Lana Batts spoke at the annual meeting of the Nebraska Motor Carriers Association in Lincoln, NE on the shifting sands of the trucking industry. She noted that many new realities faced the trucking industry that needed to be factored into the operations of any company, including high fuel prices a fact of life, driver shortages are not going to go away, and that congestion will continue to impact the ability of a carrier to guarantee on-time deliveries.
Lana Batts spoke at the PeopleNet Users Conference on “What the Future Holds for Trucking,” in Hilton Head, SC. She addressed certain factors that are now a given, such as high, volatile fuel prices, chronic driver retention issues, and highway congestion. She also pointed out positive factors affecting the industry such as increased freight volumes, improved trucks, and new markets.
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.
Richard Mikes spoke at the CSX Intermodal Conference in Memphis, discussing the strategic outlook for trucking and intermodal movements. He addressed current regulation, the impact of technology, trucking profitability, cyclical and seasonal impact, rate, tonnage growth and road congestion. The growth of intermodalism will continue in the short and long term as shippers and carriers search for new strategies, he forecast.
Richard Mikes spoke at the annual Navistar Financial Corporation meeting in San Antonio on purchasing and financing decisions. His presentation included life cycle economics, financing trends, carrier decision methods, operational strategies, and technology trends. He discussed the needs and expectations of carriers for equipment financing over the long term with suppliers.
Richard Mikes, managing partner for Transport Capital Partners (TCP), was quoted in the annual Transport Topics 100 For-Hire Carriers in the article “Private Equity Reshapes Trucking As Investors Bolster Top Carriers.” Mikes said that private equity investors are giving an alternative to trucking companies looking to sell their business. Read the full article.
Lana Batts spoke at the American Trucking Association’s annual meeting in Dallas, Texas. She discussed recent merger and acquisition activities in the trucking industry, as well as the new inflow of money from private equity companies. She was also quoted in the November 6, 2006, Transport Topics about the presentation.
Lana Batts spoke at the National Accounting & Finance Council’s annual meeting in Washington, DC. She discussed what buyers and sellers are looking for in an acquisition.
Richard Mikes spoke to the Ohio Trucking Association about “Establishing the Value of a Carrier.” He discussed family succession and estate plans, private carriers as a reflection of publicly traded carriers, and what drives valuation parameters along with equipment dynamics.
Richard Mikes’ “History of Trucking” speech at the AMRC is listed in The Researcher, June 2006, page 9. Download a PDF of the newsletter.