Earnings Watch: C.H. Robinson Earnings Fall 22.4% from Year Earlier

Multi-modal freight transportation services and third-party logistics provider C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. reported its second quarter net income fell 22.4% from a year ago despite a 12.4% hike in total revenue.

Net income totaled $111.1 million, or 78 cents per share, during the period compared to $143.1 million, or $1 per share, a year earlier. Revenue totaled $3.71 billion compared to $3.3 billion for the second quarter of 2016.

“We were able to continue to achieve market share gains during the second quarter; however, our income and EPS (earnings per share) results were disappointing and finished below our expectations,” said John Wiehoff, chairman and CEO.

According to Wiehoff, the results were significantly affected by truckload margin compression as purchased transportation costs increased significantly during the quarter while much of the company's customer pricing is committed at relatively flat levels.

Part of the result was a drop of 22.2% in income from operations, totaling $181.8 million for the second quarter of the year.

The company's North American surface transportation (NAST) operation, which provides truckload, less-than-truckload and intermodal services across the continent, saw total revenue increase 10.3% to $2.4 billion during the quarter as freight volume increased.

However, income from operations fell 23.2% to $140.3 million as NAST net revenues decreased 9.8% to $359.9 million in the second quarter of 2017, primarily from a decline in truckload net revenues.

The global forwarding segment saw total revenue increase 48.2% to $528.8 million while income from operations improved 23.6% to $27.7 million due to increases in business from its ocean freight, airfreight and customs brokerage services.

Robinson Fresh, which primarily includes the buying, selling, and marketing of fresh fruits, vegetables and other perishable items from around the world, reported revenue was flat at $657 million while income from operations fell by nearly 48% to $14.2 million as it saw operating expenses jump ...Read the rest of this story

Commentary: Finding a Good Fit When Selecting a Service Provider

Denise Rondini

It seems to be an age-old quandary for fleets: keep maintenance and repair in house, or outsource it. According to MacKay & Company surveys, fleets consistently say they want to outsource more of their maintenance and repair — yet year after year they do not do so.

For outsourcing to be successful the fleet has to find a provider that is a good fit for its operation. There is no quick formula you can use to find the perfect company, be it dealer, independent repair garage or truck stop, to outsource service work to.

However, there are some actions you can take that will get you close to finding the service provider(s) that will mesh best with your operation.

A good place to start is with a list of expectations of not only the types of work you need to have completed, but also things like the hours in which you want work performed, how often and in what manner you want to be communicated with during the repair process, and even what types of reports you expect once the repair is completed. For a complete list of questions to ask service providers, see this issue's cover story.

While checking on service providers online is a good way to narrow the field, a visit to the service provider's location is one of the best ways to determine if the company is a good fit for you. Another is talking to other customers of the shop that run equipment similar to yours.

Going to the shop gives you an idea of the culture of the service provider. If its culture is similar to yours, it is more likely they will do what it takes to meet your needs, especially in crunch times.

Joe Laux, CEO of River States Truck and Trailer, says you should ...Read the rest of this story

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Southern California Ports Plan for Zero-Emission Trucks

Screenshot via Clean Air Action Plan

The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have released a draft of a proposed 2017 Clean Air Action Plan Update, outlining a new set of aggressive near-term and long-term strategies to reduce air pollution from the ports.

The draft plan lays out how the ports plan to reach emissions targets that include the goal of transitioning to a zero-emission drayage fleet by 2035.

The draft 2017 CAAP sets new clean air goals focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

The plan carries over previous 2023 targets for cutting other primary pollutants aimed at reducing diesel particulate matter 77%, sulfur oxides 93%, and nitrogen oxides 59% below 2005 levels.

Preliminary analysis on implementing the 2017 CAAP estimate the costs at $7 to $14 billion.

Recent emissions inventories show that the two ports have already surpassed the 2023 diesel particulate matter and sulfur oxide reduction targets and are close to the NOx goal.

“These ports are going where no port has gone before,” said Gene Seroka, Port of Los Angeles executive director. “Based on what we've already accomplished to promote healthy, robust trade through our gateway, we're ready to make history again, looking at a new array of technologies and strategies to further lower port-related emissions in the decades ahead.”

The 2017 draft was drawn up using feedback from two years of dialogue with industry, environmental groups, regulatory agencies, and neighboring communities. The ports conducted small group meetings and large public workshops before detailing its goals, priorities and strategies for public review and comment.

Since then, the ports have held more than 50 stakeholder meetings and another community workshop leading into the release of the draft 2017 CAAP Update. Updates to the plan include local, regional, state and federal ...Read the rest of this story