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Speaker 1: Hi everyone, and welcome to the Bloomberg Intelligence Talking Transports podcast.

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Speaker 1: I'm your host Lee Klaskaws, senior freight transportational logistics analysts

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Speaker 1: at Bloomberg Intelligence, Bloomberg's in house research arm. We're delighted

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Speaker 1: to have Judy mcreynold's chairman, president and CEO of ARC

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Speaker 1: Best Corporation as our guest on the podcast. Arc Besk

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Speaker 1: is a publicly traded trucking logistics provider under the ticker

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Speaker 1: AARCB space US on the Terminal, with a market cap

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Speaker 1: of around two point six billion dollars. Judy guides ARC

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Speaker 1: Best with over thirty years of experience in the transportational

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Speaker 1: logistics industry, including twenty six years at the company. In

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Speaker 1: twenty ten, she was named arc Best President and CEO.

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Speaker 1: Then in twenty sixteen, she was elected as Chairman of

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Speaker 1: the board of ARC Best. She's been very active in

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Speaker 1: the past at the American Transportation Research Institute and the

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Speaker 1: American Trucking Association over the years. She was also honored

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Speaker 1: as an inductee into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame

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Speaker 1: in February twenty twenty three. A certified public accountant, Judy

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Speaker 1: holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Oklahoma.

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Speaker 1: So go Sooners. Welcome to the podcast, Judy, Well, thank.

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Speaker 2: You so much. Lee, I'm happy to be here.

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Speaker 1: So can you tell the people out there a little

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Speaker 1: bit about arbescas it might not be a household name

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Speaker 1: for everybody.

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Speaker 3: Well, sure, Our Best is a multi billion dollar integrated

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Speaker 3: logistics company and we leverage our technology and a full

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Speaker 3: suite of shipping and logistics solutions to meet our customers'

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Speaker 3: complex supply chain needs. Through our logistics platform, we offer ground, air,

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Speaker 3: and ocean transportation through a variety of providers, including our

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Speaker 3: Lesson truckload carrier ABF, our truckload service with Molow, and

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Speaker 3: our Panther Premium logistics fleet. We also have household goods

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Speaker 3: moving through our UPAC offering and our tech company. Our

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Speaker 3: Best Technologies really provides the innovative solutions and technologies and

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Speaker 3: advanced analytics that really help support our customers through these

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Speaker 3: solutions and helps to keep the global supply chain moving.

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Speaker 1: All right, great, So can you talk about what solutions

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Speaker 1: makes up your asset base and non asset businesses. Tell

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Speaker 1: me a little bit about each one if you would, Yes, Well.

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Speaker 3: Our asset based solutions are it's really a network that

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Speaker 3: serves the less than truckload industry and that's through ABF Freight.

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Speaker 3: I think maybe some would recognize the green and Gold

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Speaker 3: trucks out there, and that's a business that's been in

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Speaker 3: business since nineteen twenty three. So we're celebrating our one

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Speaker 3: hundredth anniversary. But you know, we have two hundred and

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Speaker 3: forty service centers and it's just a great resource for

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Speaker 3: customers because we own the resources, we have the people,

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Speaker 3: and you know, oftentimes that matters most to our customers.

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Speaker 3: And it's also a very flexible network that works well

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Speaker 3: with our other solutions, which matters a lot to customers

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Speaker 3: as well. And then on the full full load side, recently,

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Speaker 3: we bought Molo back in November twenty twenty one, and

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Speaker 3: that really filled out.

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Speaker 2: Our full load solution.

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Speaker 3: It's a very important solution, you know, for our customers

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Speaker 3: and again integrates well with the rest of what we do.

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Speaker 3: Panther Premium Logistics was a company that we bought back

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Speaker 3: in twenty twelve. That's where our ground expedite and premium

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Speaker 3: logistics offerings are are done and that's a very important

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Speaker 3: offering for customers, particularly in certain environments. And you know,

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Speaker 3: when we talk about our household goods moving, that's kind

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Speaker 3: of an interesting thing for people.

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Speaker 2: But we actually do.

