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>>> Automakers rise on report of China moving to cut U.S. car tariffs
Reuters
12-11-18
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-autos-idUSKBN1OA1AC
(Reuters) - Automakers’ shares rose on Tuesday following a report that China could move to cut tariffs on American-made cars, a step which was forecast by U.S. President Donald Trump after a meeting with China’s president in Argentina.
A worker inspects imported cars at a port in Qingdao, Shandong province, China May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer
China is moving to cut import tariffs on American-made cars to 15 percent from the current 40 percent, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday citing people familiar with the matter.
The step hasn’t been finalized and could still change, according to the report.
Shares of U.S. automakers including General Motors Co (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co (F.N) rose about 2 percent in premarket trading on hopes that the move could revitalize sales that took a hit when China ramped up levies on U.S.-made cars.
European auto stocks .SXAP also rallied 2.8 pct on the news, as several of the carmakers build SUVs in the United States and sell in China.
BMW (BMWG.DE), Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and Daimler AG (BMWG.DE) rose between 2.3 percent and 4 percent.
A proposal to reduce tariffs on cars made in the U.S. to 15 percent has been submitted to China’s Cabinet to be reviewed in the coming days, according to the report.
Stock selloff snowballs on fresh fears for world growth
Beijing had raised tariffs on U.S. auto imports to 40 percent in July, forcing many carmakers to hike prices.
The news would also be beneficial for Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) that has been hit hard by increased tariffs on the electric cars it exports to China.
The U.S. firm, led by billionaire Elon Musk, has said it will cut prices to make its cars “more affordable” and absorb more of the hit from the tariffs. Tesla is also building a local plant in Shanghai to help it avoid steep tariffs.
“China has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars coming into China from the U.S. Currently the tariff is 40%,” Trump had tweeted last week.
>>>
>>> Lyft Pitches Its Focus, Amid Uber IPO Frenzy
Bloomberg
By Eric Newcomer
December 7, 2018
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-07/lyft-pitches-its-focus-amid-the-frenzy?srnd=premium
The ride-hailing IPO race is on. Lyft Inc. publicly filed confidentially on Thursday. That is to say, Lyft blasted out a press release telling the world that it sent the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission its financial documents without sharing the information publicly. Announcing that secret step to the world is not unheard of but not typical, either. Uber Technologies Inc. also submitted paperwork confidentially this week, without an accompanying publicity effort.
It’s fitting that Lyft is trying to create as much fanfare as it can, because part of the company’s goal with this initial public offering is to draw attention away from Uber. Anytime someone mentions Uber’s IPO, Lyft wants to be in the next breath (or ideally the breath before). It seems that market conditions be damned, Lyft is ready for its year in the spotlight.
The IPO stories for both companies are starting to emerge. For Lyft, it’s one about focus. The service has gained substantial ground on Uber since early 2017. Unlike Uber, Lyft’s ride-hailing business exclusively operates in North America. Lyft hasn’t fiddled with food delivery or flying cars or trucking.
Uber’s story will sound a bit like, look at this shiny object; now look at this one! While growth of its main business is slowing, Uber is eager to talk about logistics, worldwide food delivery and its chirring machine of ambitious transportation projects. This week, Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi unveiled a minibus in Egypt.
It’s focus versus frenzy.
Of course, that’s a bit simplistic. Both companies are making aggressive moves into bicycles and scooters. Last week, Lyft closed its acquisition of Motivate, the company that runs Citi Bike in New York. Lyft is running its own electric scooter program as well. Meanwhile, Uber, which owns Jump Bikes, has had acquisition talks with both Lime and Bird. Rumors abound. TechCrunch declared “Uber is going with Bird (looks like)”—but Bird has strenuously denied that an acquisition is imminent. The companies and their investors are fretting over scooters right now as winter weather is poised to slow growth.
The biggest distraction in the IPO conversation next year will likely be self-driving cars. While Uber was first out of the gate among the two companies to develop an autonomous vehicle program, Lyft has started to invest aggressively itself. The second-place U.S. ride-hailing company has tried to strike a balance between partnership and in-house development, but expenses associated with its research center will put a dent in its earnings (or lack thereof).
However, the bigger concern with investors’ autonomous obsession is less about spending—it’s about valuation. Investors risk overlooking expenditures on self-driving car R&D, hoping that Uber and Lyft can simply sell off those programs as a worst-case scenario. Shareholders should question how much of a bump those efforts give to Uber’s and Lyft’s market caps on the promise that someday self-driving cars will be good for their bottom lines.
It’d be like betting Facebook Inc. would have made the pivot to mobile, if building a smartphone application involved sending unmanned robots into busy traffic and praying for the best. Alphabet’s Waymo has scaled down its self-driving tests. Uber is, according to the New York Times, literally slowing down its cars. Signs suggest that self-driving cars are far away. Will investors pump the brakes and focus on cash flowing from the current businesses? Or will their gaze be affixed to the future? We’ll find out sometime next year.
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Transportation ETF (IYT) Top 10 holdings -
Top 10 Holdings (68.98% of Total Assets)
Name Symbol % Assets
FedEx Corp FDX 12.82%
Norfolk Southern Corp NSC 9.53%
Union Pacific Corp UNP 8.57%
United Parcel Service Inc Class B UPS 6.46%
JB Hunt Transport Services Inc JBHT 5.95%
Landstar System Inc LSTR 5.88%
United Continental Holdings Inc UAL 5.17%
C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc CHRW 5.01%
Kansas City Southern KSU 4.91%
Expeditors International of Washington Inc EXPD 4.68%
>>> CSX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides rail-based transportation services in the United States and Canada. The company offers rail services, as well as transports intermodal containers and trailers. It transports agricultural and food products, fertilizers, chemicals, automotive, metals and equipment, minerals, and forest products; and coal, coke, and iron ore to electricity-generating power plants, steel manufacturers, and industrial plants. The company also exports coal to deep-water port facilities. In addition, it offers intermodal transportation services through a network of approximately 40 terminals transporting manufactured consumer goods in containers in the eastern United States; drayage services, including the pickup and delivery of intermodal shipments; and trucking dispatch services. Further, the company serves the automotive industry with distribution centers and storage locations, as well as connects non-rail served customers through transferring products from rail to trucks, which includes plastics and ethanol. Additionally, it acquires, develops, sells, leases, and manages real estate properties. The company operates approximately 21,000 route mile rail network, which serves various population centers in 23 states east of the Mississippi River, the District of Columbia, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, as well as owns and leases approximately 4,000 locomotives. It also serves production and distribution facilities through track connections. CSX Corporation was founded in 1978 and is based in Jacksonville, Florida. <<<
>>> Lyft is an on-demand transportation company based in San Francisco, California. It develops, markets, and operates the Lyft car transportation mobile app. Launched in June 2012, Lyft operates in approximately 300 U.S. cities, including New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles and provides over 1 million rides per day. <<<
IPO expected in 2019 -
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=145326729
>>> Uber Technologies Inc. (doing business as Uber) is a peer-to-peer ridesharing, taxi cab, food delivery, bicycle-sharing, and transportation network company (TNC) headquartered in San Francisco, California, with operations in 785 metropolitan areas worldwide <<<
IPO expected in 2019 -
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=145326729
>>> Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc., (ALSN) together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells commercial and defense fully-automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, and medium- and heavy-tactical U.S. defense vehicles worldwide. It offers 13 transmission product lines with approximately 100 product models for various applications, including distribution, refuse, construction, fire, and emergency on-highway trucks; school, transit, and hybrid-transit buses; motor homes; energy, mining, and construction off-highway vehicles and equipment; and wheeled and tracked defense vehicles. The company markets its transmissions under Allison Transmission brand name; and remanufactured transmissions under ReTran brand name. It also sells branded replacement parts, support equipment, and other products necessary to service the installed base of vehicles utilizing its transmissions, as well as defense kits, engineering services, and extended transmission coverage services to various original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and the U.S. government. The company serves customers through an independent network of approximately 1,400 independent distributor and dealer locations. The company was formerly known as Clutch Holdings, Inc. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. <<<
NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Star Jets International (“Star Jets Intl” or the “Company”) (OTC: JETR), a leader in the Private Jet Charter industry, announces its industry leading real-time booking engine app, and its first TV ad campaign on the CNBC business television network.
CEO Star Jets International, Inc.’s First Television Ad Campaign on CNBC- September 25, 2018
Star Jets Intl. (OTC: JETR ) sells both on-demand Private Charter and aircraft specific SkyCards. The television ad campaign will bring the message to CNBC viewers starting Tuesday, September 25, 2018. The campaign will run for 90 days with the s
Envision Facing Potential HK Court Injunction Sued By GSR Capital
Nissan Motor Co said on August 3, 2018 it agreed to sell its electric car battery unit to Chinese renewable energy firm Envision Group for an undisclosed sum.
From legal search on file, record from Hong Kong High Court this week shows a legal lawsuit by GSR Electric Vehicle Partners, L.P. against Envision Energy International Ltd.
The court filing requests for injunction against Envision for breaching the Limited Partnership Agreement, and alleging Envision for stealing commercial secrets for the transaction with Nissan.
A source close to the plaintiff told that, Envision Energy was one of the syndicated investor and limited partner of GSR's 'AESC acquisition fund', bypassed GSR Capital and contact AESC directly to make the deal.
GSR Capital has submitted summon to The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Envision Energy International Limited facing the potential legal injunction and legal penalties over the AESC deal for breaching of Limited Partnership Agreement basic rules.
Envision Facing Potential HK Court Injunction For Stealing Commercial Secrets
Nissan Motor Co agreed to sell its electric car battery unit to Envision Group.
The Hong Kong High Court filing requests for injunction against Envision for breaching the Limited Partnership Agreement, and alleging Envision for stealing commercial secrets for the transaction with Nissan.
Envision Energy was one of the syndicated investor and limited partner of GSR's ‘AESC acquisition fund’.
Nissan Motor Co said on August 3, 2018 it agreed to sell its electric car battery unit to Chinese renewable energy firm Envision Group for an undisclosed sum.
From legal search on file, record from Hong Kong High Court this week shows a legal lawsuit by GSR Electric Vehicle Partners, L.P. against Envision Energy International Ltd.
The court filing requests for injunction against Envision for breaching the Limited Partnership Agreement, and alleging Envision for stealing commercial secrets for the transaction with Nissan.
A source close to the plaintiff told that, Envision Energy was one of the syndicated investor and limited partner of GSR's 'AESC acquisition fund', bypassed GSR Capital and contact AESC directly to make the deal.
GSR Capital has submitted summon to The High Court of Hong Kong SAR, Envision Energy International Limited facing the potential legal injunction and legal penalties over the AESC deal for breaching of Limited Partnership Agreement basic rules.
Nissan Might Hit Another Stumbling Block Over Sales Of Battery Unit
July 2018, Nissan Motor Co. (“Nissan”) called off a potential $1 billion sales of its battery unit, Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (“AESC”).
On 3 August 2018, Nissan entered into a definitive agreement to sell 75% stake of the above-mentioned business unit to the owner of Envision Energy International (“Envision”), Lei Zhang (“Zhang”).
However, there are questions concerning the funding of the deal, which partially came out of the proceed of a $300 million bonds issued by Envision Energy International.
First and foremost, let us get the fact right. Nissan is selling AESC to Zhang, not Envision.
Most of the coverage on this particular transaction oversimplifies the details. Envision is owned by Zhang. Zhang enters into an agreement with Nissan to acquire AESC. However, it does not imply AESC will definitely be part of Envision. In fact, it might never be.
On the contrary, there is a question of whether it is appropriate for Envision to provide Zhang the $180 million loan, which is partially funded by the proceed from a $300 million bond issue due 2021.
In a conference call, the management justified the loan on the ground that some of the proceeds were allocated to debt refinancing and hence the loan to Zhang did not breach any of the bond covenants.
Let us revisit the fact: Envision is not a contracting party of the acquisition of AESC. It was also confirmed in the above-mentioned conference call.
Fitch has already requested Envision to update its financials and hinted there might be a change in its rating. Currently, Envision is rated BBB-.
Envision’s loan to Zhang shall be repaid if the acquired business goes public through an initial public offering. However, the loan can also be extended after the three years period, if it does not go according to the plan.
In addition, the proposed transaction between Zhang and Nissan has yet to be approved by The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”).
Wabtec, GE - >>> GE to Merge Rail Division With Wabtec in $11 Billion Deal
Deal is the first major portfolio move in new GE CEO John Flannery’s attempt to revamp the struggling conglomerate
By Thomas Gryta
May 21, 2018
Wall Street Journal
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ge-to-merge-rail-division-with-wabtec-in-11-billion-deal-1526904626
General Electric agreed to merge its railroad business with Wabtec in a deal valued at about $11 billion, letting GE raise some cash to fund its turnaround and shed one of its oldest operations.
The transaction is the first major portfolio move in new GE Chief Executive John Flannery’s attempt to revamp the struggling conglomerate. Wabtec, formerly known as Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corp., makes equipment for transit systems and freight railroads and has a market value of about $9 billion, based on Friday’s closing price.
GE will receive $2.9 billion in cash at closing. GE shareholders will own 40.2% of the combined company, with GE owning about 9.9% after the deal, the companies said Monday.
Wabtec shareholders will retain 49.9% of the combined company. Wabtec’s current chairman and CEO will retain their positions after the deal, which is expected to close in early 2019.
GE has been looking at options for the transportation division since at least last fall. The segment mainly produces freight locomotives, which sell for millions of dollars apiece, along with mining equipment and marine motors.
Although GE is one of the world’s biggest makers of freight locomotives, the business is cyclical and has been suffering lately from slack demand. In 2017, the unit’s revenue slipped 11% and profit fell 23%. The division accounted for $4.2 billion of GE’s total 2017 revenue of $122.1 billion.
The transportation unit is one of the smaller of GE’s seven major business lines. The division had about 8,000 employees at the start of the year, down 2,000 from a year earlier, and compares with 313,000 at GE in total.
GE’s diesel locomotives are primarily assembled in Fort Worth, Texas, and western Pennsylvania.
In the first quarter, margins and orders rose at GE’s transportation business but executives said the market for new locomotives remained slow.
GE and Wabtec said they expect the combination to eventually generate about $250 million in annual savings as well as tax benefits currently worth about $1.1 billion. GE will nominate three directors to the combined company’s board.
Wabtec, which said it will keep its headquarters in Wilmerding, Pa., had revenue of $3.9 billion last year, or about the same as GE’s transportation division. Wabtec employs about 18,000 people, or twice as many as GE’s transportation division.
Rather than a straight sale, the deal was structured in a way that would leave GE shareholders with a stake in a public company and avoid a big tax bill. It gives GE shareholders a chance to participate in the turnaround of the struggling business or cash out if they wish.
Mr. Flannery took over as CEO of GE last summer, intent on making major changes that resulted in a dividend cut, slashed financial projections and the overhauling of the board. GE is expected to reveal more about its portfolio plans soon, as Mr. Flannery is considering all options, including potentially breaking apart its three major units—aviation, health care and power.
In October, Mr. Flannery promised to sell $20 billion worth of assets. Before the Wabtec deal, GE had announced a handful of deals totaling less than $4 billion. The company’s century-old GE Lighting division has been on the auction block for more than a year.
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$SKAS 10K out turnaround complete
From 10Q 3rd quarter
“The third quarter of 2017 showed improvement in year-over-year comparisons, as anticipated.” stated Ron Ricciardi, the Company’s President. “Similar to Q2, the third quarter again narrowed the gap in comparison to last year’s results. With the final of three phased reductions taking place on January 1st, the full 50 percent reduction of air tour activity is fully realized in 2017. The first phase was implemented on June 1, 2016 and the second on October 1, 2016. The net effect of these reductions will continue to challenge year-over-year quarterly comparisons throughout 2017. The first quarter 2018, notwithstanding other additions to the business, will be a true apples-to-apples comparison.”
Website https://sakeraviation.com/
A/S 100,000,000
O/S 31,978,149 as of January 30, 2018
Insider held shares 13,405,971
Float 18,572,178
Market Cap $3,517,596 ??
Assets $6,548,662
Working capital $3,368,610
Cash $1,724,504
And they have a revolving line of credit $2,500,000 just renegotiated on better terms with a new bank as per March 21, 2018 8k. The company is actively seeking its next acquisition.
https://backend.otcmarkets.com/otcapi/company/sec-filings/12639452/content/html
Company in the middle of a share buyback totaling 2.5 million shares which was initiated rather than doing a R/S which had been previously voted on and approved. As of the 10K filing January 30, 2018 of 1,673,190 shares have been bought back.
https://backend.otcmarkets.com/otcapi/company/sec-filings/12505193/content/html
In 2017 company acquired a FBO hub at Garden City Regional Airport.
Garden City, Kansas airport hub its facilities and services.
https://www.airnav.com/airport/KGCK/SAKER
Their operations at the Downtown Manhattan/Wall Street Heliport
https://www.airnav.com/airport/KJRB/SAKER
They also rent out the helipad for movie and tv filming.
Shares are currently priced about half book value and should be trading .20+ IMO due to the book value, company’s active share buyback and new credit facility for another acquisition this year.
A solid investment for someone seeking a company that is actively growing and going through the right motions to increase the company’s share value.
Stock currently has a heavy short position in it. Only sells for two weeks have been shorts they have to cover at some point.
https://otcshortreport.com/company/SKAS
>>> J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. is a surface transportation, delivery, and logistics company in North America. The Company segments include Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) and Truck (JBT). The Company, through its subsidiaries, provides transportation and delivery services to a range of customers and consumers throughout the continental United States, Canada and Mexico. The JBI segment draws on the intermodal services of rail carriers for the underlying linehaul movement of its equipment between rail ramps. Its DCS segment focuses on private fleet conversion and creation in replenishment, specialized equipment and final-mile delivery services. Its ICS segment provides traditional freight brokerage and transportation logistics solutions to customers through relationships with third-party carriers and integration. Its JBT segment offers full-load, dry-van freight, utilizing tractors operating over roads and highways. <<<
>>> Tesla, Inc., formerly Tesla Motors, Inc., designs, develops, manufactures and sells fully electric vehicles, and energy storage systems, as well as installs, operates and maintains solar and energy storage products. The Company operates through two segments: Automotive, and Energy generation and storage. The Automotive segment includes the design, development, manufacturing, and sales of electric vehicles. The Energy generation and storage segment includes the design, manufacture, installation, and sale or lease of stationary energy storage products and solar energy systems to residential and commercial customers, or sale of electricity generated by its solar energy systems to customers. The Company produces and distributes two fully electric vehicles, the Model S sedan and the Model X sport utility vehicle (SUV). It also offers Model 3, a sedan designed for the mass market. It develops energy storage products for use in homes, commercial facilities and utility sites. <<<
>>> Toyota to Take 5 Percent Stake in Mazda and Build Joint U.S. Plant
By JONATHAN SOBLE and PATRICIA COHEN
AUG. 4, 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/04/business/toyota-mazda-electric-vehicles-investment.html
A Toyota engine assembly line in Huntsville, Ala., in 2009. Toyota and Mazda said they hoped a joint United States factory announced on Friday would begin producing vehicles by 2021.
TOKYO — Toyota said on Friday that it was taking a 5 percent stake in Mazda, another Japanese automaker, and that the companies would jointly build an assembly plant in the United States and would pool resources on new technologies.
The factory’s location has not been decided, but Toyota and Mazda said they hoped the first vehicles would roll off its production lines in 2021. The plant is expected to cost $1.6 billion and to employ about 4,000 workers, they said.
Akio Toyoda, chief executive of Toyota, said in January that the carmaker would invest $10 billion in the United States over the next five years. Although plans for that spending predated the election of President Trump, the timing of the announcement was widely seen as a response to Mr. Trump’s vows to promote American manufacturing, pushing back against countries like Japan that have large trade surpluses with the United States.
Mixing appeals, rebukes and state-sponsored enticements, Mr. Trump has pushed both American and foreign-owned companies to locate factories in the United States rather than in lower-wage countries. Even before Mr. Trump was sworn in, the heating and cooling giant Carrier agreed to cut the number of jobs it planned to move to Mexico from an Indiana plant after the state added $7 million in incentives.
Last week, the Taiwanese electronics supplier Foxconn joined Mr. Trump at the White House to announce its plans to locate a new plant with 3,000 positions in Wisconsin, which lured the company with a staggering $3 billion in state tax credits.
The announcement by Toyota and Mazda earned a congratulatory tweet from the president early Friday. “Toyota & Mazda to build a new $1.6B plant here in the U.S.A. and create 4K new American jobs. A great investment in American manufacturing!” he wrote. Seven months earlier he had warned Toyota in a tweet that moving operations to Mexico could result in a “big border tax.”
The alliance between Toyota and Mazda represents a small but significant step in the consolidation of the Japanese car industry, where a half-dozen producers compete for customers and capital. Toyota and Mazda said they planned to pursue joint development of electric vehicles and safety technology.
In an era of soaring development costs and unsettling technological shifts — especially the emergence of battery-powered and self-driving cars — many smaller producers fear they lack the resources required to keep up. Even Toyota, one of the world’s largest producers of vehicles, with an output of 10 million units a year, has been accused by some critics of falling behind in research and development.
“In the future, mobility won’t belong only to carmakers,” Mr. Toyoda said at a news conference announcing the Mazda stake, noting that Silicon Valley was increasingly turning its gaze to the auto industry, looking to disrupt areas including design, manufacturing and retail distribution.
“Totally new players like Google and Amazon are right before our eyes,” Mr. Toyoda said. “We need to cooperate and compete with them.”
Japan’s smaller carmakers have sought partnerships with larger producers before. Ford Motor long had a minority stake in Mazda, as did General Motors in Suzuki, before the American partners withdrew.
Mitsubishi joined the Renault-Nissan alliance last year, after the French-Japanese group extended Mitsubishi a $2.2 billion lifeline to help it recover from a scandal over falsified fuel-economy ratings.
Toyota has been extending its reach, as well.
Last year, it took over its longtime minicar affiliate, Daihatsu. It has also been strengthening its links with Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru cars, in which Toyota owns a 16.5 percent stake. And it has been discussing a new partnership with Suzuki.
Toyota and Mazda have been cooperating since 2010, when Toyota agreed to license its gasoline-electric hybrid-drive system to Mazda. The companies said in 2015 that they were exploring ways to expand their partnership.
With the Prius and other hybrids, Toyota has dominated the market for lower-emissions vehicles for years. But as fully battery-powered cars gain favor with regulators and consumers, the company faces new challenges — both from traditional competitors and new players like Tesla.
Mazda is known for making powerful and fuel-efficient internal combustion engines, but it lacks its own electric alternatives. Its sporty image and widely praised designs could appeal to Toyota: Mr. Toyoda has repeatedly spoken of his desire to give his company’s products more flair.
Mazda said it planned to issue new shares to Toyota worth 50 billion yen, or about $450 million, which would give Toyota a 5.05 percent ownership stake in Mazda. In return, Toyota plans to transfer some of its shares to Mazda. The stock would be worth an equivalent amount in cash, but because Toyota is much larger than Mazda, Mazda’s stake in Toyota would work out to 0.25 percent.
According to a Toyota fact sheet, the company has directly invested $23.4 billion in the United States, has 10 plants, and employs 136,000 people.
Some of the states where Toyota is currently located would love to be the home of this newest expansion.
“As Toyota embarks on its joint venture with Mazda, we stand ready to grow our existing partnership and strengthen Mississippi’s standing as a global leader in automotive manufacturing,” said Phil Bryant, the governor of Mississippi, where the company employs more than 2,000 workers.
Michigan, where Mazda produced cars before exiting in 2012, also boasted of what it could offer. “Any manufacturer looking to locate a plant in the United States will likely be taking a good look at Michigan,” Gov. Rick Snyder said. “We are a national leader for mobility and automotive R&D, as well as providing an exceptionally skilled manufacturing workforce and an outstanding business environment.”
And a spokesman for Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said: “Toyota Motor Corporation has made significant investments in Texas — just recently opening their new North American headquarters — and we are very proud of the work they are doing in the Lone Star State. We will continue to work with Toyota to ensure Texas provides the business environment they need to succeed in the marketplace.”
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>>> This Will Whack US Auto Component Manufacturers
by Wolf Richter
Jun 20, 2017
http://wolfstreet.com/2017/06/20/ford-shifts-car-production-from-usa-mexico-to-china-ceo-hackett-cuts-costs/
New CEO Cuts Costs: Ford shifts production of compact car from Michigan and Mexico to China.
The new guy at Ford, Jim Hackett, who became CEO a month ago after Mark Fields was forced out, said he had a mandate from Executive Chairman Bill Ford to crank up the company’s decision-making speed.
“Every CEO that starts has a 100-day clock ticking,” he said. “So I am working on a 100-day plan that is really coming along nicely.”
And sure enough, today Ford announced parts of that 100-day plan. “Manufacturing actions centered on improving the company’s operational fitness,” it called them. The biggie was that it would switch production of the “exciting new Focus” from plants in Mexico and Michigan to China, and that it will import those Chinese-made Focuses to the US.
Ford wouldn’t be the first major automaker to import China-made cars into the US. But in terms of sales, the Focus would be the biggest.
Volvo, owned by Geely in China, has been importing the China-made S90 sedan, but the numbers are small. And GM started importing the China-made Buick Envision SUV last year. So far, it has sold over 30,000 of them. By contrast, Ford sold 170,000 Focuses in the US in 2016. So this would be real numbers.
Production in China will start in the second half of 2019. Ford said that this plan “makes business sense – with no US employees out of a job.”
The Focus plant in Michigan will stop producing the Focus in mid-2018. The plant will be converted to building the Ranger midsize pickup and the Bronco midsize SUV. Ford’s statement points at what counts:
Ford is saving $1 billion in investment costs versus its original Focus production plan, improving the financial health of its Focus business, and further improving manufacturing scale in China – all helping create a more operationally fit company.
This $1 billion in savings includes some double-counting: the $500 million in savings Ford already announced on January 3 when it – after catching some tough Twitter-love from then President-Elect Trump – canceled plans to build a plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
Ford executive vice president and president of Global Operations, Joe Hinrichs, rationalized the decision in inimitable corporate speak:
“At the same time, we also have looked at how we can be more successful in the small car segment and deliver even more choices for customers in a way that makes business sense.”
“Finding a more cost-effective way to deliver the next Focus program in North America is a better plan, allowing us to redeploy the money we save into areas of growth for the company – especially sport utilities, commercial vehicles, performance vehicles as well as mobility, autonomous vehicles and electrified vehicles.”
