Orientation 02/29/12

Really? Tell us why you feel so. Is it not possible that the two largest trucking companies in the US are systematically buying out their competition? This happens all the time in this country. Look at what happened with the Walmart VS Kmart VS Target war. Walmart is the largest grocery and chain store in the country now and Kmart is a dying joke. Target had to downsize and up quality and price to place themselves in a different segment to survive. Look at the grocery wars. Think of all the chains that are now extinct or near defunct. Holiday Foods, Gerlands, Safeway, Albertsons. All crushed under the heel of Kroger's boot and then laughed at by up and coming HEB.

One day maybe somebody in the fed will take notice of this but I doubt it. The days of trustbusting by this gov are as gone as the telegraph and steam trains. The only time it ever occurs anymore is when Apple complains (for the umpteenth time) that Microsoft is not playing fair.

 

If that is true I'd bet my next check it's due to retention problems. As long as they refuse to pay on sliding scale for local or short haul loads, it will not be sustainable with quality drivers. I'm considering switching back to regional in October for the extra home time but at $.36 a mile, I can afford a 1500-1800 mile week. As a C1 student I just couldn't do it before. Not at .28 a mile. That seems to be what they fail to understand. A lot of these short haul loads go to grocery warehouses where you already KNOW you will sit at the dock for 4-6 hours. Plus most will not load/unload except by appointment. So if you get a 250 mile load that picks up Monday and doesn't deliver until Tuesday evening or Wesnesday morning, that's almost 3 days down with only 250 miles to show for it.

 

Don't mean to horn in here or anything, but I'll tell you why it's BS......Werner is a publicly traded company. Had they bought and / or taken over another company the size of USA, they would have had to report it.
Not to say that they're not going to buy USA or want to buy USA, jus' sayin' they haven't yet.

carry on......

 

US Express, not USA. As far as they go, I dunno. As for Arnold, I got that from one of their drivers who lives in my town and parks at the same Loves that I do. Why would he lie? So I can only assume he is correct until proven otherwise.

 

You should have snapped a pic of them to post on here for the naysayers.

 

Just writing to point something out I found on the US Express website. Text below.



[h=2]Todd Smith Appointed As President Of Arnold Transportation Services[/h]1/9/2012

CHATTANOOGA, TN. – January 9, 2011-- U.S. Xpress Enterprises, a leading provider of transportation services throughout North America, is pleased to announce that Todd Smith has been appointed as President of Arnold Transportation Services. Arnold Transportation is a regional truckload carrier owned by U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc.
With more than 25 years of experience in the transportation industry, Mr. Smith has served during the last five years as President of LinkAmerica Corporation, a holding company for several regional truckload carriers that operate mainly in the south central and southeastern United States. Under Mr. Smith’s leadership, LinkAmerica grew to over $150 million in revenue.
“Arnold has established a respected history as an effective regional truckload carrier. We believe that Todd’s track record of success in overseeing regional operations is perfectly suited to lead Arnold into the future within a highly competitive marketplace,” said Max Fuller, Chairman & CEO of U.S. Xpress Enterprises.
“Having worked in both truckload and regional operations, I am quite familiar with U.S. Xpress and Arnold Transportation. This organization is well known as a first-class operation, and I am very pleased to have this opportunity,” said Mr. Smith of leading the 750-truck Arnold fleet. “I believe that Arnold is poised to become an even stronger player in the regional markets that we serve. I am looking forward to working with our entire team here.”

 

It's funny that when he was Link America all the trucks went to pot. Now they are improving. He'll probably run Arnold into the ground to. I doubt US Express will have him around long.

 

10-4.....my mistake.....but the general idea is the still same. If you're a publicly traded company, your shareholders have a right to know when you make a major purchase or your business / business model changes substantially. You are required to report these things.......

 

As far as Werner buying out US Express I can't find anything online about it. This does not mean it's not possible or a deal in the works however there is nothing on either company's websites about it. If I were to guess I would say it's just a rumor maybe one of the thousands you hear. US Express is a very large company with a value in the hundreds of millions if not maybe approaching the billion range. With the problems in Europe and the tight domestic money markets I have a very serious doubt Werner could get the financing to purchase US Express. Folks one of the founders of US Express recently passed away, there are people that will take this and start all kinds of rumors about the company falling on hard times etc etc. I would take any rumor you hear about this with a grain of salt till you see it in black and white, or you see a Warner tractor pulling their equipment.