Finance

Robinson CEO Bob Biesterfeld said the truckload market will stay hot through 2021.

Despite all-time-high container production, demand continues to outpace supply and new box prices keep rising.

Peterbilt, Kenworth and DAF Trucks are sold out globally for 2021 as the global semiconductor shortage leaves 6,500 trucks awaiting parts.

TFI International’s hard line on unprofitable UPS Freight legacy business is helping accelerate the LTL carrier’s turnaround – and it’s just getting started

White-label platform raises $2.5 million to bring real-time, guaranteed container rates to global shippers of all sizes.

Pollution credit sales are less of a factor as vehicle profitability at Tesla shifts to overdrive in Q2.

TFI International beats analysts in the second quarter as its U.S. LTL division left its days as UPS Freight in the dust.

With two significant acquisitions in the last year, the major force in factoring embarks on a new path.

Interstate Personnel Services announced the acquisition of Missouri-based dry van truckload carrier Transport Distribution Co.

Cargo was the good news for Air Canada in the second quarter as the company still struggles out of a pandemic hole.

Supply chain disruptions for international intermodal are likely to last through the end of the year, Union Pacific President and CEO Lance Fritz said during the second-quarter earnings call on Thursday.

USX’s CEO Fuller says Variant division is near the ‘inflection point’ for the new initiative having a bigger impact on profitability.

Covenant Logistics Group beat second-quarter earnings expectations and said the second half of the year is likely to produce stronger results.

Trucking companies outbidding each other for drivers using salary and per-mile wage increases are leaving themselves vulnerable when the next economic downturn hits, the American Trucking Association’s chief economist warns. […]

CSX wants to come up with long-lasting strategies to hire talent so that it can ensure that it can grow capacity in the future, said CSX President and CEO Jim Foote during the company’s second-quarter 2021 earnings call on Wednesday.

Union Pacific’s second-quarter 2021 net income grew 59% from a year ago to $1.8 billion amid a 30% gain in operating revenue.

Covenant Logistics Group reported a better-than-expected second quarter as freight demand remains elevated and capacity is in short supply. The company said the favorable conditions have carried into the third quarter.

Canadian trucking and logistics firm Mullen Group reported strong growth in the second quarter from a combination of a robust freight market and acquisitions.

Freight broker Landstar System sees continued strength in consumer spending push freight demand higher during the second quarter. The company posted its best quarterly results ever Wednesday after the market close.

The report is for a company that is about to undergo yet another change, with HubTran now in the fold.

The sale of property rights of CSX-owned line segments in Virginia more than doubled CSX’s net earnings for the second quarter of 2021 compared with a year ago. Net profit was $1.17 billion in the second quarter.

Fetch Package has created a last-mile logistics solution to optimize deliveries to multifamily housing communities, eliminating the need for updated package rooms or lockers and increased staff to handle incoming traffic.

Daimler Truck sold more vehicles in Q2 than the previous quarter but warned that supply shortages threaten second-half financials.

Customers’ push to manage inventories will support rail volumes in the second half of the year, even though potential headwinds in the form of wildfires, supply chain congestion and COVID-19 loom.

Knight-Swift Transportation beat second-quarter estimates and raised its full-year guidance to include the favorable operating environment in addition to accretion from recent acquisitions. However, the improved outlook includes the expectation for continued cost headwinds around labor.

Ratings agencies’ reviews don’t reveal profitability levels, but they do provide a window into some private company metrics.

United Airlines’ cargo division is one of the company’s biggest assets right now, with big returns again in the second quarter.

Higher revenues propelled CN’s adjusted net income for the second quarter to grow by 16.5% to CA$1.06 billion.

Volvo makes no mention of the UAW strikes but smaller sibling Mack Trucks delivers more units in Q2 as the industry recovers from year-ago pandemic shutdowns.

Kuehne + Nagel is one of the largest third-party logistics providers in the world and it got larger in the second quarter.

Midwest Carriers announced the acquisition of alcohol transporter Osborn & Son Trucking for an undisclosed amount.

