| Under the Hood with Ford’s Electric Cars Greentech Media submits: By Michael KanellosSAN FRANCISCO -- Driving the all-electric Ford (F) Focus coming in 2011 is like... like...Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Ford Beats Estimates, Posts a $2.7 Billion Profit TheCarConnection.com submits: Not so very long ago, CEO Alan Mulally said that Ford (F) wouldn't be "solidly profitable" until 2011, but investors will be happy to learn that the company just posted a profit from the fourth quarter of 2009 and a net gain for all of last year. Last January, Ford put down a $5.9 billion loss for Q4 of 2008, which contributed to a whopping $14.8 billion loss for the year. But twelve long, painful months later, the tide has turned: Ford saw a net gain of $868 million in Q4 of 2009, and the company finished the year $2.7 billion in the black. In a prepared statement, Mulally said, "While we still face significant business environment challenges ahead, 2009 was a pivotal year for Ford and the strongest proof yet that our One Ford plan is working and that we are forging a path toward profitable growth by working together as one team, leveraging our global scale."Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
A Look Ahead to the Future of the Trucking Market Morningstar submits: By Anthony Dayrit. The trucking industry hit a number of major potholes in 2009. The struggles of the United States economy caused freight volumes to plummet at the end of 2008, resulting in significant overcapacity and intense pressure on trucking rates. In our last trucking Stock Strategist, we discussed the major obstacles that carriers were facing: Weak demand and excess capacity, which lead to intense competition. These factors remain in today's environment, but volumes appear to be recovering, which may help tighten the market and eventually boost pricing. It's difficult to pinpoint when the market will reach equilibrium, but we will describe a few short-term trends to give our take on where the industry is headed. We will also share insights from company visits, highlighting a few approaches carriers are taking to prepare for the future. Volumes Improving, but Weak Pricing Makes for a Bumpy Short-Term Lane Truckers started 2009 on a steep downhill slope, because the American Trucking Association's seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index plunged 7.8% sequentially (12.5% year-over-year) during December 2008--the largest month-over-month decline since April 1994. Year-over-year declines remained in the 10%-13% range through the first half of 2009, but lessened during the back half of the year. Based on the ATA data and carriers' results, we estimate that volumes bottomed sometime around the end of the summer of 2009. The index ended the year on a strong note, as December tonnage increased 1.3% sequentially and recorded a 1.2% increase from 2008 levels--the first growth since September of 2008. For the full year of 2009, the tonnage index finished down 8.7% from 2008 levels. (Click charts to enlarge)Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Auto Sales Slow Down in June, But Automakers See Improvement Ahead Zacks.com submits: The light vehicle sales in June depict a picture that does not indicate an immediate recovery in the U.S. auto industry as expected. Sales in the month grew 14.4% to 981,258 vehicles. However, sales in terms of seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) were gloomy on a sequential basis. As per Ward’s auto data, light vehicle sales in June stood at 11.08 million units at SAAR, the lowest since February this year. Despite being up 14% from June 2009, SAAR sales declined 4.6% from May.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Shipping Boom: Rates Have Doubled Since 2009 Mark J. Perry submits: Journal of Commerce:The Drewry Container Benchmark began tracking the average spot market freight rate from Hong Kong to Los Angeles in late December 2005 and hit its rock bottom at $871 per FEU (forty-foot equivalent units) from July 6 through Aug. 3, 2009. In contrast, a record high of $2,838 per FEU was recorded on Aug. 2 this year (see chart above). The Aug. 16 rate dropped $87 from the week before to $2,737 per FEU in only the second weekly rate decline since March 15. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |