Transport Topics quoted Lana Batts on the tight credit markets. She noted that while there are still some people who are willing to work with truckers on financing, the list is getting shorter and the qualifications are getting tighter.
October 13, 2008 -
Batts Addresses Issues in Financing
September 19, 2008 -
Carriers Feeling the Pinch
Transport Topics quoted Lana Batts on the growing cash crunch. She noted that shippers are extending the time the pay carriers. The problem is made worse because carriers have to pay their fuel costs on a daily basis, but are being paid by the shipper until 45 days later. She noted that even if a carrier receives 100% fuel surcharges from 100% of its customers, it is still about 20% in recovering its increased fuel costs because of billed versus actual miles, out of route miles, empty miles, and idling.
May 12, 2008 -
“Empty Miles” on the Rise
Transport Topics quoted Lana Batts on the reported increase in empty miles in the trucking industry. She noted that as long haul carriers move to more regional markets, the number of empty miles increase, the number of turns increase, and dwell times increase in significance. She noted that “you can no longer measure productivity in miles, you also need to measure it in hours”.
April 14, 2008 -
Rising Fuel Costs Present a Challenge
Transport Topics quoted Lana Batts in a lead article on rising fuel costs, entitled “Fleets Seek Fuel Savings.” She noted that that the difference between the miles that carriers actually consume fuel is quite different from what is published in the commercial miles guides.
April 1, 2008 -
Editorial: Fuel Surcharges Not a Significant Source of Income
DC Velocity, a leading publication for Distribution Management, published a letter to the editor in its April issue from Lana Batts concerning raising fuel prices. Lana strongly objected to an editorial which claimed that carriers were making money off their fuel surcharges. She noted that carriers only cover about 75 to 80 percent of their gallons with their surcharges because of (1) the differences in billed miles versus actual; (2) empty and out of route miles, (3) refrigeration unit fuels, (4) congestion, and (5) idling.
November 26, 2007 -
Mergers, Acquisitions Bound to Rise
Transport Topics quoted Lana Batts in two separate articles on consolidations in the truckload industry, noting in 2008, “There will be some mergers and acquisitions with good companies being bought, but bad ones will just drop out.”
November 1, 2007 -
Batts: Adaptability is Key
Truckinginfo.com published an opinion hotline article written by Lana Batts entitled, “What’s Really Normal.” In it she noted that it’s not the strongest or the most intelligent that survive in turbulent times, but the most responsive to change. A significant part of being responsive to change to fully understanding what activities create costs and assigning them to the right function. For example, a new truck that has two or three different drivers a year can increase maintenance costs 2—3 cents more over a truck with only one driver. Assigning those extra costs to maintenance, rather than retention, only further hides the true cost of driver turnover.
July 23, 2007 -
Private Equity Provides Liquidity
Transport Topics quoted Richard Mikes in the 2007 “Top 100 Carriers… Private Equity Reshapes Trucking.” Mikes was quoted as saying: “Private equity investors are providing an alternative for trucking companies looking to sell their business. It has given trucking more liquidity. The private equity investor is driven by financial parameters.” He also addressed trucking owners’ uses of debt after the past cycle.
May 1, 2006 -
Mikes, Batts Author Editorial for Transport Topics
Transport Topics published an editorial opinion entitled “Looking for Liquidity in 2006” co-authored by Richard Mikes and Lana Batts. The piece discussed the reasons why certain executives are selling their companies and what types of carriers buyers are seeking.
December 21, 2005 -
Batts Discusses On-Board Electronic Recorders
Lana Batts was quoted in Transport Topics for a story concerning “On-Board Electronic Recorders”. She noted that many of the objections to electronic onboard recording of drivers’ logs are no longer appropriate as prices have come down, reliability has gone up, and driver acceptance is high.