Compact-car sales in the US are in a world of hurt. Car sales in the US so far this year have plunged 11%. Truck sales are up 4.7%. And total vehicle sales are down 2%.
Profit margins on cars – pushed down by sagging demand and an ancient unwillingness by Americans to pay more for smaller vehicles – are thin. And making lower-end compact and subcompact cars in the US can be a losing proposition.
By contrast, trucks and SUVs have fat profit margins, as Americans don’t mind overpaying for them. And the volumes are larger. So when GM and Ford offer $10,000 or more in incentives on US-made trucks or SUVs, they’re still making money. When they offer $1,000 in incentives on US-made compact cars, those few they still make here, they’re in the hole.
Since mid-2016, GM, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler have been announcing layoffs, shift reductions, and plant-shutdowns for plants that build cars. The most recent layoff announcement hit GM’s Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City, Kansas. On Friday GM notified workers that starting in September it would eliminate an entire shift and lay off 1,000 workers. In the statement, GM blamed “lower demand for passenger cars across the industry.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly lambasted automakers for assembling cars in Mexico. One of its big agenda items is renegotiating NAFTA to lower the incentives to manufacture in Mexico. But the administration has caved to China on trade – to recruit China’s help with North Korea? And Ford’s pivot to China is unlikely to be the only one.
But shifting production from the US and Mexico to China, as Ford is doing with the Focus, comes with a bad twist for the US-based component manufacturers.
For the Focus currently manufactured in Michigan, 46% of the components are sourced from US or Canadian suppliers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, cited by the Wall Street Journal.
Ford’s and GM’s assembly plants in Mexico source many of the components in the US. There is heavy bilateral trade between the countries, precisely because of the sourcing of components.
But for vehicles built in China, components are mostly sourced in China, and to a smaller extent in other Asian countries. The component industry in China is huge as China has become by far the largest auto market in the world.
This shows in the Buick Envision that is sold in the US: 88% of its components are from suppliers in China, according to the NHTSA. US and Canadian companies get to supply only 1% of the components.
Ford and GM sell far more trucks than cars. But automakers whose lineup is concentrated on cars, face particularly tough issues – as seen by factory-fresh Hyundais stored on vast new gravel lots near the Mexican border. Read… Haunting Photos of #Carmageddon: Hyundai Gets Crushed, as GM, Ford, Others Struggle
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*__* FNHI *__* .03 stock on your watch list now, could dip to the low .02s!
CEO has bought up half the O/S. under 300mm.
That's unheard of.
Company makes revenue. It's not a share selling scam.
Low tightly held float.
Big old Stop Sign is a gift from the penny Gods.
Audited Financials are the hold up.
The time to get in is now during the wait.
CEO has done all he can and is now a waiting game.
And when the Audited 10k gets dropped;
Stop sign is removed.
FNHI moves to the OTCQB.
FNHI drops documents to be dual listed on the Canadian Exchange.
Unlocks funding already set up with Cowboy Capital.
No Toxic notes.
No Convertable notes.
Audited numbers here on out.
$50mm projected revenue numbers in a few years.
Purchase Orders are shown every Month.
It sells.
We think OEM contracts with Tesla and Workhorse Truck.
http://www.truxmart.ca
Audited Financials and a clean 10k is the catalyst.
They can happen any day.....or week. That's the trick. Frustrations are feeding major good buys.
No volume is pure gold on these no news days. This is when you load, not when it's been taking off for 3 days+. I buy all the vapor shares CDEL offers not to spook him higher on the Ask. He'll get squeezed in the end.
https://mobile.twitter.com/thehonest_ceo
https://mobile.twitter.com/truxmartcovers
Good DD to start,
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=128936459
Autozone - >>> These 3 High-Priced Stocks Are Actually Cheap
http://www.fool.com/investing/2017/01/09/these-3-high-priced-stocks-are-actually-cheap.aspx?source=yahoo-2-news&utm_campaign=article&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=yahoo-2-news
Driving big share-price gains
The auto industry has been on fire in recent years, with record sales for U.S. automakers in 2015 and with 2016 having held up quite well rather than giving way to typical cyclical pressure. AutoZone has also found itself a big beneficiary of favorable industry conditions, and the stock has climbed to almost $800 per share. That's an impressive run for a stock that traded in single digits back in the early 1990s.
AutoZone's secular success has come from the fact that people are keeping their cars longer, and although increased reliability is one factor in that decision, the willingness to do ongoing repairs and maintenance also plays a key role. AutoZone has tapped into that market well, with a combination of new store expansion and strong same-store sales growth that has driven profits higher. Moreover, AutoZone is committed to buying back stock, which also boosts earnings per share. As a result, AutoZone already has a trailing earnings multiple of just 19, and expected double-digit growth in the years to come will reduce that figure even further.
Don't let high share prices scare you into thinking that a stock is fundamentally expensive. As the history of these three high-flyers shows, sometimes you'll find the best bargains among companies that have already seen big gains in the price of their stock.
<<<
>>> Air T, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides overnight air cargo, ground equipment sales, and ground support services in the United States and internationally. The company?s Overnight Air Cargo segment offers small package overnight airfreight delivery services on a contract basis to the air express delivery services industry. As of March 31, 2015, this segment had approximately 79 aircraft under agreement with FedEx in the United States and the Caribbean. Its Ground Equipment Sales segment manufactures, sells, and services aircraft deicers and other ground support equipment, including aircraft deicers, scissor-type lifts, military and civilian decontamination units, flight-line tow tractors, glycol recovery vehicles, and other special purpose mobile equipment. It offers its products to passenger and cargo airlines, ground handling companies, the United States Air Force, airports, and industrial customers. The company?s Ground Support Services segment provides aircraft ground support equipment, fleet, and facility maintenance services to airlines and aviation service providers. Air T, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is based in Maiden, North Carolina. <<<
>>> Elio Motors Goes Public under Reg A+; Shares available to General Market
December 3, 2015
Elio Motors Goes Public under Reg A+; Shares available to General Market
Company’s exclusive offering nets funds to move the engineering forward on producing the final E series
PHOENIX, Dec. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Elio Motors today announced that thanks to its supporters and the funds raised during its current stock offering, it will move forward with the development of 25 engineering and test vehicles. The test vehicles will be used to conduct a variety of final engineering and validation tests that will allow the company to make final adjustments prior to production.
“We are incredibly thankful for all the people who expressed interest in Elio Motors and felt it was important that we reward them with an exclusive timeframe to guarantee they had the opportunity to make an investment,” said Elio Motors founder and CEO Paul Elio. “Their support and belief in our mission means the world to us and they’ve come through. The funds raised to date will allow us to begin building our engineering and testing vehicles, a critical step in our march toward production.”
The company, which is seeking to build a low-cost, highly fuel-efficient vehicle, launched a formal stock offering on Nov. 20 after receiving qualification from the Securities and Exchange Commission of its offering statement under Regulation A+.
From Nov. 20 to Dec. 2, Elio Motors created an exclusive window of opportunity for those who had expressed interest in the company during the “testing the waters” phase of the investment process to purchase shares in the company. Potential investors were able to make non-binding expressions of interest in the company from June 19 to Nov. 20. More than 11,000 people expressed interest during this period.
Elio Motors is launching an innovative, enclosed, three-wheel vehicle (the Elio) that is anticipated to get up to 84 MPG with a targeted $6,800 base price and is aiming for a late 2016 production launch. The company recently introduced its next generation prototype, the P5 at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Elio Motors is already generating significant consumer interest, as more than 47,000 people have reserved a spot in line to purchase a vehicle when they go to production.
Elio Motors is seeking $25 million through this stock offering and still has shares available. Now that the exclusive window of opportunity for those who initially expressed interest has passed, anyone can now purchase shares. For information on the company and to proceed with an investment, go to StartEngine.com.
“We are building a product that can literally change the world,” Elio said. “The benefits our vehicle will have include job creation, low-cost transportation and helping wean our country off of oil dependence. We are on a mission to get to production. The funds raised to date through this offering are a significant step toward getting to production.”
Elio Motors will produce the vehicle in Shreveport, Louisiana, at a former General Motors production facility. The company estimates upwards of 1,500 will be directly employed at Elio Motors’ Shreveport production facility. In addition, the goal of the Elio is to use up to 90 percent North American content and create an additional 1,500 jobs from the supply base, Elio Motors corporate, as well as sales and service once full production is underway. Plus, approximately 18,000 indirect jobs nationwide are projected to be created or sustained.
About Elio Motors
Founded by car enthusiast Paul Elio in 2009, Elio Motors Inc. represents a revolutionary approach to manufacturing an ultra-high-mileage vehicle. The three-wheeled Elio is engineered to attain a highway mileage rating of up to 84 mpg while providing the comfort of amenities such as power windows, power door lock and air conditioning accompanied by the safety of multiple air bags and an aerodynamic, enclosed vehicle body. Elio’s first manufacturing site will be in Shreveport, Louisiana.
The securities offered hereby are highly speculative. Investing in shares of Elio Motors, Inc. involves significant risks. This investment is suitable only for persons who can afford to lose their entire investment. Furthermore, investors must understand that such investment could be illiquid for an indefinite period of time. No public market currently exists for the securities, and if a public market develops following this offering, it may not continue. To obtain a copy of the Offering Circular, go tohttp://www.eliomotors.com/equity or click here to download directly.
<<<
>>> Pioneer Railcorp, through its subsidiaries, engages in acquiring, developing, and operating various short line railroads and industrial switching locations in the United States. It operates a portfolio of real estate and rail facilities, locomotives, railcars, buildings, and other heavy equipment for the transportation of agricultural products, such as cottonseed, corn, fertilizer, meal, peanuts, soybeans, and wheat; and other products, including alcohol, baby food, charcoal, chemicals, flooring materials, frozen foods, heavy equipment, lumber, paper products, plastics, scrap metal, steel, and wood products. The company also provides railroad switching, short-term and long-term railcar storage, railcars and locomotives leasing, and railcar cleaning services; and railcar repair, re-stenciling, light welding repair, AEI tag work, and other services. Pioneer Railcorp was founded in 1986 and is based in Peoria, Illinois. <<<
>>> C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., a third party logistics company, provides freight transportation services and logistics solutions to companies in various industries worldwide. It offers transportation and logistics services, such as truckload comprising time-definite and expedited truck transportation services; less than truckload services; intermodal transportation, which is shipment service of freight in trailers or containers by combination of truck and rail; and non-vessel ocean common carrier or freight forwarding services, as well as organizes air shipments and provides door-to-door services. The company also provides custom broker services; and other logistics services, including fee-based transportation management services, warehousing services, and other services. It has contractual relationships with approximately 63,000 transportation companies, including motor carriers, railroads, air freight, and ocean carriers. In addition, the company is involved in buying, selling, and marketing fresh produce. The company offers its fresh produce to grocery retailers, restaurants, produce wholesalers, and foodservice distributors through a network of independent produce growers and suppliers. It operates through a network of 285 branch offices. The company was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. <<<
>>> Maglev Seen Making Washington-to-Baltimore Trip at 311 MPH
Bloomberg
Chris Cooper
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/maglev-seen-making-washington-to-baltimore-trip-at-311-mph/ar-BBanOfS?ocid=U148DHP
Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Imagine whisking past some of the densest road congestion in the U.S. at 311 miles per hour.
That’s the vision of Northeast Maglev, a company seeking to bring a $10 billion Japanese magnetic-levitation train line to the 40-mile (64 kilometer) Washington-Baltimore corridor for 15- minute trips. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wayne Rogers said he plans to ask for federal funds next year.
“We have been working with the Japanese government and they have said that they will provide half of the money for the first leg and we have private investment that we’re mobilizing as well,” Rogers said yesterday in Tsuru, Japan. “We hope the U.S. government will be submitting some of the funds to finish it out.”
Japan is looking for an overseas customer for maglev technology as the country works toward opening its first line in 2027. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the government may provide financing to support Central Japan Railway Co.’s bid to provide trains for a Washington-Baltimore line.
The Japanese railway’s shares jumped 4.2 percent to 14,485 yen as of the close of trading in Tokyo, compared with a 2.6 percent gain in the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average. The stock is up 17 percent his year, while the Nikkei 225 has dropped 6.7 percent.
Floating Cars
Maglev trains rely on magnetic power to float the cars above the ground, eliminating the friction of steel tracks. The trains start off running on wheels, the same as used on F-15 fighter jets, until they’re going fast enough for the magnets to kick in and create lift.
Northeast Maglev is led by former transportation officials and executives. A Washington-Baltimore starter line eventually may be extended to New York, putting the biggest U.S. city within reach of the capital in 60 minutes by train, Rogers said.
A separate Maryland Department of Transportation-backed group had proposed a similar line, costing about $5.8 billion, which would cut the journey to 18 minutes and could eventually be extended to New York and Boston.
The Maryland department had sought $1.75 billion in stimulus funds for the Baltimore-Washington plan, a bid that was rejected. The Federal Railroad Administration said the project was “not ready,” Maglev Maryland said in 2010.
The Maryland group’s proposed line could carry about 9.2 million passengers a year, according to a Baltimore-Washington maglev website.
Congested Roads
A maglev train may help ease traffic that has made roads in Maryland’s Montgomery County, which lies between Washington and Baltimore, the fourth-most-congested in the country, according to digital-mapping company TomTom NV. Washington ranks seventh.
Japan’s backing for maglev sales is part of wider government efforts to help trainmakers compete with Germany’s Siemens AG, France’s Alstom SA, Bombardier Inc. of Canada and China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corp. in the U.S.
“We want to strengthen our alliance with the U.S.,” said Yoshiyuki Kasai, chairman emeritus of JR Central, as the rail operator is known. “The U.S. could begin maglev operations around the same time as Japan or earlier.”
The Nagoya, Japan-based rail operator will ask for a consulting fee for the project, while not charging a licensing fee for the technology, Kasai said. “We’re not doing this to make a profit.”
Japan Maglev
JR Central last week got approval by Japan’s government to go ahead with plans to build a maglev line linking Tokyo and Nagoya. The plan will cost 5.5 trillion yen ($52 billion), including trains, the company said last week.
The maglev will more than halve travel time between the capital and Nagoya, Japan’s third-largest city, to 40 minutes for the 286-kilometer journey when it opens in 2027. The line will enable travel at almost double the 270 kilometers per hour of current bullet trains between the two cities.
Backers of the plan for a U.S. maglev line include former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who attended a briefing yesterday in Tsuru.
“In 1961, Kennedy pledged to get a man on the moon by the end of the decade,” Daschle said, referring to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. “I think we should build the maglev in a decade."
<<<
>>> Canadian National Railway Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in rail and related transportation business in North America. It transports various goods, including petroleum and chemicals, grain and fertilizers, coal, metals and minerals, forest products, intermodal, and automotive products. The company operates a network of approximately 20,100 route miles of track that spans Canada and mid-America, connecting three coasts: the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Gulf of Mexico. It serves the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert (British Columbia), Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile (Alabama), as well as the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth (Minnesota)/Superior (Wisconsin), Green Bay (Wisconsin), Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis and Jackson (Mississippi), with connections to all points in North America. The company was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. <<
>>> Union Pacific Corp.
http://money.msn.com/inside-the-ticker/9-stocks-ready-to-ride-an-energy-wave
Headquarters: Omaha, Neb.
52-week price range: $135.75-$189.41
Price-earnings ratio: 17
Market capitalization: $85.3 billion
Projected earnings growth rate: 13.6 percent
Because the rich energy finds in new regions made accessible by fracking, such as the Appalachian Basin and the Northwest, aren't yet served by pipelines, producers have turned to railroads to bring the fuel to market. Over time, pipelines will be built and railroads will give up a good portion of this business.
But AllianceBernstein analyst David Vernon believes Union Pacific (UNP) will continue to benefit from the energy boom because the shale basins will continue to need rocks and sand for fracking, drilling chemicals and steel to build wells. The economic vitality that drilling brings is also likely to create demand for appliances, lumber for homes, and a wide array of other industrial materials that can't be squeezed into pipelines.
"We see good growth from the energy renaissance and think you are going to see Union Pacific compounding shareholder values," says Vernon. "As a core transportation holding, it's a great stock."
<<<
>>> Which Auto-Parts Retailer Is the Best Option for Your Portfolio?
By Pratik Thacker
March 10, 2014
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/03/10/which-auto-parts-retailer-is-the-best-option-for-y.aspx
The auto parts industry seems to be experiencing happy times as retailers in it have been performing extremely well. The average age of vehicles has increased to 11.4 years, which allows auto-parts companies to comfortably cash in since people spend more to maintain their old vehicles. Recently, leading retailers O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ: ORLY ) and Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP ) posted quarterly numbers which beat estimates and delighted investors.
However, Advance Auto Parts has even greater news to offer since it seems to be on an acquisition spree with the intention of strengthening its commercial business segment.
The numbers
Advance Auto's revenue surged 6% to $1.41 billion, helped by the addition of 151 new stores and comparable-store sales growth of 0.1%. Extreme winter conditions also forced customers to get their vehicles repaired more frequently, which resulted in higher sales.
O'Reilly's revenue grew 9% over last year's quarter to $1.62 billion. The company's top-line growth was driven by the 32 new stores it opened during the quarter as well as comparable-store sales growth of 5.4%.
Both companies increased their earnings by managing their expenses efficiently. Earnings jumped to $0.94 per share from $0.88 per share for Advance Auto Parts. Similarly, O'Reilly's earnings jumped to $1.40 per share from $1.14 per share in last year's quarter. Hence, O'Reilly saw a larger increase in its earnings than Advance Auto did. In fact, O'Reilly also registered an expansion of its gross margin to 50.5% from 50.4% in the year ago period.
However, Advance Auto's margin decreased slightly. This was mainly because the company recorded a higher percentage of commercial sales, which have a lower margin.
The competition
Although O'Reilly had some added positives in its earnings report that delighted its investors, Advance Auto has provided enough reason for its investors to be joyful. Advance Auto provided a higher return to its investors over the last year than fellow industry players O'Reilly and AutoZone (NYSE: AZO ) . This is depicted in the chart below:
AAP Chart
AAP data by YCharts
With stock price appreciation of 64.7% over the last year, Advance Auto Parts outpaced its peers. This is mainly because its acquisition strategy boosted its commercial business. The acquisition of 124 BWP stores at the end of 2012 helped the company expand its presence and strengthen its offerings, which led to higher sales.
On the other hand, AutoZone provided a lower return than the other two at 42.6%. However, AutoZone has been making a number of efforts to improve such as acquiring other businesses such as AutoAnything, which it acquired in 2012. AutoZone bought this company to expand its online presence since AutoAnything is an online retail store. In fact, the company did not limit its efforts to its e-commerce business alone. It has been trying to expand its commercial business as well. By opening 125 commercial programs in its last quarter, the company grew its commercial segment by 14%. Hence, this retailer has also been doing well but it has failed to outperform its peers.
An acquisition and its benefits
One of the most remarkable recent moves by Advance Auto Parts was its acquisition of General Parts International which is expected to increase Advance Auto's revenue to more than $9 billion. This buyout will not only expand the auto parts retailer's line of offerings, it will also strengthen its presence in North America and make the company the biggest auto-parts player in the region. Hence, this expanded footprint will help Advance Auto's DIY business division.
Advance Auto's future plans
The aftermarket retailer plans to open 120 to 140 new stores in 2014 which will help its sales grow further. Additionally, it expects to completely integrate the remaining BWP stores during the year and it will also start reaping the benefits of its recent acquisition of General Parts. Hence, the company's future looks bright for the coming months.
Moreover, the company plans to spend $325 million to $350 million on capital expenditures during the year. It will use this investment to enhance its supply chain and develop its stores.
Key takeaway
Advance Auto Parts is making all the right moves for leadership in the auto-parts industry. Although all of the players there are doing well, Advance Auto has been an exceptional performer. It has strengthened its commercial business and this business now makes up 40% of its total revenue. Moreover, it plans to continue investing in order to enhance its position and manage its expenses so that it can maximize its earnings. The company is set to grow which is evident from its plans to open new stores. Therefore, this retailer looks increasingly attractive.
<<<
>>> Is Advance Auto Parts the Best Pick in Aftermarket Retail?
By Amal Singh
January 27, 2014
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/27/is-advance-auto-parts-the-best-pick-in-aftermarket.aspx
The average age of vehicles in the U.S. is rising. Currently, it is at an all time high of 11.4 years, compared to 11.2 years and 10.9 years in 2012 and 2011, respectively. Also, the number of vehicles on the road that are older than 12 years has increased by a whopping 20%.
The rising average age of vehicles on the roads is a tailwind for aftermarket retailers and service providers like Advance Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP ) , The Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE: PBY ) , and Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ: MNRO ) . Each of these companies operates with a different business model, as we will see subsequently, but all three are positioned to gain from aging vehicles. Let's see which business model is working well from an investor's perspective.
Advance Auto: the giant
Advance Auto Parts completed the acquisition of General Parts International this year. This acquisition offers a balanced platform for growth between do-it-yourself, or DIY, and commercial operations. Advance Auto is now the largest automotive-aftermarket provider of parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items along with the largest business-to-business e-commerce platform in North America, with coast-to-coast coverage of about 5,300 company-operated stores. During the third quarter, the B2B e-commerce business grew roughly 50%, and this acquisition should be a good growth driver for this segment going forward.
As a result of the General Parts acquisition, Advance Auto has also strengthened its position in the faster-growing do-it-for-me, or DIFM, market. During the third quarter, Advance Auto reported a 2% decline in same-store sales due to a decline in the DIY business, which was partly offset by an improvement in the commercial sales segment.
Focusing in the right area
Do it for me is a hot segment that is growing at around twice the rate of the DIY segment, according to Advanced Auto. The DIY scope is getting restricted as vehicles and parts get more complex. This is because customers are entrusting complex repairs to independent repair facilities. As a result, Advance Auto witnessed a sequential contraction of 400 basis points in its DIY business.
Advance Auto, however, has been on a roll. During the third quarter, total sales increased 4.3% and earnings per share increased 17.4% versus the year-ago quarter, despite a 2% decline in comps. The decline is comps was due to muted spending by consumers, as they only went for repairs necessary to keep vehicles running.
Going forward, Advanced Auto sees an opportunity worth $40 billion in the commercial segment. With the acquisition of General Parts International, it has already positioned itself to reap the benefits of the increase in consumer spending in this segment. The acquisition is a part of the company's strategy to align with the changing market dynamics, which is skewing more toward the DIFM segment.
Where do peers stand?
Monro Muffler Brake caters to the DIFM and services segment only and does not rely on the DIY business model. Just like Advance Auto, Monro has been making acquisitions to grow its business. It recently closed the deal to buy Curry's Auto Service's 10 stores, and is also negotiating with seven other takeover prospects.
Monro has been on a serial acquisition spree, and has acquired Ken Towery's Tire & Auto Service (27 stores); Enger Auto Service & Tires (11 stores); Tire King Complete Car Care (nine stores); Tire Barn Warehouse of Anderson (31 stores); and 17 Tuffy Muffler/Car-X locations in Wisconsin and South Carolina.
These acquisitions have enabled Monro to record impressive top- and bottom-line growth, apart from allowing the company to increase its geographical coverage. In the second quarter of fiscal 2014, it reported sales and net income growth of 16% and 18%, respectively.
The Pep Boys-Manny, Moe & Jack is a hybrid DIY/DIFM business model. It has been struggling due to a general weakening in consumer spending, as deferred maintenance remains at record levels. Pep Boys is also facing the heat due to a slowdown in the overall aftermarket growth between the second and the third quarters.
Much like its peers, Pep Boys' growth strategy is centered on DIFM for the long term. One bright spot for Pep Boys was a 100% jump in online sales across all lines of business, which grew to 3.6% of total sales.
Making a choice
But, in my opinion, Pep Boys looks like the least desirable investment of the three, as it is seeing weakness in its business. The company's focus on both DIY and DIFM for the time being doesn't make it as interesting as Monro or Advance Auto.
On the other hand, Monro didn't discuss online sales on its previous conference call, so it is possible that the company is missing out on opportunities in the e-commerce space due to its laxity. So, considering everything, Advance Auto could be the best pick of the three. Advance Auto is the biggest of the lot in terms of size, has an online presence, and is also highly focused on the DIFM market. Hence, investors looking to invest in aftermarket retail should consider Advance Auto for their portfolio.
<<<
DAKP Something to take a look at:
Dakota Plains Provides Update on Pioneer Rail Terminal Operations in Bakken
WAYZATA, Minn., Feb. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Dakota Plains Holdings, Inc. ("Dakota Plains"), (OTCQB: DAKP) today provided an update on corporate activity and its Pioneer Rail Terminal expansion project with operations in New Town, North Dakota, which service Bakken and Three Forks related E&P activity.
Highlights include:
•The Pioneer Rail Terminal, a 192 acre site with two 8,300 ft. loop tracks each capable of 120 car unit trains, began loading cars and sending trains in January 2014. The state-of-the-art terminal was commissioned in December 2013, logged over 120,000 work-hours without a lost time incident, and was completed on time and under budget;
•Current Pioneer Rail Terminal throughput is expected to average 38,600 barrels of oil per day in February, its highest rate to date. By comparison the annual average for 2013 was 24,000 barrels per day. Forecast throughput for the year is expected to average 45,000 barrels per day, comprised of joint venture-marketed and third party volumes;
•The Pioneer Rail Terminal began receiving third party transloading volumes in January 2014 to supplement joint venture-marketed volumes. Going forward the Pioneer Rail Terminal can receive increased third party volumes;
•Dakota Plains began managing the Pioneer Rail Terminal on December 31, 2013 and began consolidating the transloading joint venture balance sheet immediately and the remainder of the financial statements effective as of January 1, 2014;
•Construction of the UNIMIN frac sand automated terminal, a 750,000 ton per year capacity frac sand storage and transloading facility announced in August 2013, remains on schedule for completion in May 2014. Comprising 8,000 tons of sand storage and four new ladder tracks, operations began on an interim basis in late January 2014 with full sand rail cars now on site and direct transloading onto third party trucks expected to commence in the coming weeks;
•The trucking joint venture with Prairie Field Services expanded its fleet to 29 trucks to accommodate third party volumes in addition to its share of joint venture-marketed volumes. Approximately 21,000 barrels of oil per day are being hauled;
•Dakota Plains is in the process of applying for a listing on a national stock exchange, targeting a completion date in Q2 2014.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Craig McKenzie, said, "Over the last year, Dakota Plains has significantly grown its operations and value proposition. With a nameplate capacity of 80,000 barrels per day, the company now offers a rail terminal that employs the highest standards of safety and technology for the benefit of our customers. With throughput volumes at our highest rates to date and the UNIMIN operations getting underway, we believe that we can create significant value for our shareholders."
Mr. McKenzie added, "North Dakota E&P activities continue to increase and more than 15,000 development wells are currently expected to be drilled within 25 miles of the Pioneer Rail Terminal. We are aggressively responding to the pace of development in the Bakken region by developing state-of-the-art facilities that can manage the outbound and inbound needs of our supplier and off-take customers. We look forward to continuing to ramp up operations and achieving significant growth in 2014 and beyond."
About Dakota Plains Holdings, Inc.
Dakota Plains is an integrated midstream energy company, which competes through its 50/50 joint ventures to provide customers with crude oil offtake services that include marketing, transloading and trucking of crude oil and related products. Direct and indirect assets include a proprietary trucking fleet, over 1000 railroad tank cars, and the Pioneer Terminal transloading facility centrally located in Mountrail County, North Dakota, for Bakken and Three Forks related E&P activity. For more information please visit the corporate website: www.dakotaplains.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that reflect the current views of Dakota Plains, including, but not limited to, statements regarding our future growth and plans for our business and operations. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of lack of diversification, dependency upon strategic relationships, dependency on a limited number of major customers, competition for the loading, marketing and transporting of crude oil and related products, difficulty in obtaining additional capital that will be needed to implement business plans, difficulties in attracting and retaining talented personnel, risks associated with building and operating a transloading facility, changes in commodity prices and the demand for crude oil and natural gas, competition from other energy sources, inability to obtain necessary facilities, difficulty in obtaining crude oil to transport, increases in our operating expenses, an economic downturn or change in government policy that negatively impacts demand for our services, penalties we may incur, costs imposed by environmental laws and regulations, inability to obtain or maintain necessary licenses, challenges to our properties, technological unavailability or obsolescence, and future acts of terrorism or war, as well as the threat of war and other factors described from time to time in the company's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K, filed March 14, 2013, as may be amended and supplemented by subsequent reports from time to time.
For more information, please contact:
Company Contact
Investor and Media Contact
Tim Brady, CFO
Dan Gagnier, Sard Verbinnen
tbrady@dakotaplains.com
DGagnier@sardverb.com
Phone: 952.473.9950
Phone: 1 (212) 687-8080
www.dakotaplains.com
www.sardverb.com
SOURCE Dakota Plains Holdings, Inc.
Copyright 2014 PR Newswire
>>> Wabtec -- >>> Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, doing business as Wabtec Corporation, provides technology-based products and services for the freight rail and passenger transit industries worldwide. It operates in two segments, Freight and Transit. The Freight segment manufactures and services components for new and existing locomotive and freight cars; supplies railway electronics and positive train control equipment; provides signal design and engineering services; builds switcher locomotives; rebuilds freight locomotives; and provides heat exchangers and cooling systems for rail and other industrial markets. This segment serves publicly traded railroads; leasing companies; manufacturers of original equipment, such as locomotives and freight cars; and utilities. The Transit segment manufactures and services components for new and existing passenger transit vehicles, including subway cars and buses; builds commuter locomotives; and refurbishes subway cars. This segment serves public transit authorities and municipalities, leasing companies, and manufacturers of subway cars and buses. The company?s products include positive train control equipment and electronically controlled pneumatic braking products; railway electronics, including event recorders, monitoring equipment, and end of train devices; freight car truck components; draft gears, couplers, and slack adjusters; air compressors and dryers; track and switch products; railway braking equipment and related components; friction products, including brake shoes and pads; door and window assemblies, and accessibility lifts and ramps for buses and subway cars; and traction motors. It also builds, remanufactures, and overhauls commuter and switcher locomotives, and transit cars. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Wilmerding, Pennsylvania. <<<
>>> Tesla Model S Worth More Used Than New
Forbes
2-7-14
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2014/02/07/tesla-model-s-worth-more-used-than-new/?partner=yahootix
Taking stock of how well assorted electric cars hold their value, the statisticians at the used-vehicle website iSeeCars.com came up with a doozy of an observation: A used Tesla Model S can command more in the used market than a brand new one off a dealer’s showroom floor. A lot more.
Based on a survey of 45 million used car listings for sale/sold in the U.S., the average used Model S is said to be going for a whopping $99,734, which is considerably richer than its model-year 2013 base price of $69,900 (or, for that matter, the top-end version’s $89,900). This is even more remarkable when one considers that an original buyer is subject to a $7,500 federal tax credit that effectively lowers the luxury EV’s retail price to the $62,400-$82,400 range.
Of course with U.S. sales estimated at around 22,450 units last year, pre-owned Teslas aren’t particularly plentiful – the Model S has yet to be listed on the online used-car price guides we checked. We suspect there’s only been a relative handful of used Teslas on the market over the last several months, with many likely coming off one-year leases. Still, the sky-high used-car prices would indicate Tesla is a long way from meeting the demand for its zero-emissions performance sedan and bodes well for its next anticipated EV, the Model X luxury SUV
This is likewise good news for BMW, with the automaker planning to release two new premium-priced EVs of its own in the coming months – the i3 and i8 (not to mention Cadillac with its Chevrolet Volt-based ELR coupe about to hit the road).
With a used-market average estimated to be 20 percent higher than its original sticker price, the Model S is the clear winner in resale values among the industry’s top-selling electric cars according to iSeeCars.com, with the Chevrolet Volt said to be selling for 17 percent below sticker price and the Nissan Leaf going for 29 percent under its original MSRP.
One reason used Model S prices are so high is that a majority of those sold last year tended to be of the higher-end model with the optional larger battery pack. Also, demand for the Model S has kept retail transaction prices high, and we would assume most sell at full retail and even above, with many buyers forced to sit on a waiting list, especially if they want a particularly equipped example. “Maybe people like to buy used because they don’t want to wait a couple months for the delivery of a new Model S,” says iSeeCars.com CEO Phong Ly.
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Novz, novageningenium.com , check out press releases wow!
Tesla -- >>> Is the Tesla Euphoria Over?
11-18-13
By Paul Ausick
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-euphoria-over-162038265.html
From a high of nearly $195 a share in late October, shares of Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) have slipped about 30% in just over two weeks to close last Friday at $135.45. The shares were down another 5% in mid-morning trading on Monday.
The company has gotten a lot of bad publicity from three fires in its Model S sedan over the past six weeks. Add to that perhaps a sudden realization that the carmaker's stock was overvalued. The company reported third-quarter results on November 5, and while they were better than expected, they did not blow the doors off. That is what investors have come to expect.
In a conference call, CEO Elon Musk said that there is too much demand for the cars and the company does not have the capacity to meet that demand. It is a case of reality trumping hopes. Tesla cannot boost sales and profits without boosting production, and as it ramps production, costs will rise and profits will be hard-pressed to stay level for a while.
Musk himself suggested that Tesla's shares were overvalued. He certainly feels the pressure from high-end carmakers like BMW and Mercedes Benz at one end of the price spectrum and mass producers like General Motors Co. (GM), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) at the other.
The consensus price target on the stock has dropped from around $170 a share on the day Tesla reported earnings to $166 as of last Friday. That is not a huge change, but it is indicative of the direction the share price is pointed. Goldman Sachs recently raised its price target on the stock from $95 to $104 but did not change its Neutral rating.
Even at $104, the target is well below Monday's trading price of around $129.50. Nearly 20% lower in fact. That is the cost of reality.
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>>> Rolling Along with Auto Parts Profits
By John Moore
November 9, 2013
http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2013/11/09/rolling-along-with-auto-parts-profits.aspx
The auto parts sub-sector contains several companies that are doing very well, even in this shaky economy. As more consumers fix vehicles on their own to forgo costly auto repairs, the companies that supply the parts, supplies, advice, and tools for this are booming.
Many investors simply look to investing in a big auto company like Ford, Toyota, or Honda. Those firms are great and have great value, but Big Auto has a major problem — changing tastes among consumers. Many consumers either don't want or can't afford to buy new vehicles. The new "part-time" American reality will leave many drivers lumbering along in their current vehicle for the foreseeable future. This is a trend that will fuel the auto parts industry. Lets take a look at the firms that are exceptional at providing "go-to" solutions for cash-strapped car owners.
Start small
The smallest firm in this sector is Motorcar Parts of America (NASDAQ: MPAA ) . This company focuses on getting drivers started, literally. It specializes in starters and alternators — two parts that often fail first on "cars with character." Motorcar Parts of America has also tapped into the whole do-it-yourself (DIY) culture. It only distributes parts via its own DIY-focused stores that provide weekend mechanics with help, hints, and a sense of belonging. With a D/E Ratio of 1.060, Motorcar Parts of America is not beholden to debt holders — their $100 million debt is not a deal-breaker. The stock is currently trading at a P/E ratio of 14. If you are daring, Motorcar Parts of America might be worth a look.
The big boys
Our next company is O'Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ: ORLY ) . This firm has a pot of gold at the end on its balance sheet. Great stores, good price points, and excellent customer service add up to value. The company uses its 4,000 stores in the U.S. as one-stop part-buying shops for consumers. O'Reilly's has a robust 21.51 P/E, and institutional investors (92% owned) love this safe-yet-profitable stock. O'Reilly only pays 3% on its debt and has an upward cash flow forecast — a projected growth rate of over 17%. O'Reilly Automotive is truly a premium stock in this automotive sub-sector.
The King Kong of the sector is AutoZone (NYSE: AZO ) . This firm has value and strength in its 5,109 retail locations. AutoZone has very loyal customers and products that fit with its customer base. The firm has beefed up its online retail with AutoZone's acquisition of the online auto retailer AutoAnything.com, and a greater online emphasis has seemingly worked: e-commerce accounts for 20% of total sales growth YTD. They've also looked overseas for sales; AtuoZone has opened more stores in Mexico and recently opened a store in Brazil. AutoZone does have debt — $4 billion — but its growth projections are above 14%. The company's shares are expensive, though, in the $460+ category. If you can afford this stock, buy it.
Dividends, please
Monro Muffler Brake (NASDAQ: MNRO ) is the Swiss Army knife of the bunch. Affordable oil changes, great warranties, and quality service are all offered in one place. Monro is also the largest independent under-car repair company in America. This lets the firm get paid on both ends—helping the DIY crowd while servicing those who don't want to get their hands dirty. The company's share price is affordable in the $45+ range, and its dividend yield is a strong $0.95. With retail locations in 19 states operating under the Tire Barn, Autotire, and Mr. Tire names, along with a host of regional brands, Monro Muffler Brake will continue to grow in this economy.
The last firm on the list is Advance Auto Parts, (NYSE: AAP ) , a specialty automotive aftermarket retailer. The company offers anything from wiper blades to antifreeze. This firm wants to topple AutoZone, and to do that Advance Auto Parts recently acquired General Parts International for $2.04 billion. This acquisition gives Advance Auto Parts combined annual sales of $9.2 billion — $200 million more than AutoZone. Advance Auto Parts share price is up 26% YTD and has a steady P/E of 17.80 — and continues to provide a good return on investment (it has a whopping 22.01 operating metric) while adding a small dividend yield of $0.24. At $98 per share, while not cheap, the shares are a great investment opportunity.
Affordable, profitable, and reliable—pick two
O'Reilly, AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts are the safest bets of the bunch. All are undervalued right now and can only profit from the current trend of car owners stretching their budgets by fixing their existing vehicles themselves. Meanwhile, Monro Muffler Brake and Motorcar Parts of America can provide value at a premium for those wanting to ride on the wild side.
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Tesla -- >>> Despite Several Electric-Car Fires, Tesla Is a Safer Option
By Daniel Sparks
November 3, 2013
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/11/03/despite-several-electric-car-fires-tesla-is-a-safe.aspx
On Monday, news of another Model S fire made vicious rounds on the interwebs. The negative headlines apparently concerned investors, as Tesla Motors' (NASDAQ: TSLA ) market capitalization fell by hundreds of millions of dollars. As the second fire in less than two months, should investors worry?
Highly flammable liquid versus battery
Based on comments from Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a company blog post about the first fire in early October, earlier this week I explained that Tesla's Model S has only seen two fires in 100 million miles driven, while traditional vehicles have one fire for every 20 million miles driven. The numbers make a strong case that the vehicle is at least as fireproof as traditional vehicles.
But several readers suggested in the comments that the comparison doesn't suggest the Model S is safer, since the Model S is a new car and the national statistic for traditional vehicles includes much older models. A new car, they explained, should have far less vehicle fire incidents, they argued. It's a solid point.
Is there a counter to this argument? Or are electric vehicles simply just as likely to catch fire as traditional vehicles? As it turns out, there's still plenty of evidence that suggests Tesla's fully electric vehicles are a better alternative for preventing fires than filling your car with a large tank of highly flammable liquid.
Here are several reasons.
First, in an Oct. 30 press release Musk has given us a new mileage number that lies closer to the date of the second fire: 130 million miles driven. So it's more accurate to say that Tesla has seen two fires in 130 million miles than it is to say two fires in 100 million miles. That brings the statistic to one fire in every 65 million miles, compared with traditional vehicles' one fire in every 20 million miles.
