of fuel rises … and it eats materially into our margins. While our business volume is the same versus last year, our costs are a lot greater. On average, we get a fuel surcharge of 50 cents a mile and $1.50 average rate per mile. That’s still not enough to pay for the higher price of fuel.”... It’s tough, that’s for sure, but Cowan is getting by – and by working with its drivers, saving fuel and improving productivity where they can. That’s a good thing to see, all in spite the tough times this industry is facing... Labels: trucking industry news USA
posted by Unknown @ 5:44 AM
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