Go Woke, go broke - trucking edition

From Get Woke Go Broke – Big Rig Edition by Buck Throckmorton.  Another Woke company going broke.  Again.

The CEO of one of the country’s largest trucking companies made a big splash just over a year ago, when he declared the trucking industry racist, bigoted, and in need of enlightenment. And shocker, he was just the guy to enlighten us.

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Unsurprisingly, this privileged white man who inherited his executive position from his daddy, accused truck drivers of being toxic people with white privilege.

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CEO Fuller really, REALLY likes slandering his employees and his industry as being racist, doesn’t he?

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You’ll never guess what happened next.

Actually, you could predict exactly what happened next - the company started circling the drain. It had a massive financial loss in the first quarter of 2022 and then laid off about 5% of its workforce.

The article is missing the important context of what might be happening in the trucking industry at large.  Are the financial woes of U.S. Xpress common or unique to themselves.  If the latter, then their financial woes can be attributed to poor leadership and Wokeness.  If the former, then maybe not so much.  

On the one hand, we are coming out of the Covid lockdowns and the economy, fitfully, is recovering.  More economic activity should mean greater trucking industry prosperity.  On the other hand, logistical challenges have been legion and there has been much talk over the past few months about a driver shortage.

The government response to Covid, particularly the lockdowns, were difficult for the industry but prices are up and activity is up.  While there are always uncertainties in logistics, this article suggests some confidence in the future and solid financial returns.  

“You’ll see rates hold up for the remainder of the year. Our cost increases are real. Our customers understand that,” Leathers said. “We’re talking large scale successful winning brands like [Walmart and Target] and many others that know the reliance on their carrier is a competitive advantage. They want good quality transportation, on time, every time safely. To do that they work with large well capitalized carriers.” 

Trucking stocks have been some of the best performers in July, while the S&P 500 has gained more than 7% this month. SAIA and ArcBest are up over 20%, while Werner Enterprises, Knight Swift and JB Hunt have increased over 10%.

So it sounds like the sector has experienced a rough patch but with good prospects.  Except, apparently, those who drove the Woke road towards insolvency.