• Which companies are sharing good news in their financial reporting? • How has the recession (2008-2009) affected companies’ balance sheets?

Since the 2008-2009 recession, they economy has started to get back on its feet. Nearly every industry is somewhat reliant on the transportation industry, and as a result, the transportation industry has benefited. UPS, FedEx, and Southwest all have experienced growth and increased revenues as the economy has recovered. All three companies have shown an increase in net receivables, as well as an increase in current assets. In 2011, Southwest report 970 million in goodwill, after two years of none. This shows that they were able to purchase another company, signaling that their growth is getting back on track. FedEx in particular has made substantial recoveries. In 2009, net income was 98 million. By 2011, it was up to 1.4 billion! FedEx can attribute their substantial increase in income to a reduction in non-recurring operating expenses, which in 2009 were 1.2 billion; now they are 89 million. Something extreme must have happened in the company to cause such a high figure. In terms of net income, all three companies but Southwest have experienced significant increases, with UPS up 80% from 2009. Overall, the outlook of the transportation industry looks bright as the economy recovers and things get back on track.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=UPS+Balance+Sheet&annual
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=FDX+Balance+Sheet&annual
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=luv+Balance+Sheet&annual
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=UPS&annual
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=FDX+Income+Statement&annual
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=LUV+Income+Statement&annualHow has the recession (2008-2009) affected companies’ balance sheets?

• What workforce trends is the industry experiencing?

It is common knowledge that the world's largest manufacturer of goods used to be the United States. However, with time, most manufacturing jobs in the U.S. moved to the East, specifically China and Southeast Asia. China is the largest single producer of goods in the East. This role is made possible by there use of SEZ's, or Special Economic Zones. These Special Economic Zones are not bound by the constrictions of communism, and are open markets with free trade. One of these SEZ's is called Shenzhen. Shenzhen is located in South of Guandong Province, a province in the South of Mainland China, just a few miles away from Hong Kong. Shenzhen is home to companies such as Foxconn, which produce iPads, iPhones, laptops, motherboards, and other electronic equipment. These items need to be shipped to consumers in the United States.


UPS is there to meet that need. With its acquisition of TNT, UPS is positioning itself to become a major player in both the European and Chinese markets. Another step it is taking is moving its intra-Asian air hub from the Philippines to a compound located at the Shenzhen Airport in Shenzhen, China. This relocation will cost $180 million, but will shave a day off shipping times. More than half of UPS's intra-Asian volume originate from China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, with most of it from Southeast China and Hong Kong. President of UPS international Dan Brutto explains “Given the growth in shipping along the southern rim of China, it now makes more sense to sort and dispatch this volume from a hub closer to our customers."


"The new Shenzhen hub will be approximately one million sq.ft, and initially, it will be able to process up to 18,000 pieces per hour." UPS has also invested millions of dollars in an international shipping facility at the Shanghai Airport in Pudong province. This means many jobs will be created in this area, and should bring a huge economic boost to the entire region.


http://www.ridgebrook-ventures.com/news/news/ups-moves-intra-asia-air-hub-from-philippines-to-china/

employment and company divisions in the trucking industry

Nearly nine million people are employed in the US trucking industry. Three and a half million of those are truck drivers. Specifically, UPS employs 60,000 workers, of whom 6 percent are owners. Less than truckload shipping accounts for almost 14 percent of American trucks. Almost 16 million trucks operate in the United States, although there are 3.5 million truck drivers in the US. One in nine truck owners are independent. There are over 500,000 trucking companies in America. 96 percent of those companies operate 28 or less trucks.

Obviously, truck drivers dominate the industry. Interestingly, most of them are not owners and the many trucking companies own the trucks. 

article: http://www.truckinfo.net/trucking/stats.htm

How has the competitive landscape changed as a result of leading entrepreneurs in the industry

Like many transportation companies in the world, Kingfisher Airlines in India is struggling to pay its bill and pay off its debt. However, the chairman of Kingfisher says there are a few foreign investors and another airline that are very intrigued in buying stake in the company.