“Drayage is one of the biggest pain points for shippers right now,” said industry entrepreneur Andrew Leto.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services beat second-quarter expectations Monday. However, the back half of 2021 will depend on how well the railroads and shippers can improve their operations.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services reported better-than-expected second-quarter results Monday as the company saw double-digit revenue growth in all divisions when compared to the year-ago period, which contained widespread lockdowns from COVID protocols.

Prologis’ second-quarter results exceeded analysts’ expectations, and guidance moved higher as property rents are increasing at a record pace.

Heartland Express records its best consolidated operating ratio since its last acquisition was fully integrated.

Logistics real estate investment trust Prologis announced Monday that demand for space remains robust and that operations are the healthiest in its 38-year history. The company modestly beat expectations for the second quarter and raised its outlook for the rest of 2021.

Despite headwinds, KCS thinks it can still achieve double-digit revenue growth for 2021.

The $700 million fee to terminate a merger agreement with Canadian Pacific dented KCS’ second-quarter net income. But revenues were up 37% year-over-year.

The abrupt closure of K-Ratio’s fuel hedging program in late June has left trucking companies scrambling as they await answers from the Chicago-based company as to what happened and if they will recoup money owed to them since K-Ratio shuttered its fuel swap options platform.

Truckload’s operating ratio was better but OR deteriorated for dedicated.

Delta Air Lines is seeing strong domestic travel demand, but cargo also helped the company move beyond breakeven in the second quarter.

P.A.M. Transportation benefited from a tight truckload market in the second quarter to post record revenue and operating income.

Railcar manufacturer Greenbrier sees near-term support for new railcars, as well as longer-term support as companies focus on decarbonizing their operations.

High barriers are a deterrent to starting a less-than-truckload operation. Knight-Swift’s recent acquisition sheds some light on the value in owning assets in the space.

GXO Logistics looks to capitalize on favorable macro trends.

Bulk carrier Trimac Transportation has acquired Southern California cement carrier Double Eagle Transportation.

Walmart International bought a 77% stake in the India-based e-commerce shopping portal in 2018.

The financial and strategic benefits of shifting toward more direct-to-consumer sales is becoming apparent at Nike.

FreightWaves experts weigh in on the ramifications of KNX’s $1.35 billion deal to acquire AAA Cooper.

“We believe combining with good businesses makes us a better company and it will remain a large part of our plans going forward.”

Available in late 2021, the company’s card will allow drivers to facilitate transactions anywhere Visa is accepted.

“The rapidly legalizing cannabis market will be one of the first entirely new regulated supply chains to be built after the invention of the internet.”

Knight-Swift’s “transformational” $1.35 billion less-than-truckload acquisition marks the second big deal by a public truckload carrier in less than a week.

Knight-Swift Transportation acquires less-than-truckload carrier AAA Cooper in a deal valued at $1.35 billion.

Transportation and logistics provider Werner Enterprises announced it has acquired an 80% equity stake in ECM Transport Group for $142.4 million. Werner has the option to purchase the remaining 20% of the 500-truck fleet after five years.

The company’s mission is to create the first logistics company that serves all humans equally.

DP World announced it has acquired Auburn Hills, Michigan-based supply chain solutions provider syncreon at an enterprise value of $1.2 billion.

Third-party logistics provider FitzMark announced its fifth acquisition, this time picking up the brokerage operations of truckload carriers Riverside Transport and Transco Lines.

Venture capital has found an international star that shines twice as bright as the United States with a business logistics cost of 14% of the country’s GDP.

XPO Logistics announced a 5 million-share equity offering on Monday. Half of the stock would be a new issuance from the company with the other half being sold by an affiliate of Brad Jacobs, XPO’s chairman and CEO.

AskWaves looks at the primary ways of comparing data, using year-over-year and sequential comps, and how sharp changes in demand during the pandemic have made it necessary to view the numbers through a different lens.

Forward Air announced Friday that VP and Controller Rebecca Garbrick has been named the company’s new CFO, a role that had been vacant for three months.

The company reports strong fiscal 2021 fourth-quarter results, but warns that a persistent labor shortage will drive up costs and impede productivity.

Chattanooga VC firm is ready to find the next FreightTech unicorn.

Hirschbach Motor Lines announced that it has acquired Lessors Inc. The deal marks the second combination of two temperature-controlled carriers in the last week.

Acronyms like SPAC and PIPE dominate business news as the abbreviated path to public ownership becomes increasingly common.

Two days after declaring it had binding orders for its commercial electric pickup trucks, Lordstown Motors backtracked in an SEC filing.

Heyl Truck Lines announced the acquisition of Holiday Express. The deal combines two Iowa-based temperature-controlled haulers.

Nikola Corp. agreed to sell Tumim Stone Capital up to $300 million in new shares over the next three years.

Spartacus will acquire the company in a valuation of more than $1B; more than $400M will be plowed back into the business for growth.

The investment was motivated by continued growth in the specialty freight logistics markets.

Trips that once took three to four weeks are often taking three to four months, and shipments will undoubtedly miss their season for some retailers.

Factoring is one of the most important sources of liquidity for small fleets and independents, and it’s undergoing significant consolidation.

XPO Logistics provided updated expectations for the second quarter and issued 2022 guidance for soon-to-be stand-alone logistics company GXO.

The new company already has 10 clients, as it takes the HubTran platform and steers it toward a market that is similar but with key differences.

Autonomous trucking software startup TuSimple’s public offering helps boost Navistar Q2 earnings while a trucking recovery leads to added production.

The large year-over-year revenue increases recorded by less-than-truckload carriers in the second quarter continued with Yellow on Monday after the close. However, the carrier’s operating metrics lagged some of its competitors as it continues to execute a companywide overhaul.

Less-than-truckload carrier Old Dominion reported further acceleration in tonnage and yields in the first two months of the second quarter on Thursday.

Less-than-truckload carriers ArcBest and Saia report continued strength in demand through the first two months of the second quarter.

Truck broker Landstar System raises its second-quarter guidance as shipments and pricing outpace its initial outlook.

The digital freight platform has a big market share in China, is growing its revenue but remains unprofitable.

It seems that centralized buying and local product discovery are polar opposites. How can Whole Foods centralize buying and get better at the local level?

Allowances for potential future write-offs also showed improvement in the bank’s second quarter.

A commonly seen financial term — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) — and why it’s used is explained.

The best-in-class retailers navigated well, and managed to grow inventory considerably in the first months of the year.

Consumers reversion to services has not come at the detriment of durable goods spending. Over the past four weeks, the mix of durable goods-to-services spending has remained stable.

ZIM is the liner most exposed to upside from America’s import binge. It’s taking full advantage of the situation.

The company’s pickup and delivery revenue jumps; about 95% of sales were fulfilled from stores

Rising rail traffic and lower numbers of railcars in storage should benefit FreightCar America, as should anticipated market demand to replace an aging railcar fleet, executives said during Monday’s first-quarter earnings call.

FreightWaves raised $16 million to support its Carbon Intelligence platform.

The retail giant clobbers its first-quarter fiscal 2022 estimates, while its chairman says the company is more optimistic about 2021 than it was at the start of the year.

Also on the podcast, KeyBank’s Fowler talks about what blowout Q1 earnings said about the state of trucking.

FreightWaves looks at five themes that ran throughout the earnings discussions of the Class I railroads.

DoorDash reported a 198% increase in Q1 revenue compared to Q1 2020, and a 219% increase in orders, although it still posted a negative 34-cent EPS.

“First Class I railroad in North America to issue green bonds,” Norfolk Southern shares plans for environmental projects.

Canadian trucking and logistics firm Titanium Transportation Group reported record first-quarter revenue as its U.S. brokerage business and newly expanded trucking fleet fired up the growth engine.

The company says it will continue to work with shareholders as it evaluates future compensation plans.

Danaos will stockpile cash from the current boom and spend it on new ships when environmental regs are clearer.

Third-party logistics provider Radiant Logistics handily beat quarterly expectations Monday. Management has returned its focus to share buybacks and M&A.