TOP 100 TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS SITES
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| Is the World Really Flat for Airlines? Robert Salomon submits: I have enjoyed reading Thomas Friedman’s work over the years, but I have to say that I am not a big believer in the Flat World hypothesis. Although intellectually appealing in many ways, it is not supported by scientific evidence. Decades of international business research has demonstrated that companies that span national boundaries face enormous risks and challenges. Moreover, a casual glance at the popular press on just about any given day provides countless examples of companies whose international expansion efforts have foundered because they failed to account for the additional costs imposed by institutional distance (for background, see my posts So You Want to Do Business in a Developing Country, Tata and Jaguar, Tesco’s Venture into the U.S.). In fact, just this week I received an email from Mike Malone of ABC News calling my attention to a recent article addressing the Flat World debate (see Navigating a Flat and Bumpy World). Mike writes:Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Thor Industries: The Ride Higher Runs Out of Gas Ockham Research submits: Following second quarter results that showed further improvement from a year ago, Thor Industries (THO) stock retreated nearly 8% on Tuesday because it was not as impressive as analysts had hoped. Thor, manufacturer of recreational vehicles and busses, swing to a profit of $11.9 million or 22 cents per share from a loss of $14.9 million or 27 cents a share last year. Profit fell short of consensus estimates of 28 cents per share. Revenue grew a whopping 90% to $430 million, which topped analysts’ estimates by $2 mln. Considering sales were slightly better than inline, it was higher than expected costs that turned out to be the culprit for Thor’s disappointing quarter. There is little doubt that the first half of the year has been far better in fiscal 2010 than it was in 2009, as EPS of $.65 per share easily topped the loss of $.18 in the prior period. A quarter ago, Thor Industries returned to profitability in both RV’s and bus product lines, but the biggest turnaround has been in RV’s. RV sales in the quarter rose 150% to $335.8 million, which has completed a six month turnaround of $64 million in net income compared to the first half of last year. The company has seen a relatively strong rebound in demand for RV’s (including the brand Airstream), which in combination with generally stable costs has boosted results. However, the stock has already priced in the improved sales trends trading more than 270% higher than a year ago coming into the day.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Top Auto Companies in China, India David Hunkar submits: The auto market in the emerging countries of China and India is growing rapidly. For example, in March of this year, GM sold more cars in China than in the U.S. Many of the major car makers of the world are investing heavily in these countries in order to gain market share. Imitating the U.S. model, China and India are promoting the growth of the automobile industry. The Financial Times recently wrote:Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Tesla Motors and the Buzz Over Electric Cars Brian Burns submits:Are you ready to plug in your car? Electric car manufacturer, Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA), is betting on it; and judging by the success of their recent IPO in June, so are investors. The company currently boasts a market capitalization of $1.8 billion which could be questionable considering 2009 sales of $111 million and little to no improvement expected in 2010. Their recent quarterly earnings release did show an increase in top line growth but it also showed an even steeper increase in their net loss. But who cares about profits when the company can change the world, right? The company has recently been compared to Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and I can only assume the large market cap is due to investors who don't want to miss, "the next big thing". Looking for the next Microsoft is like searching for the Holy Grail, except most investors aren't Indiana Jones.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Ford's Profit Increases by $1 Billion Zacks.com submits: Ford Motor Co. (F) showed an $1.04 billion improvement in profit to $1.91 billion or 48 cents per share (before special items) in the third quarter of the year, from $871 million or 26 cents per share (before special items) in the same quarter a year-ago. With this, the automaker outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10 cents per share during the quarter. The improvement in profit was fueled by the strength of Ford’s new products, consistently better performance at Ford Credit as well as a recovery in the North American automotive market.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |