TOP 100 TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS SITES
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| Rail Industry: Why I'm Interested in Regionals James Cullen submits: After Buffett’s investments in a handful of major railroads – Union Pacific (UNP), Norfolk Southern (NSC), and most notably Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI) – the industry garnered plenty of attention. The attractive industry dynamics and a myopic focus on the major players makes me interested in the small number of publicly traded regional railroads – among them Kansas City Southern (KSU) and Genesee & Wyoming (GWR).Why railroads? Foremost, it’s an industry with significant tangible barriers to entry, and it provides a vital economic service. Although fixed asset investment is substantial, I also believe that the general consensus underestimates the variability of the typical railroad’s cost structure – yes, there’s operating leverage there, but there is also room to reduce headcount as unit volumes decline. Below is a graph of quarter-over-quarter revenue growth compared to QoQ operating expense growth for two major carriers (Norfolk Southern and CSX), one larger regional (Kansas City Southern) and the short-line amalgamation G&W.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Rail Data Posts First Year Over Year Gain in 2009 The Pragmatic Capitalist submits: The rail industry brought an early holiday gift to Wall Street – the first year over year climb in rail traffic. The AAR reported total volume was 0.3% higher than 2008’s very depressed levels while intermodal traffic surged 9.4% higher than 2008’s levels. The comparisons to 2007 provide a bit clearer picture, however, and are still showing how weak the overall economy is. Total traffic is down 11.6% compared to 2007 while intermodal is down 8.7% from 2007. This was a sharp improvement over last week’s data. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
What Tiger Woods and Toyota Have in Common Rick Newman submits:Who knows if Tiger Woods will ever become a model husband, exemplary Buddhist, or remade role model. But his well-crafted, 14-minute public apology is already a classic checklist for how to tell if you suffer from hubris. Do you feel that success entitles you to privileges unavailable to others? Hubris. Do the rules apply to everybody but you? Hubris. Has your hard work earned you special dispensation? Hubris. "I knew my actions were wrong," Woods said. "But I convinced myself that normal rules didn't apply…. I felt I was entitled." Those special privileges now entitle Woods both to beg his wife, sponsors, and fans to forgive his tawdry affairs and to continue with forced therapy until he's out of the doghouse. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Chinese Airlines: Stay Away From M&A; Think Quality and Efficiency David Wolf submits: The normally astute (and often erudite) BusinessWeek falters a tad in analyzing the value of the coming wave of airline mergers in the United States. The question BW asks is almost the right one – it wonders if the creation of a small number of American Megacarriers – Northwest/Delta (DAL), United (UAL)/Continental (CAL), and American/player-to-be-named-later – will be enough to fend off European competition. The large U.S. carriers – with the sole exception of Southwest Airlines (LUV), a huge, well-run discount domestic-only airline – lose money on domestic service, making it up only on international passengers and freight. European carriers are naturally stronger than US carriers in this space.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
General Maritime Corp. Q2 2010 Earnings Call Transcript General Maritime Corp. (GMR)Q2 2010 Earnings CallJuly 29, 2010; 10:00 pm ETComplete Story » seekingalpha.com |