Many companies in the industry have either been bought out or filed bankruptcy. Also, many leading companies in the industry, such as UPS and Fedex are attempting to go abroad, mainly in Europe. UPS has been in constant contact with Bombardier. If UPS ends up putting a deal together that can make bombardier happy, it could make UPS a very rich company in the long run. Many of the smaller companies in the transportation are suffering because they cant compete with the leaders on the industry.

There's always room for growth!

• ·       Who are the emerging companies?
• ·       In what areas of the industry are there opportunities for innovation?

Years ago, when there was news of an “emerging company” most people automatically thought of the extreme end: absolutely new. But today, with multiple acquisitions happening, emerging companies are essentially being formed, just not completely new or emerging. And, as with anything, emerging companies are faced with difficulties.

            Fox Business online published the article: UPS Confirms TNT Airways To Be Sold Prior To TNT Express Acquisition. Although not an emerging company within the, UPS is an emerging companies in many parts of Europe. Hence, they are acquiring TNT to fill those gaps.

            Almost complete the deal; UPS is faced with the difficulty of the European Union’s bias against foreign ownership of airline. With EU regulations, UPS cannot acquire, or take the full package (TNT’s Airline), but they can get everything else.

           

            With such emergence and acquisitions, one would think UPS is also investing in new technology and innovation, but not the case; FedEx is stealing that limelight.

            Writer for The Kansas City Star, Steve Everly identity’s innovation initiative by one of America’s finest, in his article: Smith Electric unveils new delivery truck for FedEx.  Smith Electric Vehicles is a cooperation that produces electric delivery trucks. 

            The company launched the Newton Step Van, which is to be deployed by FedEx in the coming months. The Van will go about 100 miles on a single charge, ultimately saving the company millions with the, always increasing, gas prices.

            FedEx’s vice president of global vehicles, Dennis Beal, said “ This opportunity helps support our goal to optimize and operate our vehicle fleet in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner.” In short, this new technology is saving FedEx money, while “saving our environment,” as many environmentalists would say.

                                               

Articles: http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/03/23/ups-confirms-tnt-airways-to-be-sold-prior-to-tnt-express-acquisition/ 

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/06/3472945/smith-electric-unveils-new-delivery.html#storylink=misearch

Declining yet still growing??

With an increase in online shopping, one may think that companies such as UPS and Fedex would, too, be on the rise, but that isn’t always case. Well, for UPS, anyways.

In his article UPS Beats Street in 4Q, Hikes ’12 Outlook, Matt Egan of Fox Business online, analyzes a decline within The United Parcel Service.

Matt begins: “ Shipping giant UPS revealed a 29% slump in fourth-quarter profits on Tuesday, [January 31, 2012], due to pension accounting changes, but the economic bellwether’s adjusted earnings managed to top Wall Street’s expectation.” On other words, there was a slump, because of administrative problems within the company, but there’s not a lot of grief due to the profit of $1.03 billion a year earlier.

In addition to that year earlier and a 29% slump because of pension difficulties, UPS still managed to pull in an increase with international revenues by 3.5% or $3.15 billion.

Finally, UPS’s chief financial officer, Kurt Kuehn said, “ Looking ahead to 2012, our expectations are for mixed economic growth around the world, with modest improvement in the U.S. However, UPS projects another strong year of earnings.”

Similarly to most companies in the world, there’s always a growing and declining quarter, and UPS, a financially stable company, has and will continue to experience declines and growth.

Article: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/01/31/ups-posts-higher-profit-boosts-view/

What are some current events in your industry? What is the impact of these events on the industry

Fedex recently reported that its United States express business dropped 4 percent. It also reported that "earnings for its fiscal third quarter more than doubled, helped by higher prices and strong holiday shipping." The company is reducing its work force due to wrong economic growth predictions.

The stock of Fedex, however, has risen more than expected. This is fairly big because this means Fedex is making more money and with UPS trying to make a blockbuster deal over in Europe, could almost throw things off with the deal. Maybe with all this new money Fedex is making, it could try to make a deal over in Europe.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304636404577297191613373980.html?mod=WSJ_Transportation_leftHeadlines