Chungst

Why Watching Bankruptcies Can Help Stock Performance

to fishlake99

My comments was about average "solo" driver (the guy that lives in the truck) limited to 10 hours a day. I understand trucking firms also use teams -- but the majority of long hual-trucks are driven by an individual driver.

Companies like FDX and UPS (or WMT) are separate from the tradition trucking companies. I think you will agree my comments are geared toward the trucking pure plays.

Also, my general comments are about the trucking industry as opposed to specific trucking companies. I can make a general comment that trucking pay is poor, but anyone who works in the industry knows how much WMT or UPS will pay (yes, a truck driver can make over 6 figures annually at UPS!).

Lastly, as for my 21st century comment, just recall the average class 8 truck is using an engine technology developed in the 19th century. Separately, the cost of diesel costs over $5 a gallon in some parts of the US -- what will happen when diesel reaches $6 or $8 a gallon? My point is the trucking (like the airline) industry was built on cheap fuel. If you do the math of an average truck going 150,000 miles a year at 6 mpg, it will require 25,000 gallons (ignoring idling, etc). When diesel was under $3 a gallon, the system was still profitable, but at $5 a gallon, the system is breaking. In the 21th century, the price of diesel will not be as cheap as what we had in the 20th century.

Cheers.