Second, consider this: Along with a gas tank comes the infrastructure, or gas stations that pump out flammable liquid. Of course, far more gas stations are needed per car than electric charging stations, since Tesla owners can conveniently charge at home and only need to charge at a charging station on an extended road trip -- the Model S boasts a fully electric range of 265 miles.
Gas station fires occur all the time. If you want to see for yourself, just go to Google and search: "gas station fire". After that, click News at the top. Voila! Consider some of the wording taken from October headlines: "Woman Burned in Fire," "Florida Man Threatens to Set Woman on Fire at Gas Station," "2 Dead As Fire Engulfs Gas Station Hit by Truck."
For those who believe there's less fire hazard in filling your car with flammable liquid, try to count the number of charging-station fires. Even more, try to count the times someone was injured at a charging station. Finally, try to count the fires at Tesla's Supercharging stations in particular.
Safety is Tesla's advantage
Unless fires continue to persist causing statistics to look less favorable for Tesla, investors shouldn't worry about two fires in 130 million miles driven. For now, safety is still Tesla's advantage. As the safest car ever tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (safer than all minivans and SUVs, too), Tesla isn't likely to be recalling any vehicles because of a few fires.
On the other hand, investors should still keep an eye on the development. Though fires aren't a cause for legitimate concern now, it could be a problem if fires persist and the statistics get worse.
That said, I'd prefer to have a battery over a gas tank if I found myself in a potentially flammable situation.
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Tesla, AeroVironment -- >>> A Challenge for Tesla Motors Is an Opportunity for AeroVironment
By Travis Hoium
October 22, 2013
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/10/22/a-challenge-for-tesla-motors-is-an-opportunity-for.aspx
There are a lot of hurdles for Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA ) , Ford (NYSE: F ) , Nissan, and other automakers trying to sell electric vehicles, or EVs. One of those challenges may be a lot closer to home than we realize. It may be nothing more than your garage's electric car plug-in, which probably doesn't exist.
As it stands today, not only do electric-vehicle buyers have to fork over thousands of dollars more than for buying a conventional vehicle, they must also spend at least $1,000 for an electric charger at home. Condo owners and apartment renters face a greater challenge even getting a charger installed.
At least one town is trying to eliminate the home plug-in challenge. The city of Palo Alto, Calif., is requiring new homes to come with electric vehicle chargers. The city is already a hotbed for electric vehicles, and as Tesla Motors' hometown it also has incentive to go electric.
Electric vehicles face many adoption hurdles
The home plug-in isn't the only challenge the EV industry faces, but it's one that's largely out of the industry's hands. Tesla Motors has already done a lot to dent the range anxiety electric vehicles present to new buyers. The Model S has a range up to 265 miles, enough to take a three-hour drive on the highway. Of course, Tesla is way ahead in the range game. The Nissan Leaf has an average range of 75 miles and the Ford Focus Electric has an estimated range of 76 miles, or 100 miles in the city. Expect these ranges to pick up as the industry matures.
The next big challenge is the charging infrastructure, on the road and at home. So far, the industry has focused much of its attention on the nationwide charging network. Tesla is building its own supercharger network, which will give a Model S an 80% charge in 40 minutes and a full charge in 75 minutes.
AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV ) is building some of the "West Coast Electric Highway," a network of stations that will run from the Mexican to Canadian borders along Interstate 5. Washington and Oregon selected the company to build their portions of the highway. But home charging is up to homeowners or EV buyers, adding another headache in the buying process.
Ford and Nissan are partnering with AeroVironment to offer one-day turnkey charger installation, while Tesla Motors has partnered with SolarCity, CEO Elon Musk's residential solar installer. Both are decent solutions but they reaffirm that there's work to be done even after you make the decision to buy an electric vehicle. Unless you buy a new home in Palo Alto.
Vehicle charging will be big business
The potential for a company like AeroVironment -- which has become an industry standard charger manufacturer -- is tremendous. A standard home charger costs about $1,000 and, while EVs are counted in the thousands right now, the vision is to sell them by the millions. There are about 114 million homes in the U.S., all of which could take an EV charger -- or two -- meaning a potential market north of $150 billion. That's before we get to commercial or work chargers.
Adoption is going slowly and AeroVironment generated just $8.9 million from charger sales last quarter, but you can see the potential. Even a 10%-20% share of this future market could make this stock a hit.
A big winner in the making
Electric vehicles have challenges, one of them being the lack of charging stations at homes around the country. The city of Palo Alto is trying to address that, and if its effort starts a trend I can see AeroVironment as a huge winner.
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Tesla -- >>> Tesla outsells Porsche, Jaguar in California; market value tops $20 billion
10 years in the making, the EV startup starts recording a profit.
By James_Tate
http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs/autosblogpost-lux.aspx?post=b8a7d9fd-84ba-4b16-9265-39bc8bd79fca&icid=autos_4689
Since launching in 2003, Tesla has – against all odds and predictions – taken the almost obscure concept of electric-powered vehicles mainstream.
After 10 long years of production, but only three years as a publicly traded company, Tesla's market value hit a record high of $20 billion at the beginning of this week. Heck, you might not believe it, but with just one model, the company is outselling Porsche in Tesla's home state of California. According to a report from the California New Car Dealers Association, more Californians have registered a new Tesla through the first half of the year than a new Cadillac, Buick, Volvo, Chrysler, Fiat, Mitsubishi, Lincoln, Land Rover or Jaguar. So what's going on?
Change takes time. For years, environmental activists have pushed to reduce energy consumption and cut down on non-biodegradable items, such as plastic bags, that consumers use. Only now, after what feels like more than a decade of struggle and public-service announcements, are people bringing their own bags to the supermarket.
So it follows that after its own 10-year struggle, Tesla is finally reporting profits – albeit not from its automotive sales but from special revenue sources – and making a real name for itself. We don’t need to tell you that building cars in a market full of nothing but very big players is a heck of a lot harder than bringing a bag to the supermarket.
This has proved a good year for Tesla, with the Model S being labeled Motor Trend’s and Automobile Magazine's 2013 Car of the Year, among other honors. During the first quarter of 2013, roughly 4,900 Model S cars were sold in the U.S., making it the top-selling plug-in electric car in North America, ahead of the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf.
For the remainder of 2013, Tesla intends to deliver 21,000 Model S sedans and projects doubling that figure that in 2014. According to CEO Elon Musk, the demand for the Model S currently exceeds Tesla's ability to make it.
Despite low expectations from independent auto analysts, Tesla has big plans. Slated for production in 2014 is the Model X CUV, which received a warm welcome at its 2012 unveiling at Tesla's design studios in Hawthorne, Calif. There have even been talks of building family-sized minivans and an electric pickup truck.
The sky is the limit for Tesla, as long as the company continues recording profits and cranking out its Model S. Maybe now it can figure out a way to reduce the sticker price so that the common folk can be a little more "green" themselves.
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>>> 9 ways to get your car to 200K miles (or more)
http://editorial.autos.msn.com/9-ways-to-get-your-car-to-200k-miles-or-more#2
MSN Auto
Aug 2013
Regular maintenance is crucial
There's no getting around this one: A car that's not regularly serviced won't last as long as one that is. It might not even make it to 100,000 miles.
Regular maintenance is "the key to the automotive fountain of youth," says Tom Torbjornsen, author of "How to Make Your Car Last Forever."
What is regular maintenance? It's what it says right there in the maintenance schedule of your owner's manual, says Torbjornsen. Follow the "severe duty" schedule of more frequent servicing if your manufacturer specifies one.
But at a certain point, the manufacturer's schedule may fail a high-mileage driver — as it sometimes lacks specifics beyond, say, 150,000 miles, other than to start over as if the car were at mile zero. "Can [manufacturers] truly believe that an engine with more than 50,000 moving parts — with 150,000 miles — is going to replicate an engine straight off the assembly line?" wonders Pam Oakes, a certified technician and author of "Car Care for the Clueless." "What about a 180,000-mile engine? Would that have the same wear as an engine with 30,000 miles? I don't think so."
Like other experts we spoke with, Oakes recommends building your own maintenance schedule with a trusted, certified mechanic who knows you're interested in going the distance.
Use your senses: Sight
If your routine is to plop into the driver's seat in a darkened garage at one end of your trip and slam the door behind you in a darkened garage at the other end, it's time to shake things up a little. "Do a 'preflight' at least once a week," says Tony Molla, vice-president of communications for the National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence (and a certified technician with years of experience). "Walk around your car. Have your kid step on the brake and see if the lights come on. By spotting a problem now, when it's small, you might save yourself more than just a ticket."
View Slideshow: Best auto repairs to increase mpg
Lauren Fix, an automotive analyst and host of the "Car Coach" segments on Time Warner Cable, suggests looking back at where you've parked every time you pull away. "Just take a second to look back and see if there are any fluids left behind. If there are, next time park on some cardboard, and you'll know where it was coming from," says Fix.
Use your senses: Sound (and touch)
Though your sight is the most important sense when driving your car, hearing may actually be the most important one to keeping it running. A car that sounds like it's falling apart probably will soon.
What you're listening for is anything out of the ordinary. "Any bump, squeak, knocking, ticking? Don't turn up the radio — turn it off! At what speed does it happen? That's a really important piece of information you can give to your mechanic," explains Fix. "If you can guide a technician [with that information], you will save them hours of trying to track something down."
Use your senses: Smell
No, really, your nose can help you head off problems that could endanger your run for 200,000+ miles. When you're checking the oil, counsels Fix, give it a sniff. If it smells burnt, that could be a sign that your engine is running too lean (not using enough fuel). Fixing this condition could save you from a costly engine rebuild.
Smell can also come into play if your car has a dipstick to check the level of the automatic transmission fluid (not as common as it used to be). If that fluid smells burnt and nasty, it's also a bad sign. (We'll discuss stinky transmission fluid more later.)
Say no to short trips
If there's one single thing you can do as a driver to get your car to last longer on its original parts, it's to drive it less — specifically, on trips where the engine doesn't have a chance to reach operating temperature.
Here's what happens: Water is a byproduct of engine combustion, and some of it gets into your car's oil and exhaust system every time the engine runs. Also, when your car is first started, more fuel is mixed in to get it running.
View Slideshow: Used cars: 14 tips to avoid a lemon
On a longer trip, your car's engine gets hot, and the water and unburned fuel are boiled out of the oil, your engine and your exhaust — no worries there. But a short trip won't do that, allowing the water and oil to eventually turn into noxious sludge that eats away at your motor. So, how short is too short? It varies by temperature and how you drive, but AAA defines it as "trips of less than five miles in normal temperatures, or less than ten miles in freezing temperatures."
Tony Molla, of the ASE, faces only a three-mile commute to work but often drives longer. "I go out of my way," he says. "I take the long way in the winter, to make sure the engine gets up to operating temperature. That way it burns off the nasty stuff that can build up in your crankcase."
Try to combine your short trips into a single run. And for Pete's sake, don't park in front of the garage and then pull the car in when you're going to bed. That's a short trip to the junkyard.
Use synthetic oil
Few issues get motorheads more riled up than the question of which oil to use and how often to change it. But few will take the stand that synthetic oil isn't better than the petroleum-based stuff.
Synthetic oil is more expensive, no doubt — up to four times as much as regular. But think of it as insurance against the cost of an engine rebuild. Note that more manufacturers are specifying synthetic oil, particularly in performance models. And if your engine is turbocharged or supercharged, definitely go with synthetic to handle the higher thermal stress. All the experts we spoke to are big fans of synthetic products, not just engine oil but also other fluids in your car, such as the transmission fluid.
Change the transmission fluid
If changing the transmission fluid and filter is specified in your car's maintenance schedule, well, then, take care of it.
But what if no replacement is specified? Increasingly, car manufacturers are either just indicating that the fluid should be checked at intervals or assuring you that the fluid is "lifetime." To which we say, how long is a lifetime? If you're looking for a long lifetime, plan on replacing the transmission fluid at least by 100,000 miles (and there's no harm in doing it earlier).
Read: 10 most expensive car repairs
Note that there's considerable controversy about whether it makes more sense to "flush" your car's transmission fluid or have the pan on the bottom of the transmission removed and cleaned out. Flushing allows all of of the old fluid to be removed but doesn't do anything about the (possibly dirty) filter inside your transmission. Dropping the pan will get out any sludge that collected in it and will usually entail a new filter, but less old fluid will come out — and less fresh, new fluid will go in.
Our counsel: Never do a flush without replacing the filter first. That's what the Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association recommends.
And if you have stinky transmission fluid? Your transmission is already cooked and on its last legs. Flushing it, warns radio host Torbjornsen, will only accelerate its demise by introducing new fluid whose detergents will dissolve whatever's still holding together in there.
Keep your car clean
Just as you keep the fluids in your car's critical systems fresh and clean, you should keep your car's exterior clean. Washing road salts and other environmental nasties off your paint and undercarriage at regular intervals will forestall corrosion and faded paint. If your car is going to run a long time, it ought to be nice enough to look at.
But getting up close and personal is also about looking for small problems that could lead to costlier repairs. "Wash your own car," insists Molla. "Get down on your hands and knees. You're going to notice things like cracked lenses, where water is going to get in and cause your expensive headlight assembly to fail."
Be prepared to replace bearings and bushings
It's a given that you'll be replacing what are known as "wear parts": tires, brake pads, timing and accessory belts, and shock absorbers. But as you head for the land of six-figure mileage, there are some other parts you should be looking to replace before they fail. Tackle these fixes proactively to avoid larger repair bills that might lead you to give up on a car before its time.
