USIT Talk

Realizing that the financial market is not one of my finer points, I will say that the only thing Celadon got by buying 6% is a 6% share of USA stock. What I got was an increase in the price of my USA stock.
That being said, I'd inclined to think that a merger might be possible somewhere done the road. But, I don't think we are going to see anything for awhile.
USA has been spending a lot of cash lately. Building a new terminal in Texas, opening a place in Chicago and Atlanta, and Phoenix. But they have also been selling off a lot of used and not needed equipment. Shreveport terminal to Tango, the hundreds of trailers, and tractors that have been sitting around waiting for the used equipment prices to go up.
Safety has improved 10 fold. The number of dedicated routes is up. Regional and local areas are doing better. Remember that a short 200 mile runs pay a lot more than 1000 mile runs.
There are still some rough areas to be sanded smooth, but that can be said about any company. I don't think USA is going any place soon.

 

To add a fleet half of it's current size Celadon would not try to handle the larger size with only it's Celadon staff. I agree there are plenty of good people at USA, but thinning the herd of impersonal and counter productive middle management types is never a bad thing. Good drivers would actually see a higher pay scale if Celadon keeps it's structure as is...

By all means don't worry about the suits and the staffers...trucking is such a large industry that they can land on their feet much quicker than a driver can. A driver trying to find equal or better than his/her current situation is definitely a harder chore than for the cubicle crowd to find greener grass.

And from a corporate standpoint the little 200 mile jaunts are super for the company bottom-line. They waste tons of driver time while they wait unpaid for loading and unloading but yes the company sure does profit from it.

Isn't USA's policy for detention only after 24 hrs? To me that is commonly known as layover pay, not detention. USA detention is on a case by case basis. In other words Good Luck! Any driver who allows themself to rot in a terrible shipper's parking lot for a full day and night has no self respect at all and the company that didn't pay them for sitting there has no respect for that driver either.

After 2 hours Celadon pays detention. That one policy change would liberate drivers greatly and add to their weekly paycheck.

COPIED STRAIGHT FROM CELADON: $15 per hour after 4 hours, paid in increments of 15 mins.

The USA drivers I have spoken with rarely do a reset. I knew then that it means they simply are not staying busy and wasting time here and there all over the place. If you have run decent over the course of a week you should need a reset. That is a good thing--it means you made miles and money. A driver bragging about how they have gone 4 weeks since a reset must enjoy 3 to 5 hours here and there cat naps and truck stop buffet visits all week long.

Drivers need to worry more about themself and about how they allow companies to treat them than to worry about the boardroom boys and cubicle crowd.

Drivers for years have accepted being short mile paid. We have sweept out nasty trailers (saving the company a $35 to $100 trailer washout) without pay. We take crap from shippers and receivers who sometimes don't even extend the decency of toilet use to us. We fool with tandems that won't move unless we beat on them and spray them and waste time. We take 'drop & hook' and 'load is ready' lies from dispatch. We deal with problems in real time when there is little support back at the terminal after hours and even during hours you are urged to QC everything and not disturb their phone.

Forgive me, but with the crap dispatchers as a group have dished out to drivers I am very happy to see the days of automated and select your load dispatching coming soon. First in an area first out is simple for a computer to do...

Drivers just want to drive and do their job and be paid for doing a job well. We make an error and someone dies...they make errors and all that happens is we have to sit and wait unproductively.The guy behind the desk will always be OK...I tend to worry about us guys/gals behind the wheels.

 

I am not a stock market expert either, what I am is someone who has learned from the school of hard knocks. I lost a great job about 20 years ago because of a takeover. The management kept telling us all was well. What I did not know was the amount of corporate debt they was carrying. It limited their ability to access lines of credit at a critical moment. We lost 2 critical customers because of this. I remember for 4 or 5 weeks only working 3 days a week. Then the hammer fell, the doors was locked and then I found out a larger company snatched us up and laid off most of the employees. Then about a year later moved what operations was left to Florida. I never will forget the tears of a lady that worked in payroll that morning, she did not know what she would do. Corporate debt is bad, servicing a lot of debt can and will put a drag on the bottom line. I understand the board and management own close to 25% of the stock in USA Truck. I do not know after this whom owns what. I just know that like I said in a previous post on this topic, if someone with deep pockets and a determined attitude goes after this company they might well get it, or at least control.

 

Your post summed up most of the subject matter of my conversations with USA Truck drivers over the last 4 months. (even while I still worked there) Average miles are way down, and time at shippers/final's is way up. Good for USA Truck but not so good for drivers. This is why USA Truck seems to be losing drivers at a higher rate today then they was just 6 months ago. If USA Truck loses this federal money they get for training, it might well not end well.

 

I had a change of heart about three weeks ago about customer relations. I've decided that after 9 years in the Army (including combat in Iraq), that I'm no longer going to tolerate being talked down to or treated as if I'm stupid by 300lb ugly chicks with union shirts behind windows. I'm sorry but I deserve better than that. I politely greet them and introduce myself then let their response set the tone. I feel much better about my job because of it. All the wasted time sitting at docks and/or waiting for a dock that I'm not being paid for, I simply will not allow insult to be added to injury.

