Axion Power Concentrator 236: May 15: Axion Power Releases Quarterly Report For The First Quarter 2013 [View instapost]
"In which case I would want dump either management or my position ASAP. I don't want to be in a company with which there seems to be an adversarial relationship."
Which puts us in a tough position if we don't want to give up our position...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
Impressive piece of work. I am guessing the author assumed 999 was unused otherwise they might have included a section of track with overhead charging apparatus.
Anyway, I think it will be out the door before year end... i think it will, i think it will, i think it will...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
"I had hoped that the magnitude of fuel savings we're bantering about were a large component of the operational cost but hey it's not my stomping ground"
Oh but .22 pure profit a mile is quite large and it's not like fuel efficient tires that will eventually pay for themselves, this is profit you take each mile traveled - now/today.
Lets talk contracted freight where you bid on a given route and its yours until the contract ends. The difference between bids from Schneider and Swift will most likely be 1-2 cpm so having a 22 cpm advantage would be outstanding (as long as there were no service failures).
The cost of doing business, aside from the fuel, is around 85 cpm. As a rule, the tractor costs around 22 cpm, trailer 8 cpm, driver varies but lets say 45 cpm and admin 10 cpm.
Fuel is your largest single cost and the price can vary significantly. To help with this we have a fuel surcharge (FS) that calculates the spread between $2 and the national average (NA) into a cost per mile figure. The formula is the (NA - $2) divided by 5 mpg. Base fuel is at a fixed rate of $2 a gallon divided by 5 mpg or 40 cents per mile. If the NA is $4 then the FS would also be 40 cents per mile ((4-2)/5).
Using the figures above our cost of operations per mile would be $ .85 for equipment and personnel and then another $.80 for fuel for a total cost of $1.65. Now if we were getting 9 mpg our fuel would go from .80 to .44 lowering our total cost per mile to $1.29. If your competition is getting 5 mpg then you have a .36 per mile advantage at today's fuel prices.
What if the fuel prices go to $5 a gallon? If you keep your FS contract to match your competition (5 mpg) then you are going to make a killing! Remember the standard FS calculation is the difference between $2 and the NA divided by 5 mpg or .60 cents per mile at $5 a gallon. Your cost is only .33 cpm so you are making .24 cpm more than your competition. The rising of fuel prices will bring more profits or you could make your contract more attractive by lowering your fuel surcharge costs for your customers.
More than you probably wanted to know but I had some time today...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
"He's busy other places it seems"
Yes, places he has always frequented. The APC took a lot of time away from his writing and he is shifting his energy back there. Maya is the reason why we have the APC but there is enough talent here to keep things interesting for those of us with the time on our hands...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
greentounge,
""They talk about how big (HP) their engines are..." - This is where I thought the topic might go. "They are using a Battery?!, not a real engine? Are you kidding me??" - Jokes spread fast, if performance was a joke."
Unfortunately, the bean counters in business don't pay much attention to what the drivers might think until they have trouble putting a driver behind the wheel. I don't expect they will have much trouble keeping drivers in this economic climate (don't believe the driver shortage non-sense)...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
iindelco, finding the profit in the trucking industry can be a complicated affair but there is nothing complicated about cutting your operating costs from .66 a mile to .44 a mile ($4 per gallon @ 6 or 9 mpg).
In leaner times in the spot freight market this would allow you to run the good paying freight into leaner markets making more freight available to you. In the contracted market (larger fleets running specific lanes) this would allow you to expand your business pretty rapidly. Contracts are won in the .01-.02 range. Basically, that kind of a margin would rock the industry.
Increasing transit time. From an operational perspective, I don't see the decrease in speed climbing hills or getting to cruising speed having a significant effect on meeting schedules. I am sure there will be a few routes that will need to be tweaked but we are not talking about much time here. From the drivers perspective it will be much different (depending on the capacity of the driver). You are increasing the time spent behind the wheel and even though it may be minor it will have a negative psychological effect on those drivers who have difficulty managing or valuing time. If the profits were shared with the driver (which I am certain they won't be) it might help ease the tension.
This psychological effect remains true for some owner operators as well. When you get used to a certain performance it can be hard to make the adjustment even if you know it is saving you money. I know drivers that insist on cruising at 75 even though they are told that cruising at 65 will save them 1 MPG or around $12,000 a year. If you are passing and not being passed you must be doing better right? These are the same guys that blow past me only to be stopped at the next red light while I time the light and pass them (slow but steady)...
I do not know if the ePower model will be successful. The importance of the project to me is the performance of the PbC and the folks that are watching. On board storage in trucking is inevitable as is frictionless braking if we want to capture the otherwise lost kinetic energy. I am sure there will be many variations but they will all have storage...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
Greentongue, I am in the business and the ePower concept is not something the average trucker is going to talk about. They talk about how big (HP) their engines are and how much chrome is on the truck. Now if there was a Capstone in the engine compartment and it smoked all the truck in a hill climb, then we would hear some talk.
However, there are some bottom line guys who would be interested and they are the ones that go to the Truck Shows. Spring and Fall are the best time to show your wares so perhaps ePower could make the truck show(s) this Fall...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
42itus1, you are correct and I had been waiting with great hopes that the 48v version might have a different player (Axion). It was very disappointing to see Exide still in that spot when the PbC has so much more to offer. It is the higher voltage systems where I expect the PbC (KIAS) to surpass the standard LA batteries...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
42itus, nice find - thanks! Why the PbC is NOT the star of the ALABC show remains a mystery to me. You can't get more LC than the PbC. Their flagship the 48v LC SuperHybrid seems like the perfect playground for the PbC yet the latest news has the Exide spiral filling the spot.
