Lackluster trucking conditions and a slow recovery in spot truckload rates may limit carriers’ ability to deliver upside surprises when reporting 3Q earnings, and could put 4Q expectations at risk, according to Chris Wetherbee, Wells Fargo managing director and lead analyst on airfreight, surface and marine transportation. In this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Talking Transports podcast, Wetherbee joins Lee Klaskow, BI senior transportation and logistics analyst, to discuss what investors should be thinking about ahead of 3Q results for the truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL) and railroad companies. J.B. Hunt is the first to report results on Oct. 15. Wetherbee also discusses his Canadian National upgrade, how mix has weighed on parcel carriers’ margins and a potential FedEx LTL spinoff. Wetherbee also provides some insight about the day in the life of a sell-side analyst.

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Operating a privately held debt-free less-than-truckload (LTL) operator provides Estes Express Lines the flexibility to make growth investments and keep its commitments to customers and employees through the freight cycle, Webb Estes, president and chief operating officer, tells Bloomberg Intelligence. This approach has allowed the company to opportunistically acquire facilities and equipment against a challenging freight environment as well as keeping workers’ morale high, he says. In this Talking Transports podcast, Estes joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence senior transportation and logistics analyst, to share his insights about LTL rates and demand, which saw a pick up in growth in September. Estes also discusses sustainability, maintaining high service levels, technology investments and doing most jobs working his way up the organizations.

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Trucking and railroad demand appears hard pressed to come out of its malaise anytime soon. Trucking markets have been slowly improving, while pockets of weakness are mitigating some stronger end-markets. This backdrop may drive low-single digit volume growth for these freight modes next year. In this Talking Transports podcast, Jonathan Starks, FTR’s chief executive officer and chief intelligence officer joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence senior transportation & logistics analyst, to share his insights about the state of the freight railroad and trucking markets and what the demand outlook may have in store for these freight markets. Starks also talks about peak-season expectations, regulatory pressures on trucking equipment, need for better visibility for rail shipments and how burning CDs lead to a fulfilling career.

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The current trucking market appears to have the trappings of a more normal cycle, similar to the one in 2013-2017. This would mean that spot rates should continue to slowly move higher from here and could fuel contract rates to inflect positively for most of next year. In this Talking Transports podcast, Ken Adamo, vice president of strategy and business development and chief of analytics at DAT Freight & Analytics, joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence senior transportation and logistics analyst, to share his insights about the state of the trucking market and what might be around the bend for the industry. Adamo also talks about the use cases for electric and autonomous trucks, challenges created by pending regulations and his love for being at the crossroads of transportation and data.

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Dislocations created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, low water levels in the Panama Canal and the crisis in the Red Sea have increased the demand for LNG tankers and has been a boost for time-charter rates and earnings for ship owners. Earning power will remain strong, even as they normalize lower from 2021’s peaks as rates remain well above breakeven levels for LNG tanker fleets. In this Talking Transports podcast, Oystein Kalleklev, CEO of Flex LNG and Avance Gas joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence senior transportation & logistics analyst, to share his insights into the LNG tanker industry. Kelleklev also talks about the orderbook of these $260 million assets, demand trends, lowering emissions and the LNG tanker market becoming more dynamic following the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

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The next catalyst for truck dealers might be a rush to order vehicles late next year ahead of the US EPA’s 2027 emissions rules, which could increase the costs of trucks by about $30,000 over traditional diesel engines. Buyers are already facing higher costs from inflationary pressure that pushed up prices for new over-the-road trucks by 20-25% over pre-pandemic levels. In this Talking Transports podcast, Brian Fyda, vice president of Fyda Freightliner, joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence senior transportation and logistics analyst, to share his insights into how truck dealers are navigating these challenges. Fyda also talks about inventories, the used-equipment market, the CDA cyberattack, electric truck demand and what it’s like to work in a family business.

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Less-than-truckload carriers are facing a challenging freight backdrop and more difficult comparisons as the industry anniversary of the bankruptcy of a major competitor approaches. In this Talking Transports podcast, Mario Harik, XPO’s chief executive officer joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence senior transportation & logistics analyst, to share how the company is buffering these difficulties with a number of self-help initiatives called its LTL 2.0 strategy. This is yielding a more efficient and profitable network, as well as fueling better service metrics, such as on casualty claims and on-time performance. These productivity improvements and recent capacity additions should position XPO well for when the freight market turns. Harik also talks about electric trucks, operating driving schools and leveraging technology.

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In this Talking Transports podcast, Ben McLean, Ruan Transportation Management Systems’ CEO, joins Lee Klaskow, Bloomberg Intelligence’s senior transportation and logistics analyst, to talk about the state of the dedicated trucking market and what the future has in store. Dedicated trucking services offer shippers capacity free of the risks and expenses of owning and managing a fleet, letting them focus on their core businesses. For carriers this provides less earnings volatility than is associated with the over-the-road truckload market. McLean also discussed the challenges for the industry to lower emissions, given prevailing technologies, and tapping the FMCSA’s Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot to find safe, qualified drivers.

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