On the other topic, I've talked to 3 Celadon drivers over the last 2 days, all told me they had heard nothing of a USA buyout. However, one told me today that they just bought a small company out of Philly last week so it wouldn't surprise him.

 

I wouldn't consider 6% a buyout. It was just an investment for them at this point. I don't expect to see much more come of it, but who knows..

 

Amen and amen. Well said...very well said. Add to that the projected need for 150,000 drivers next year and that doubling in by 2014 companies are going to have to make this career choice much more palatable. Bottom of the barrel types who don't operate a truck within federal guidlines and safety guidlines are going to become too expensive to keep on payrolls.

Now is the time to make ourselves squeeky wheels for better treatment, as will the next couple of years. Driving will never be without it's challanges and difficulties, but it is shaping up to be a very good living for qualified men and women who become masters of their craft.

 

I might be 100% wrong here but I don't think this is accurate. Celadon after this buy was announced went on to ask for a meeting with management about a future merger. The thing is we don't know at this point what negotiations if any are going on with the big stockholders and Celadon. I just don't see Celadon asking for a merger with only 6% of the stock. I would bet they are in talks to buy more, and maybe a lot more. But as has been stated here several times, time will tell.

 

The below is the text from Celadon's Schedule 13D filing.

Celadon Group acquired the Common Stock reported in this Schedule 13D because its board of directors believed the Issuer's Common Stock represented a potentially attractive investment at recent prices. The average investment price of $7.08 per share, including commissions, represents approximately 55% of the book value per share of the Issuer's Common Stock as reflected in the most recent publicly available financial statements. Based on publicly available information, Celadon Group believes there is an opportunity to realize value for its stockholders from this investment.
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Celadon Group's board of directors and management team believe the truckload industry offers consolidation and other strategic opportunities as successful companies seek, among other things, additional capacity and services for customers, more diverse routes for drivers, and greater value and liquidity for investors. Celadon Group recently requested a meeting with the Issuer's management to discuss a possible association between Celadon Group and the Issuer, potentially including a combination of the two companies. Depending on the outcome of these discussions, any such association, alliance or business combination could result in one or more of the events set forth in Items 4(a) through (j) of Schedule 13D. Celadon Group has not had any discussions of these matters with the Issuer's management or board of directors to date and does not know whether the Issuer would entertain any such discussions. Moreover, Celadon Group has not had the opportunity to evaluate whether or how the Issuer's operations might be complementary to its operations and has not formed any opinion as to whether the Issuer would offer an attractive strategic fit.
Celadon Group intends to routinely monitor and assess, among other things (i) the financial condition, operations, prospects, capital structure, and management of the Issuer, (ii) the value and price of the Common Stock, (iii) relevant business developments, competitive and strategic matters, and prevailing industry and market conditions, (iv) alternative investment opportunities available to Celadon Group, (v) its liquidity requirements, and (vi) other investment considerations. On the basis of such assessments, Celadon Group may, at any time and from time to time, take such actions with respect to its investment in the Issuer as it deems appropriate, including, without limitation, (I) proposing measures which it believes would enhance stockholder value, (II) seeking representation on the board of directors of the Issuer, (III) purchasing additional Common Stock and/or other equity, debt, notes, instruments, or other securities and/or derivative securities relating thereto (collectively, "Securities") of the Issuer, (IV) disposing of any and all of its Securities in the open market or otherwise, (V) engaging in any hedging or similar transactions with respect to the Securities, (VI) selling some or all of any Securities of the Issuer held by Celadon Group, (VII) proposing an extraordinary corporate transaction, such as a merger, reorganization or liquidation, involving the Issuer or any of its subsidiaries, or (VIII) otherwise changing its intention with respect to any of the matters referenced in this Item 4.
Except as set forth in this Item 4, Celadon Group has no present plans or proposals that relate to or would result in any of the actions required to be disclosed in this Item 4.
​

 

well aside from the Celadon scare...I have other news. I was told by the parts guy at W Memphis while helping shuttle trucks back and forth from dealers that there is a discussion on the table to start turning trucks back up within the next 6 months. Apparently, this is one of the ideas that our new VP Operations Harline (not sure on spelling) is pushing. Cliff Beckham is still not convinced but if it's approved then they will begin with select trucks to somewhere between 64-70 mph.

Knowing a good rumor when I hear one, I asked my FM. He told me the discussion was real and that nothing had been approved as of yet but if it happened it was likely to begin in January. He also said that dispatch was told that the FMs would have ultimate approval authority provided the drivers met standards set by fuel economy and safety.

This couldn't come at a better time if it happens. I believe Swift and Crete/Shaeffer have already been turning their trucks up. I'm running even with Swift now at 63 and Crete trucks have been passing me. I think even Prime has bumped up their new reefers as they have been passing me as well.