Perhaps the time is right for the new kid (PbC) to step in and take the spot with Exide distracted with other things...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
"how big would you rate Volvo?" They are definitely a player in trucking and heavy equipment. My first truck was a 780 and it was a nice piece of equipment...
Axion Power Concentrator 236: May 15: Axion Power Releases Quarterly Report For The First Quarter 2013 [View instapost]
Which puts us in a tough position if we don't want to give up our position...
Axion Power Concentrator 235: May 12: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
Anyway, I think it will be out the door before year end... i think it will, i think it will, i think it will...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
http://bit.ly/PiBnfU
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
Oh but .22 pure profit a mile is quite large and it's not like fuel efficient tires that will eventually pay for themselves, this is profit you take each mile traveled - now/today.
Lets talk contracted freight where you bid on a given route and its yours until the contract ends. The difference between bids from Schneider and Swift will most likely be 1-2 cpm so having a 22 cpm advantage would be outstanding (as long as there were no service failures).
The cost of doing business, aside from the fuel, is around 85 cpm. As a rule, the tractor costs around 22 cpm, trailer 8 cpm, driver varies but lets say 45 cpm and admin 10 cpm.
Fuel is your largest single cost and the price can vary significantly. To help with this we have a fuel surcharge (FS) that calculates the spread between $2 and the national average (NA) into a cost per mile figure. The formula is the (NA - $2) divided by 5 mpg. Base fuel is at a fixed rate of $2 a gallon divided by 5 mpg or 40 cents per mile. If the NA is $4 then the FS would also be 40 cents per mile ((4-2)/5).
Using the figures above our cost of operations per mile would be $ .85 for equipment and personnel and then another $.80 for fuel for a total cost of $1.65. Now if we were getting 9 mpg our fuel would go from .80 to .44 lowering our total cost per mile to $1.29. If your competition is getting 5 mpg then you have a .36 per mile advantage at today's fuel prices.
What if the fuel prices go to $5 a gallon? If you keep your FS contract to match your competition (5 mpg) then you are going to make a killing! Remember the standard FS calculation is the difference between $2 and the NA divided by 5 mpg or .60 cents per mile at $5 a gallon. Your cost is only .33 cpm so you are making .24 cpm more than your competition. The rising of fuel prices will bring more profits or you could make your contract more attractive by lowering your fuel surcharge costs for your customers.
More than you probably wanted to know but I had some time today...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
Yes, places he has always frequented. The APC took a lot of time away from his writing and he is shifting his energy back there. Maya is the reason why we have the APC but there is enough talent here to keep things interesting for those of us with the time on our hands...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
""They talk about how big (HP) their engines are..."
- This is where I thought the topic might go.
"They are using a Battery?!, not a real engine? Are you kidding me??"
- Jokes spread fast, if performance was a joke."
Unfortunately, the bean counters in business don't pay much attention to what the drivers might think until they have trouble putting a driver behind the wheel. I don't expect they will have much trouble keeping drivers in this economic climate (don't believe the driver shortage non-sense)...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
In leaner times in the spot freight market this would allow you to run the good paying freight into leaner markets making more freight available to you. In the contracted market (larger fleets running specific lanes) this would allow you to expand your business pretty rapidly. Contracts are won in the .01-.02 range. Basically, that kind of a margin would rock the industry.
Increasing transit time. From an operational perspective, I don't see the decrease in speed climbing hills or getting to cruising speed having a significant effect on meeting schedules. I am sure there will be a few routes that will need to be tweaked but we are not talking about much time here. From the drivers perspective it will be much different (depending on the capacity of the driver). You are increasing the time spent behind the wheel and even though it may be minor it will have a negative psychological effect on those drivers who have difficulty managing or valuing time. If the profits were shared with the driver (which I am certain they won't be) it might help ease the tension.
This psychological effect remains true for some owner operators as well. When you get used to a certain performance it can be hard to make the adjustment even if you know it is saving you money. I know drivers that insist on cruising at 75 even though they are told that cruising at 65 will save them 1 MPG or around $12,000 a year. If you are passing and not being passed you must be doing better right? These are the same guys that blow past me only to be stopped at the next red light while I time the light and pass them (slow but steady)...
I do not know if the ePower model will be successful. The importance of the project to me is the performance of the PbC and the folks that are watching. On board storage in trucking is inevitable as is frictionless braking if we want to capture the otherwise lost kinetic energy. I am sure there will be many variations but they will all have storage...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
However, there are some bottom line guys who would be interested and they are the ones that go to the Truck Shows. Spring and Fall are the best time to show your wares so perhaps ePower could make the truck show(s) this Fall...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
Perhaps the time is right for the new kid (PbC) to step in and take the spot with Exide distracted with other things...
Axion Power Concentrator 234: May 8: Axion Power Completes Private Placement For $9 Million And $1 Million [View instapost]
Axion Power Concentrator 233: May 5: Axion Power On Panel At Energy Storage Economics 2.0 For New York City And Beyond [View instapost]