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May 29, 2009

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA

* Success stories in trucking are hard to come by these days

Richmond,VA,USA -GLGroup/Intelligently Connected, by John Schulz -29 May 2009: -- The industry is awash with bad news--truckload carrier Swift and LTL giant YRC Worldwide are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, even solidly profitable carriers such as FedEx Freight and Con-way have endured layoffs during the recession and the mere thought of geographic expansion at this time can be met with howls of laughter from executives just trying to hang onto until the recovery comes... Capital expenditures are being cut to the bone. After buying about 260,000 Class 8 trucks in 2006, the industry is expected to buy only about 90,000 this year as fewer carriers are replacing trucks and hardly anybody is expanding... Enter Estes Express. The privately held Richmond, Va.-based LTL carrier does not disclose profits. But judging from its expansion plans, the $1.5 billion carrier is enduring the recession about as well as any LTL carrier in the nation... There must be something in the James River in Richmond that produces good truckers. Home to legendary J. Harwood Cochrane, the founder of Overnite Transportation Co. (now UPS Freight), Richmond is strategically located to capitalize on both Northeast and Southeast freight with gateways to the Midwest and South Central states just a half day's drive away as well... Estes had a 4.4 percent drop in freight tonnage last year, about half the industry average. Some carriers, such as the YRC units, have endured drops in the 20 percent range. It isn't pretty out there right now as shippers batten down and are content to burn through inventory rather than start the inevitable restocking process.. That is what Estes is waiting for. It recently opened a Mexican logistics subsidiary to capitalize on north-south trade when the recovery comes. It also took advantage of YRC's financial woes to work an innovate cash-lease back arrangement in a number of terminals it is taking over from YRC... (Photo: The Great Depression in the United States was a very unlikely time in our nation's history to start a business. But, in 1931, an entrepreneur named W.W. Estes bought one used Chevrolet truck and established a small, local trucking business hauling farm produce and supplies in Southwest Virginia)


* Leading California Hay Exporter Reduces Fuel Costs and Emissions with LNG-Powered Kenworth T800s

Brawley,CAL,USA -Commercial Truck Trader -May 28, 2009: -- For Border Valley Trading, finding a way to lower emissions and fuel costs wasn’t like looking for a needle in a haystack... The Brawley, Calif.-based alfalfa, sudan and klein grass hay producer and exporter recently replaced its fleet of trucks with 15 liquefied natural gas-powered Kenworth T800s... The trucks are equipped with the Westport Innovations LNG fuel system and Westport GX engine, which is based on the industry-leading Cummins ISX 15-liter engine. The Kenworth trucks use 5 percent diesel and 95 percent liquefied natural gas to power the drivetrain. A typical Class 8 truck using the cleaner burning LNG fuel may reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) and greenhouse gas emissions by up to an estimated 33 percent and 20 percent, respectively, compared to a diesel-fueled truck...


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Volumes shrink for YRC Worldwide, and other trucking companies


Kansas City,MO,USA -The Kansas City Business Journal -May 28, 2009: -- Trucking companies such as YRC Worldwide Inc. faced shrinking shipment volumes last month, on the tail of a plunge in March, the American Trucking Associations said this week... Compared with the prior-year period, April truck tonnages fell 13.2 percent, the largest drop in 13 years, the ATA said...


* For Sale: One Trucking Company's Headquarters. Not Its Business. YRC Worldwide Sells HQ to Load Up More Cash


New York,NY,USA -GLGroup/Intelligently Connected, by John Schulz -May 29, 2009: -- What do you do when almost nothing else has worked? Sell the building. That's exactly what YRC Worldwide, the financially troubled $8.9 billion trucking conglomerate, has done with its Overland Park, Kan., headquarters... In a sale-leaseback arrangement disclosed by the Kansas City Business Journal, YRC could gain as much as $22.5 million from the sale of its 30-year-old building on the outskirts of Kansas City... YRC won't be vacating the premises. Instead, it will lease back at least part of the building for an undisclosed fee...


* USA - Truck shipments decline during stagnant economy

Omaha, Neb.USA -AP/The Tampa Tribune (FL,USA), by TED JACKOVICS -28 May 2009: -- Werner Enterprises Inc., said it trimmed an additional 4 percent of its Omaha, Neb.-based fleet in the first quarter, as slow consumer spending and stalled manufacturing activity took its toll on truckers... Nearly all major trucking companies reported lower first-quarter revenue and falling profits as the recession continued and shipping demand slid... ATA does not reveal actual tonnage figures on a monthly basis to non-members of the Arlington,Va.-based industry group. The ATA said trucks hauled 10.2 billion tons of freight in 2008... The association's reports have shown seven successive percentage declines in truck tonnage since October... And while the dollar value of inventories has fallen, sales have decreased as much or more, resulting in inventories that are still too high for current sales levels, ATA's Costello said... That means it could be a few months for truck freight to hit bottom...

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