WERN - Truckload Carriers Hopeful but Not Calling Cycle Turn Yet | Benzinga
"By no means am I here saying I think we're at a turning point or an inflection point, but I do believe, just like it took a long time to get this low and we stayed this low for this long, it's taken us awhile to maybe pick up on some of the signals that are out there in front of us that seem to be more positive" said Derek Leathers, chairman and CEO of Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN), at Wolfe Research's annual transportation and industrials conference in New York.
Leathers pointed to a notable decline in the number of trucks posted on load boards during the past two months and a more normal tightening in capacity during International Roadcheck, an annual 72-hour inspection blitz by law enforcement, held last week. He also said recent customer conversations have been positive and that all the discount retailers Werner serves under dedicated contracts have increased their truck counts this year.
Chart: (SONAR - OTRI.USA). A proxy for truck capacity, the Outbound Tender Reject Index, shows the number of loads being rejected by carriers. Carriers rejected more loads tendered under contract during this year's Roadcheck, but the modest tightening may not last.
Mark Rourke, Schneider National's (NYSE: SNDR) president and CEO, said the company has been able to capture low-single-digit price increases on contractual renewals in its one-way TL business.
"We think that's some place that we can build upon as ...