Read: Performance quick fixes that work
Lauren Fix specifically recommends looking at your suspension bearings and bushings — metal and rubber bits, often doughnut-shaped, that isolate your suspension from the rest of the car and dampen noise. If they're allowed to deteriorate and break, "it could affect the alignment of the car, and that can affect the life of the tires and cost you money." The regular inspections you're having done (right?) should pick up a bushing going south, but if you're replacing your shocks and struts, consider having all the bushings done at the same time.
The importance of replacing timing belts, which ensure that your engine's valves open and close at precisely the right time, was also driven home by our experts. And when that belt's being replaced, suggests Molla, go ahead and get the water pump replaced, too, even if it hasn't failed.
On many cars, he explained, the labor cost of reaching both of these parts is high, but the parts themselves are relatively cheap, "so it's worth it to replace them at the same time" to save on labor.
Tesla -- >>> Forget Tesla, Buffett’s buying this automaker
By Lawrence Lewitinn
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/talking-numbers/forget-tesla-buffett-buying-automaker-095412244.html
What car company did Warren Buffett recently boost his stake in by over 60%? Hint: It's not Tesla.
With its sleek design and technology straight out of science fiction, no car company has captured the imagination of investors quite like Tesla. And, Tesla has rewarded its buyer by quadrupling in price since the start of 2013.
So, what car company did Warren Buffett, the world’s most famous investor, recently boost his stake in by over 60%? It’s none other than 105 year-old General Motors.
According to recent filings with the SEC, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway increased his position in GM from 25 million shares to 40 million in the second quarter of 2013. During the course of that time, shares rose over 22%. Buffett’s current stake is worth nearly $1.4 billion.
Pundits like to say Tesla is a technology company that makes cars whereas GM is a health care company that makes cars. GM’s health care costs are believed to add more than $1,500 to the price of every vehicle it sells.
But, there’s one thing both car companies have relied on in the past: government help. While GM was famously bailed out half a decade ago by the federal government to the tune of $49.5 billion, then-startup Tesla borrowed $465 million from the US Department of Energy at around the same time. Buyers of Tesla cars receive $7,500 back in tax credits, as do GM’s Chevy Volt buyers. And, in the one quarter where Tesla showed a profit (Q1 2013 net income of $11.25 million), its gains came about only because it sold $68 million in clean-air credits to other manufacturers.
Both carmakers needed subsidies and credits to survive. And, to the day, the US taxpayers hold nearly 190 million shares of GM, nearly five times as much as Buffett’s current stake.
So, is investing with Buffett the better buy?
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>>> Elon Musk Will Revolutionize the World
BY Bret Kenwell
08/12/13
http://www.thestreet.com/story/12005524/1/elon-musk-will-revolutionize-the-world.html
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Elon Musk, founder, CEO and head of product design at Tesla Motors (TSLA_), has been filling the headlines in the technology and financial worlds for the past several months.
It was a short timeline of events that caused Tesla's stock price to almost quadruple in the last couple of months. When Consumer Reports rated the Tesla Model S with a 99 out of a possible 100 points, it went down as the publication's top score for an automobile, ever.
Coupled with the financial package guarantee, the company's huge expansion of charging stations around the country, and apparent exponential increase in demand, Tesla -- and its stock -- have been making some serious waves.
The charging stations alone could be the first step in actually changing the world. It may seem ludicrous now since we're in the early stages, but it's not far-fetched to say the country could be covered with these new stations in several decades. Whether they're from Tesla or not doesn't really matter, Musk was the one who actually made it a reality, regardless of how many people have talked about it in the past.
The South African native made his name early on when he merged his financial payments company with PayPal. Eventually, PayPal was acquired in 2002 by eBay (EBAY_) for $1.5 billion in stock.
Musk, still at the ripe age of 31, founded another company, this time bent on space exploration and rocket technology. SpaceX, started the same year that eBay acquired PayPal, was the first private company to launch a rocket into space and dock at the International Space Station.
Although the company has secured approximately $4 billion in long-term contracts, Musk doesn't plan to IPO any time soon. In fact, for as much as SpaceX has completed, the company is still in its infancy when looking at what Musk plans to do with it.
Mars is ultimately in his mind and I don't think he'll stop until he finds a way to conquer it. Musk has repeatedly reminded Earthlings that we need to "expand life beyond our little blue mud ball," or face extinction.
While his plan does included landing on Mars, that's not the final goal. Nor is simply getting human life there either. He wants sustainable life on Mars, allowing it to become another planet for our civilization. He's even joked (sort of), "I want to die on Mars... just not on impact."
As if top-rated electric sports cars, space exploration and electronic payment methods weren't enough, the Revolutionist has his hands in two other places -- at least, that we know about: Solar and the Hyperloop.
We'll get to the Hyperloop in a minute and to be fair, his cousin is actually the CEO of SolarCity (SCTY_), not him. But Musk was part of the brains behind the original plan at SolarCity, which is the largest provider of solar system units in the United States. He is also a chairman for the company and the largest shareholder with a 28% stake.
As we all know, solar has become an alternative -- and perhaps more importantly, clean -- method for obtaining electricity. While solar might not power the entire home yet, powering some of it -- such as the refrigerator or thermostat -- is both efficient and clean.
As solar gets cheaper for both commercial and residential use, it will become more populous, and thus, the world -- or at least the United States -- will begin to consume cleaner and more efficient energy. After all, one of the main reasons Musk pushed SolarCity and Tesla was to reduce the global greenhouse footprint we've stamped into our atmosphere over the past several centuries.
Now for the Hyperloop. While there hasn't been a lot of confirmed chatter about the specifics of the Hyperloop yet, we'll find out more today when Musk is set to reveal his plans. He sums it up best by saying, "What you want is something that never crashes, that's at least twice as fast as a plane, that's solar powered and that leaves right when you arrive, so there is no waiting for a specific departure time."
In fact, the Hyperloop could likely generate more power than it needs, allowing it to save the excess energy, which of course, Musk already has a way to do. I'm sure plenty more details will be released but suffice to say this hypothetical mode of transportation could become the fifth alternative, joining planes, trains, boats and automobiles.
Either way, one thing's for certain: Musk is a game-changer. A pioneer. A visionary. He's that guy we've always needed. Someone who has the brains, work ethic, and charisma to get something done that will substantially benefit the entire world.
At this rate, it doesn't matter how far his ideas go. It's the foundation for continued revolution. When Ford changed the way automobiles were produced, I'm sure he never thought robots would build the cars. Or when the first computer was made, I'm sure it was never expected to fit in your pocket in the form of a smartphone.
How far Musk will get or what he still has left to uncover remains unknown. Perhaps neither he nor the rest of us will live long enough to see to what extent in which mankind takes his incredible work, his building blocks of bettering the world. But we'll likely look back (possibly from Mars) and say, "This is because of Musk."
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Tesla -- >>> Tesla Superchargers Ease Range Anxiety, Even In 'Zombie Apocalypse'
By DONNA HOWELL
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
05/30/2013
http://news.investors.com/technology/053013-658208-tesla-superchargers-to-connect-most-big-cities.htm?ven=yahoocp,yahoo
Owners of Tesla Motors (TSLA) cars within six months will be able to drive long distances between most major metro areas in the U.S. and Canada amid an accelerated expansion of the free Supercharger network, the luxury electric-vehicle manufacturer said Thursday.
"It will also be possible to travel diagonally across the country from Los Angeles to New York using only the Tesla Supercharger Network," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on a conference call with reporters.
Tesla shares rose 0.3% to 104.95 on the stock market today. The stock has more than tripled this year.
The Tesla Supercharger network consists of free roadside fast-charging stations that effectively extend how far Tesla's electric cars can travel without plugging in for recharging at home. Range anxiety has been a significant factor seen limiting sales of electric cars such as Nissan's (NSANY) Leaf. Hybrid gas-electric-plug-in alternatives, such as General Motors' (GM) Volt and Toyota's (TM) plug-in Prius, have sought to address that but haven't made a huge splash.
Tesla's all-electric Model S sedans already have a relatively long range. Tesla's base Model S can go about 208 miles per charge in normal driving conditions and its top-end Model S about 265 miles.
SolarCity (SCTY), the solar installations company whose chairman is Musk, has been supplying the solar panels. With grid storage, some solar Supercharger stations already allow use whether the sun is shining or not — and, Musk says, whether or not the nation's electric grids are actually operating.
"So even if there's some zombie apocalypse, you'll still be able to travel across the country using the Tesla Supercharger system," Musk said on the call.
Tesla plans to triple the number of Supercharger stations by the end of June, adding more in California, and four more on the East Coast, along with coverage of "the northwest region from Vancouver to Seattle to Portland, Austin to Dallas in Texas, Illinois and Colorado," the company said in its announcement.
The Supercharger network now covers California and Nevada and spans the length of the Washington, D.C.-to-Boston corridor, and has enabled about 1 million miles of driving since October 2012, Tesla says.
"We're increasing the density on well traveled routes," Musk said on the call. "On well-traveled routes, there will be a Supercharger every 80 to 90 miles."
What's the price tag on Tesla's Supercharger network expansion?
"The cost is approximately what we first estimated which is roughly $150,000 per station in capital expenses without solar and then another $150,000 or so with solar, so roughly $300,000 per station," Musk said on the call. "I think we'll probably be at the 100-station mark next year, so we're going about twice as fast as originally planned."
The company said its Supercharger stations will be getting a higher maximum charging rate of 120 kilowatts instead of 90 kw, but that's still in beta testing. "A typical case would be a two-third recharge (of the battery system) in just over 20 minutes," Musk said.
Musk plans a family road trip from L.A. to New York this year, he said, adding that it will be a good memory for the kids though there's also a risk it could end up like "some Chevy Chase movie."
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Polaris Industries - profile -
>>> Polaris Industries Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in designing, engineering, manufacturing, and marketing off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, and on-road vehicles primarily in the United States, Canada, and internationally. Its off-road vehicles include all-terrain vehicles and side-by-side vehicles for recreational and utility use; snowmobiles consisting of various models, including independent front suspension, long travel rear suspension, hydraulic disc brakes, liquid cooling for brakes, and a three cylinder engine, as well as a four-stroke engine; and on-road vehicles comprise V-twin cruiser motorcycles. The company also produces replacement parts and accessories, such as winches, bumper/brushguards, plows, racks, mowers, tires, pull-behinds, cabs, cargo box accessories, tracks, and oil for off-road vehicles; covers, traction products, reverse kits, electric starters, tracks, bags, windshields, oil, and lubricants for snowmobiles; and saddle bags, handlebars, backrests, exhausts, windshields, seats, oil, and various chrome accessories for motorcycles. It sells its products through independent dealers and distributors primarily under the RANGER, RANGER RZR, RANGER Crew, Victory Vision, Victory Cross Roads, Indian, Polaris RUSH, and Cross Country names. In addition, the company markets recreational apparel consisting of helmets, jackets, bibs and pants, leathers, and hats through dealers and distributors, as well as online under the Polaris and Klim brand names. Polaris Industries Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Medina, Minnesota. <<<
Rail and Trucking sectors -- >>> Profits Flow From Southeast Logistics Hubs
By Arturo Cuevas
May 28, 2013
Tickers: CSX, JBHT, NSC, ODFL
http://beta.fool.com/darttanyan001/2013/05/28/profits-flow-from-southeast-logistics-hubs/35091/?source=eogyholnk0000001
Investing opportunities in logistics seem ripe these days. Indications are that people are now getting more inclined to spend, and thus, more goods need to get moving. Among the recent indicators of zealous U.S. consumer sentiment came from a Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary assessment for May. It showed that overall, the index of consumer sentiment rose in early May to its highest level in almost six years at 83.7; this benchmark was at 76.4 in April.
Added confidence can be drawn from expectations at Fannie Mae that the U.S. economy shall re-accelerate in this year’s second half with the labor sector regaining traction. The mortgage-finance company foresees 2.2% overall growth in 2013, thus improving on the modest 1.7% growth achieved in 2012.
Play with trucks and trains
The hot trail on logistics now currently leads to southeastern U.S., according to a DC Velocity report, These “logistics hotspots” are home grounds for rail company CSX (NYSE: CSX), headquartered in Jacksonville, FL. Another large railroad firm, Virginia-based Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC), has several major installations in Georgia.
The U.S. Southeast is also abode for the trucking mogul, J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ: JBHT), based in Lowell, AR. Another trucking giant, Thomasville, NC-based Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ: ODFL), likewise has much of its fortunes staked in the Southeast, specifically in its Piedmont-Triad, NC domain.
Hospitable business environment
Per the DC Velocity report, operating from and within this region provides several advantages, one of which is its population density, estimated to constitute 45% of the population in the U.S. Competitiveness in freight costs is definitely a plus, with the Southeast boasting of a robust supply chain infrastructure anchored on efficient connectivity of rail, highways, and seaports. Industrial peace is likewise an attraction, as the Southeast is largely non-union. Moreover, relatively abundant commercial-industrial real estate and state incentives for businesses locators make the Southeast hospitable to logistics operators.
These advantages can best be seen in CSX, whose Jacksonville home base has a strategic seaport. This is but one component to the company’s 21,000-mile transport network which also links to the Southeast ports in Miami, Savannah, GA, and Charleston, SC. All told, CSX has 70 port terminals not only along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts, but also at the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway.
Strong financials
CSX’s solid foundation in the Southeast was manifest in its record 2013 first-quarter operating income of $875 million. Net income for the quarter rose to $459 million, or $0.45 per share, from $449 million, or $0.43 per share, a year earlier. The slowdown in the company’s coal business was offset by advances in other segments such as those from intermodal and merchandise, resulting in $3 billion in revenue for this year’s first quarter.
Like in CSX, coal shipments at Norfolk Southern were sluggish during the 2013 first quarter, but it nonetheless achieved higher earnings on the strength of goods transport and intermodal revenue. Norfolk earned $450 million, or $1.41 per share, for the quarter, up 10% from $410 million, or $1.23 per share, in the 2012 first quarter. A non-recurring $60 million gain, or $0.19 per share, was included in the 2013 first-quarter results.
J. B. Hunt Transport, likewise, had a strong 2013 first quarter, increasing its operating revenue by 11% to $1.29 billion from $1.1 billion a year earlier. Net earnings in its most recent quarter rose year over year to $73.3 million, or a diluted EPS of $0.61, from $67.7 million, or $0.57 per diluted share.
Old Dominion Freight’s 2013 first quarter was robust too, as the company posted a 30.4% increase in net income to $40.6 million from the $31.1 million reported a year-earlier. Its diluted EPS rose 30.6% to $0.47 from $0.36 in the previous year’s first quarter. Revenue for 2013's first quarter rose 7.1% year over year to $532.6 million from $497.1 million.
Which has the hotter ride, trains, or trucks?
Metrics
CSX
Norfolk Southern
J.B. Hunt Transport
Old Dominion
P/E ratio
14.44
14.41
28.86
20.68
Annualized dividend
$0.56
$2.00
$0.60
N/A
Current yield
2.14%
2.49%
0.80%
N/A
Given the above metrics culled from NASDAQ, CSX and Norfolk Southern should be the preferred choices among the quartet from the U.S. Southeast logistics hotbed. Norfolk Southern has gathered enough steam, in fact, that it hit its 52-week high of $81 just this May 21. Profit-taking in ensuing days may provide an opportune time to take a position on this dividend aristocrat which has rewarded common stock shareholders with payouts for 123 successive quarters.
To wrap it up, keeping tab on investing opportunities in logistics companies in the Southeast can yield rewards. This region has a captive market projected to grow to half of the country’s total headcount in the near future. Additionally, the resurgent U.S. economy is a bull factor that can manifest stronger in the Southeast which has the inside track on two strategic ports closest to the Panama Canal -- the Port of Miami and Port Manatee. Increased cargo traffic in and out of the country via these ports can expected with the completion of widening and deepening of this waterway in 2014.
With 21,000 miles of track serving two-thirds of the U.S. population, CSX maintains a valuable proprietary asset. Still, this railroad will face difficult obstacles in the years ahead due to a domestic surplus of natural gas and coal’s declining popularity. To help investors better understand how CSX can deal with these challenges, The Motley Fool has released a brand-new premium research report authored by Isaac Pino, Industrials Bureau Chief and transportation expert. Isaac provides an in-depth look at CSX’s competitive advantages, risk areas, and prospects for the future. Simply click here now to access your copy of this invaluable investor's resource.
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J.B. Hunt Transport Services - profile -
>>> J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides transportation and delivery services in the continental United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company operates in four segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), and Full-Load Dry-Van (JBT). The JBI segment offers intermodal freight solutions, including origin and destination pickup, and delivery services. This segment operates approximately 58,962 pieces of company- owned trailing equipment; owns and maintains its own chassis fleet consisting of 55,361 pieces; and manages a fleet of approximately 3,124 company-owned tractors. The DCS segment designs, develops, and executes supply-chain solutions, which support various transportation networks. It focuses on private fleet conversion; and provides final mile delivery, replenishment, and specialized equipment and services. As of December 31, 2012, this segment operated 4,844 company-owned, 394 customer-owned, and 15 independent contractor trucks. The ICS segment offers non-asset and asset-light transportation logistics solutions; and flatbed, refrigerated, expedited, and less-than-truckload solutions, as well as various dry-van and intermodal solutions. This segment also provides single-source logistics management for customers that desire to outsource their transportation functions. The JBT segment offers full-load and dry-van freight services by utilizing tractors operating over roads and highways. As of December 31, 2012, this segment operated 1,192 company-owned tractors. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. also transports, or arranges for the transportation of, a range of freight, including general merchandise, specialty consumer items, appliances, forest and paper products, food and beverages, building materials, soaps and cosmetics, automotive parts, electronics, and chemicals. The company was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. <<<
Old Dominion Freight Line - profile -
>>> Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. operates as a less-than-truckload (LTL) motor carrier primarily in the United States and North America. It provides regional, inter-regional, and national LTL services. The company also provides a range of value-added services, including ground and air expedited transportation, container delivery, truckload brokerage, supply chain consulting, and warehousing services, as well as consumer household pickup and delivery services. In addition, it offers freight forwarding services worldwide. As of December 31, 2012, it owned a fleet of 6,099 tractors and 24,181 trailers, as well as operated 218 service centers. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. was founded in 1934 and is based in Thomasville, North Carolina. <<<
Wabtec - Westinghouse Air Brake - profile -
>>> Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation, doing business as Wabtec Corporation, provides technology-based products and services for the freight rail and passenger transit industries worldwide. It operates in two segments, Freight and Transit. The Freight segment manufactures and services components for new and existing locomotive and freight cars; supplies railway electronics and positive train control equipment; provides signal design and engineering services; builds switcher locomotives; rebuilds freight locomotives; and provides heat exchangers and cooling systems for rail and other industrial markets. This segment serves publicly traded railroads; leasing companies; manufacturers of original equipment, such as locomotives and freight cars; and utilities. The Transit segment manufactures and services components for new and existing passenger transit vehicles, including subway cars and buses; builds commuter locomotives; and refurbishes subway cars. This segment serves public transit authorities and municipalities, leasing companies, and manufacturers of subway cars and buses. The company?s products include positive train control equipment and electronically controlled pneumatic braking products; railway electronics, including event recorders, monitoring equipment, and end of train devices; freight car truck components; draft gears, couplers, and slack adjusters; air compressors and dryers; track and switch products; railway braking equipment and related components; friction products, including brake shoes and pads; door and window assemblies, and accessibility lifts and ramps for buses and subway cars; and traction motors. It also builds, remanufactures, and overhauls commuter and switcher locomotives, and transit cars. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Wilmerding, Pennsylvania. <<<
Allegiant Travel - profile -
>>> Allegiant Travel Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a leisure travel company in the United States. It provides scheduled air transportation on limited frequency nonstop flights between small city markets and leisure destinations, including Las Vegas, Nevada, Orlando, Florida, Phoenix, Arizona, Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg, Los Angeles, California, Ft. Lauderdale, San Francisco Bay Area, Punta Gorda, Honolulu, Maui, Hawaii, and San Diego. As of February 1, 2013, the company operated a fleet of 58 MD-80 aircrafts and 6 Boeing 757-200 aircrafts, which provided services on 191 routes to 85 cities, including 13 leisure destinations and 72 small cities. The company also provides air-related services and products in conjunction with air transportation, including use of its call center for purchases, baggage fees, advance seat assignment, travel protection products, change fees, priority boarding, food and beverage purchases on board, and other air-related services. In addition, it offers third party travel products, such as hotel rooms, ground transportation, and attractions. Further, the company provides air transportation through fixed fee agreements and charter service on a seasonal and ad-hoc basis. Allegiant Travel Company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. <<<
Tesla-- >>> How Elon Musk Can Help You Find the Next Home Run Stock?
By Jon Quast
May 23, 2013
Tickers: SCTY, TSLA, BA
http://beta.fool.com/thequast/2013/05/23/its-not-what-he-saidits-the-way-he-says-it/34757/?source=eogyholnk0000001
PayPal co-founder Elon Musk is one of the most widely known and celebrated businessmen of the past decade. The South Africa native has a knack for delivering results in some very unlikely areas. I intend to share with you why I was simply gobsmacked after looking at his recent accomplishments.
Space exploration, electric cars, and solar energy are the perfect recipe for failure. All three industries have mountainous obstacles to overcome in order to achieve success. Yet, Elon Musk is succeeding in all three. Why does this man succeed, and why should you care?
Space Exploration -- Set insane goals
Elon Musk started SpaceX in 2002. Ten years later, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft made history by being the first privately-built spacecraft to dock at the International Space Station. The company now has contracts in place with NASA, the Air Force, and the Defense Department. This has led SpaceX to be the first space exploration company to ever make money.
Musk has done this by setting his goals very high. The goal for SpaceX is not to deliver cargo to the International Space Station, but rather to profit from a permanent 80,000 person settlement on Mars. To even write that last sentence makes me feel as though I'm describing the whims of a lunatic. But this insane goal has guided SpaceX to the very front of the private space company pack.
Musk has downplayed all rumors of a SpaceX IPO anytime soon. Bummer.
Electric Cars -- Offer a superior product
Musk founded Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: TSLA) in 2003. This company also made history ten years after its founding by announcing its first profit, sending shares soaring 100% in a week and 180% over the last year.
Tesla more than doubled its annual revenue in 2012, but perhaps it's not fair to compare Tesla's growth to established players like Ford and General Motors since it wouldn't be reasonable to expect them to grow revenue over 100% a year like Tesla. Rather than comparing Tesla to competitors, we should be addressing exactly how it was able to accomplish this growth.
Tesla has out-engineered Boeing (NYSE: BA). Boeing experienced a disaster when a lithium-ion battery from one of its 787 Dreamliners caught fire and in so doing, grounded all 787 flights for nearly five months. Tesla also uses lithium-ion batteries, but of a completely different design. Boeing's batteries are composed of 8 cells, while Tesla's have thousands of smaller isolated cells specifically designed to prevent a "domino effect" -- the effect that caused Boeing's battery to blow up.
The issue surrounding the lithium-ion battery is just one example of how Tesla out-engineered its way to 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year. It has created a product superior to all other electric cars available, but this innovation comes at a cost. Tesla is intentionally marketing its cars to high-end customers who are prepared to pay a premium. The company sold nearly 5,000 vehicles in the first quarter, proof that its strategy is working.
The point here is that if a company offers a superior product, customers are willing to pay for it.
Solar Energy - Solve industry problems
While not exactly founded by Musk, SolarCity (NASDAQ: SCTY) bears his fingerprint. After being pushed in the right direction by his cousin Elon, Lyndon Rive started the company in 2006. Things are progressing fast as the company just announced that it increased its customer base over 100% year-over-year.
Solar panel technology is appealing to just about everyone, yet in the decades that it has existed, it has failed to ever become implemented on a large scale. Two big deterrents for consumers are the high start-up costs and the needed knowledge to run a solar system. The reason SolarCity is achieving such remarkable customer growth is it has eliminated these two barriers.
There are no up front installation costs with SolarCity, and it performs the ongoing service the solar system needs. This results in a win-win situation. The customer wins by getting cheaper electricity without the upfront cost and the hassle of maintenance. SolarCity wins by raking in the recurring revenue.
SolarCity is winning in the solar energy market by correctly assessing the problems intrinsic to the solar energy industry and then solving these problems. By doing so, SolarCity has positioned itself for greatness for quite some time.
Gobsmacked
I own no shares of Tesla Motors or SolarCity, and on purpose. I have been convinced for some time that customers aren't looking for electric cars, and solar panels are inherently unprofitable. I have therefore been astonished -- gobsmacked even -- by what Elon Musk has accomplished with these three companies.
Recognizing one's failures helps in assessing exactly what went wrong. I now have this as a painful reminder that when identifying investment opportunities, don't just look at the industries those companies are in, look for companies that:
1.Set Insane Goals
2.Offer a Superior Product (at a premium if necessary)
3.Solve Industry Problems
If Musk's companies, or any company for that matter, can hang on to these qualities, then look for them to continue to outperform their peers long-term. Correctly identifying these qualities in your investments can get you a long way to discovering the next home run investment opportunity.
Tesla's plan to disrupt the global auto business has yielded spectacular results. But giant competitors are already moving to disrupt Tesla. Will the company be able to fend them off?
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Name | Symbol | % Assets |
---|---|---|
Tesla Inc | TSLA | 3.30% |
Skyworks Solutions Inc | SWKS | 3.25% |
Ansys Inc | ANSS | 3.09% |
NVIDIA Corp | NVDA | 3.07% |
ON Semiconductor Corp | ON | 3.07% |
Lear Corp | LEA | 3.02% |
Tianneng Power International Ltd | 00819 | 3.01% |
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ADR | TSM.TW | 2.98% |
Autohome Inc ADR | ATHM | 2.94% |
Volvo AB B | VOLV B | 2.92% |
Apple Inc | AAPL | 3.59% |
NVIDIA Corp | NVDA | 3.57% |
Intel Corp | INTC | 3.35% |
Alphabet Inc A | GOOGL | 3.26% |
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | 005930.KS | 3.26% |
Toyota Motor Corp | 7203 | 3.22% |
Microsoft Corp | MSFT | 3.06% |
Qualcomm Inc | QCOM | 3.03% |
Cisco Systems Inc | CSCO | 2.43% |
Daimler AG | DAI.DE | 2.08% |
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