TOP 100 TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS SITES
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| Eaton Corporation Q1 2009 Earnings Call Transcript Eaton Corporation (ETN)Q1 2009 Earnings CallApril 20, 2009 10:00 am ETComplete Story » seekingalpha.com |
What Exactly Will GM Reinvent? Saj Karsan submits:GM's new marketing campaign certifies that this is not GM's (GM) end, but rather its reinvention. Unfortunately for shareholders, however, this is the end, as the company's shares are virtually worthless. But shareholders should not have been caught off guard. As the following chart shows, for the last several years this company has not brought in earnings commensurate with its increasing debt:Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Sonic Automotive Q2 2009 Earnings Call Transcript Sonic Automotive, Inc. (SAH)Q2 2009 Earnings CallJuly 28, 2009 11:00 am ETComplete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Airline Baggage Fees: Southwest vs. the Industry Robert Herbst submits:Most airlines now add fees for everything from checking your baggage to getting a pillow. Free meals are long gone. Southwest (LUV) has attempted to use its no-fee policy in media advertisement to entice passengers away from their charge-for-everything competitors. Last week the DOT released data showing many airlines are now achieving approximately 4% of their operating revenue from ancillary fees. These are the add-on costs to the base airfare such as baggage fees and charges to change a reservation. Some industry commentators have suggested these ancillary fees are pushing traffic from the old legacy airlines over to Southwest. Before getting into the data, let’s set the stage. Typically, airline data is compared year-over-year (y/y). In more stable times y/y comparisons actually had some relevance, but with today’s volatility caused by significant changes in fuel costs and monthly double-digit capacity changes, I suggest more attention needs to be placed on the month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter (q/q) data. Adding baggage fees did not get into full swing for all of the participating airlines until early 2009. As such, there is very little meaningful impact from ancillary fees when comparing y/y data. One rumor I’d like to address is that there has supposedly been some relevance to an airline’s y/y drop in operating revenue being attributed to their ancillary fee charges. The fact is, all airlines have had a drop in revenue including SWA. Legacy carrier revenue has also been pressured lower by large reductions in International yields and historically weak demand for the premium/business fares. For those not aware, the 3rd quarter of last year had the highest average air fares in history. As the recession moved full steam ahead into 2009, passenger/traffic demand fell off a cliff. Typical to the industry, in order to entice passengers, airlines reduced fares. The simple fact is the y/y drop in revenue has occurred because fewer people were willing to fly at the higher fares and not because of baggage fees. The following detailed analysis compares month-to-month mainline traffic over the past year for the three Texas based airlines: Southwest, Continental (CAL) and American (AMR). Figure 1 shows month-to-month revenue passenger miles (RPM’s). Figure 2 shows the month-to-month percentage change in RPM’s. Note: revenue passenger miles are the miles a seat is filled with a passenger. RPM’s are typically used to measure market share. Figure 1Figure 2 Figures 1 & 2 show that at the time American and Continental were steadily increasing add-on baggage fees, Southwest did not have any consistent increase in market share. For a bigger picture view, figures 3 & 4 show available seat miles for the same time period. Figure 3Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Has Buffett Lost His Mind? In the article Berkshire + Burlington, I argued that Berkshire's (BRK.A) purchase of Burlington (BNI) was out of character and had little to do with value. It also seems clear that Burlington will raise Berkshire's risk profile. Some people took offense on the assumption that Buffett can do no wrong. Sadly, I'm old enough to remember Berkshire's US Airways and Solomon investments. NetJets has been a money pit, and let's not talk about GeneralRe. Nonetheless, I count myself among the legions of Buffett fans. Still admiration can turn to idol worship if we can't acknowledge that Buffett is human, and thus subject to error.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |