XPO and Saia stock go to the moon

Welcome to the WHAT THE TRUCK?!? Newsletter brought to you by Dynamic Logistix. In this issue, XPO and Saia stock skyrocket; Super Bowl logistics; train vs. truck; and more.

We are so back

Forget bitcoin; how about XPO’s performance? — Some transportation stocks are surging and XPO is leading the charge. The LTL juggernaut’s stock price has skyrocketed 63% in the past six months. By comparison, bitcoin is up only 52% in that time frame.

Google

What’s propelling the stock to such great heights? FreightWaves’ Todd Maiden reports, “The less-than-truckload carrier reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 77 cents, which was 15 cents better than the consensus estimate but 21 cents lower year over year (y/y).” XPO’s LTL segment also reported a 9% y/y increase in revenue to $1.19 billion.

“[We’re] even more optimistic for the back half [of 2024].” — XPO CEO Mario Harik

Saia soars too — XPO isn’t the only stock headed to the moon. Saia is up 27.42% over the past six months. MarketBeat reports, “Saia had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Susquehanna from $500.00 to $625.00 in a research report issued on Thursday.”

And they’re not the only ones. Since Nov. 1, Old Dominion is up 13%; Knight Swift is up 19%; and JB Hunt is up 22%.

Sound off — Are you feeling more optimistic about recovery in the freight market in 2024? Email me your answer.

Super Bowl logistics

FreightWaves

The most expensive Super Bowl ever — Taylor Swift faces the 49ers this Sunday in Super Bowl LVIII, and if you’re the average viewer it’s going to cost you 5% more than last year to celebrate. NewsNation reports, “This year, the National Retail Federation anticipates households will spend $86.04 on game day festivities, with total spending across the country hitting $17.3 billion.”

“When it comes to increased sales, avocados are the real Super Bowl champion.” — USDA in a blog post

Just how much food, drink and beer are we talking about here? FreightWaves’ Noi Mahoney reports, “Over 12 billion chicken wings, 50 million cases of beer, 28 million pounds of chips and 54 million avocados will be consumed on Super Bowl Sunday, which equals more than 30,000 truckloads, according to third-party logistics provider Compass Logistics.” That’s 20% of all U.S. avocado sales in an entire year!

Bad blood

Waiting game — No, this isn’t a picture of the county booking department. It’s a typical line truckers have to wait in at a receiver. Twittering trucker Cholt7727 recently posted, “Every driver knows the feeling of this picture.”

Freight X (a loose-knit group of supply chainers on the social media platform) sounded off on the pic.

New Trucker Mike — I can feel the frustration coming off this photo.

ImChrisHanchard — I thought “Hurry up and Wait” only applied to the military. I stand corrected.

Kitchen_Rebelz — I can hear my own internal debate about whether or not I’d be happier shoving bamboo shoots into my scrotum.

ResolutionaryM — Wow! What a driver friendly and driver appreciative place! I bet they have a porta potty outside too!

SONAR

Consolation prize — Excessive wait times and frustration at receivers wear drivers down and contribute to the massive turnover problem in this industry. But, there’s some good news on a national level. According to SONAR, wait times are down to 118 minutes — significant improvement from just a couple years ago.

However, if you’re at a bad receiver that’s on the wrong side of that average … your mileage may vary.

The rest of the noise

– CSX train vs. Semi (New York Post)
– MCCD officers providing tips to truckers on how to spot possible signs of human trafficking (WTOC)
– Despite economic worries, more containers flow from China to US (FreightWaves)

– 329 layoffs hit freight-related firms in Texas (FreightWaves)

WTT Friday

Logistics behind Carl’s Jr.’s Super Bowl free burger promo — This Friday on WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, I’m joined by CKE Restaurants’ John Brewer, who talks about the logistics behind their free burger day Super Bowl promotion.

Mutha Trucker News’ Alex Mai has built his own media empire on social media. He’ll share some of his biggest trucking stories, how he built a following of over 900,000 and how trucking companies can better market themselves.

Echo Global Logistics’ Mike Mobley talks about order optimization and how it reduces shipping costs.

Northland Trucking Risk Control’s Anthony Slamar shares how insurance views advanced driver assistance systems.

Plus, latest news, weirdness and trends.

Catch new shows live at noon EST Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on FreightWaves LinkedIn, Facebook, X or YouTube or on demand by looking up WHAT THE TRUCK?!? on your favorite podcast player.