Specialist
Former C-Level Executive at USA Truck Logistics at USA Truck Inc
Agenda
- Trends in the US trucking industry
- Pricing and margin dynamics for USA Truck (NASDAQ: USAK)
- Opportunities and growth avenues
- H2 2019 outlook
Questions
1.
What is your updated perspective on the North American trucking environment and a few key themes that you think we should be monitoring?
2.
Could you further analyse USA Truck’s overall health and recent performance? What key takeaways have you identified and would highlight on recent performance?
3.
You mentioned challenges with structure, fleet size, driver retention and driver domicile. Can you unpack the underlying issue for each of those and whether they’re being addressed or not?
4.
I would assume that the driver retention and the mismatch in where the drivers are domiciled are directly correlated. You said USA trucks is working to address that. Is it having any success yet in recruiting drivers that are more in line with the majority of freight?
5.
USA Truck stated in its Q2 earnings call that contract customers remember which carriers took advantage in the market a year ago when it was incredibly tight. They said because the company was fair with customers on pricing last year, they’ve received some favourable treatment in this market softening. Is that in line with your views? Can that occur with contract customers remembering how they were treated in tightening trucking markets?
6.
What is your outlook on the pricing environment? Based on your view of it now, are you expecting to get back to normal seasonal freight trends in H2 2019?
7.
What is USA Truck’s philosophy relevant to the business mix between contracts and spot rates, and its ability to execute in both markets?
8.
What are your thoughts on the current state of the USAT Logistics business, how it’s evolved so far and where things could go from here?
9.
Can you discuss Uber Freight and the Convoys of the world, as you seem to agree they are gaining ground and could be the future of brokerage in the trucking market? How do you think those platforms could evolve? Do you have any thoughts on timeline and some of the challenges those companies are dealing with?
10.
Another broader concept that has been in place for a while is the ELD [electronic logging devices] mandate. The final mandate is this December, so how will it impact capacity and pricing for the broader industry, if at all, moving forward?
11.
Going back to Q2 earnings, USA Truck leadership said that it plans to focus on cutting fixed costs by 5-10%. What levers could it pull to get there and how confident are you that it would be able to execute that?
12.
What are your thoughts on the leadership team, the culture they create and their ability to navigate the current market and execute on their strategic vision?
13.
If USA Truck were a private entity and thinking more long-term strategic and not necessarily working towards a specific number on earnings, what one or two strategic objectives would you try to implement or improve to better performance?
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