TOP 100 TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS SITES
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| Ford Posts Strong Financial Data, First Profit Since 2005 TheCarConnection.com submits: The rumors were true: Ford Motor Company (F) has just published financials from the third quarter of 2009, and without being overly optimistic, it's fair to say that the data is moderately rosy. Among several bright spots in the report, one that seems particularly impressive is that July - September of 2009 saw Ford North America's first profit since the first quarter of 2005, four-and-a-half years ago.In addition to Ford's North American pre-tax profit of $357 million, the company recorded a total net income of $997 million during Q3. That's a substantial improvement on the roughly $200 million loss posted one year ago, during Q3 of 2008 (which was, as you recall, about the time that the entire industry began sliding off a cliff). Ford anticipates being fully profitable by calendar year 2011.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Navistar's Q4 Word Games George Gutowski submits: Navistar International (NAV) played some word games in their press release. The press release stated at the front end, “Driven by a pickup in fourth-quarter commercial truck volume and continued military sales....” OK, did you spot the continued military sales part? When you drill down to Segment Results Trucks, you get this line: “Decreased U.S. military sales....” They are shifting gears and stepping away from the initial inference. Most investors remember the initial comments first and have less retention as you continue to read lengthy press releases. In all honesty, if you continue reading Segment Results under Parts you will find this snippet: “Military sales increased by $519 million, which more than offset decreased demand caused by the global economic climate.” Not exactly the same context as “...continued military sales...” The military is spending money on repairs and not buying as much new stuff. The private sector is not spending money on repairs because if the economy is off, truck usage is down and trucks are not wearing out as they used to.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Looking Under the Hood of New GM Wall Street Strategies submits:By David SilverNothing against former GM CEO, Rich Wagoner, but the conference call hosted by Vice Chairman and CFO, Steve Liddell, was much more interesting than any of the conference calls for the "Old GM." Not only does that accent keep everyone enthralled, Mr. Liddell also handled the questions with such poise and confidence that you would have thought he grew up talking about cars.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Fifth Month of Double-Digit Auto Sales: First Time in 26 Years Mark J. Perry submits: DETROIT NEWS -- Auto sales rose in May after sunny Memorial Day weekend deals helped consumers shake off economic worries revived by sharp swings on Wall Street. Compared with last May, when Chrysler LLC was bankrupt and consumer demand had plunged, last month's sales were 19.1%t higher at 1.1 million cars and light trucks (see chart above). Led by Chrysler, Detroit's automakers reported double-digit gains in May, padded by large sales to fleet customers. GM sales increased by 17.5% in May, Ford (F) sales by 22% and Chrysler by 32.7%, versus May 2009 (data here). For all automakers, the cumulative year-to-date sales through May are up by 17.2% this year vs. last year (see chart). May also marks the fifth straight month of double-digit sales gains compared to the same month in the previous year for the first time in 26 years (since 1984, data here). Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Rail Traffic Begins to Slow but Still Improved Wall Street Strategies submits:By David SilverSo much of the economic data released over the past few weeks has pointed towards another slowdown in the economy. On Monday morning, the National Bureau of Economic Research, the unofficial scorekeeper for the start and end dates of recessions, determined that the recession which began in December 2007 ended in June 2009. The end seems difficult to agree with as millions of Americans are still without a job and the jobless rate sits at 9.6%. Despite these negative data points, one industry, the railroads, has continued to shrug off this slowdown and post strong numbers. In some cases, the data is approaching the peak levels from back in 2008. Railroads are considered an economic bellwether as they outline the expectations of businesses around the country. If businesses expect improving business conditions, then rail traffic will show an increase. Over the past two recessions, rail traffic signified a resurgence in the economy within an average of approximately eight months. The following chart shows that rail volumes bottomed out in May of 2009 and have been sequentially improving (save the past two months). The previous recessions were not as severe as the past recession, did not last as long, and also saw a more dramatic upswing. Additionally, in previous recessions, rail volumes did not see as significant of a drop.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |