I drive a good bit. To break the monotony of an interstate, I've always taken an interest in trucking companies, sort of a geography lesson on regional and national firms. It's a little more personal than a license plate game. I always enjoy seeing a Wiley Sanders truck far from their Troy home, and the "breathe freely, ship Ross Neely" catch phrase always makes me think of Bham - for me, it's the commerce equivalent of "See Rock City". I know an Ox Bodies mud flap means some hard working souls in Fayette build a bullet-proof container, and I hope they pile liberal amounts of Golden Eagle on their buttered biscuits every morning.
So maybe it's the nostalgic transportation part of me, or the erstwhile economist, but I've followed the trucking industry's "acquire or be acquired, debt be damned" playbook for a while. You knew that some of these companies were building a house of cards, particularly Yellow Freight when they acquired Roadway, both unionized in a deregulating market. Hate to see them go.
I'm waiting for XPO to collapse under its weight. When big parts of its debt come up for repricing, that may do them in.
So maybe it's the nostalgic transportation part of me, or the erstwhile economist, but I've followed the trucking industry's "acquire or be acquired, debt be damned" playbook for a while. You knew that some of these companies were building a house of cards, particularly Yellow Freight when they acquired Roadway, both unionized in a deregulating market. Hate to see them go.
I'm waiting for XPO to collapse under its weight. When big parts of its debt come up for repricing, that may do them in.