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Speaker 3: For a service where the customer loads, they'refore in a

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Speaker 3: trailer and we can put a bulkhead behind it, or

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Speaker 3: we have what we call relo cubes that allow a

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Speaker 3: room full of furniture to be put in the cube

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Speaker 3: and put on our trailer. And then we also through that,

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Speaker 3: you know, we can do commercial applications as well. So

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Speaker 3: that's just a little bit more about each of those solutions.

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Speaker 1: So it's a lot of different businesses. And can you

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Speaker 1: talk a little bit about how the asset based business

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Speaker 1: and the non asset based business maybe complement each other

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Speaker 1: or what kind of synergies you get from each other.

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Speaker 3: Yes, it's really really important to understand first and foremost

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Speaker 3: how we interact with our customers.

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Speaker 2: That's really.

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Speaker 3: Where we developed the approach, the integration that we use

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Speaker 3: and what we offer. And when you see yourself through

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Speaker 3: the customer's lens, you recognize that most of the spend

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Speaker 3: that they have centers around full load for many many customers,

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Speaker 3: and when you know, we recognize that and the compliment

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Speaker 3: that would provide to the rest of what.

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Speaker 2: We were doing.

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Speaker 3: We went on a path of doing several smaller acquisitions

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Speaker 3: and then again I mentioned the Molo acquisition most recently.

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Speaker 3: But what we find is that if we do business

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Speaker 3: with a customer that has truckload needs, that we oftentimes

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Speaker 3: maybe more than sixty percent of the time, end up

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Speaker 3: doing business with that customer in the less than truckload

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Speaker 3: network as well. Because customers have those needs, I mean

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Speaker 3: it's across their supply chain. Many times, the combinations of

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Speaker 3: these solutions are really the best answer for them from

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Speaker 3: an efficiency and service standpoint.

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Speaker 1: Is the brokerage business feeding the asset based business as well?

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Speaker 2: Yes it does.

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Speaker 3: I mean we have interactions where you know, we might

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Speaker 3: pick up a full load on the West Coast and

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Speaker 3: interjected at some point into the less the truckload network,

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Speaker 3: maybe it's in Dallas or Atlanta, and have the distribution

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Speaker 3: the city operation that goes with our less the truckload

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Speaker 3: network actually do the delivery, and so it's been really complementary.

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Speaker 3: The other thing that's so interesting is when we do

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Speaker 3: business with a customer that has more than one solution involved,

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Speaker 3: we have five times the revenue or times the profit

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Speaker 3: and we retain that business nine percentage points more often

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Speaker 3: because it's just so responsive.

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Speaker 1: Right And for those that don't know, less than truckload

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Speaker 1: of freight is usually palatized freight. A carrier will consolidate

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Speaker 1: and shift that freight to different regions, so it's not

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Speaker 1: the shipper is not using a full truck, they're using

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Speaker 1: maybe like one to who knows, twelve pallets of freight, right,

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Speaker 1: and I'm assuming most of your freate's palatize.

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Speaker 3: Right of it is most of it, you know, certainly

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Speaker 3: it's done in a way that is shrink craft or

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Speaker 3: kept separate from other shipments. But you know, that's one

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Speaker 3: of the things I think that that is unique about

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Speaker 3: us is the amount of difficult freight or freight that

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Speaker 3: you know has some kind of a challenge associated with it.

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Speaker 3: You know, we do that business as well too, and

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Speaker 3: we're known for doing a great job of that from

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Speaker 3: both a you know, a claims ratio standpoint or safety

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Speaker 3: and security.

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Speaker 1: Right and just for paletizing freight. It makes it much

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Speaker 1: more easier for the trucking company to move the freight.

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Speaker 1: One of my first forays into freight transportation as a

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Speaker 1: young man was in college. I loaded unloaded trucks for

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Speaker 1: APA Trucking during the summer as the night shift. It

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Speaker 1: was the hardest job ever had in my life, and

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Speaker 1: it made me a better student because I realized that

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Speaker 1: I wasn't cut out for it and it was not palatized.

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Speaker 1: It was one box at a time.

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Speaker 3: Oh yes, and so you understand the efficiency associated with palatize, right.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, So I want to stay on the LTL market.

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Speaker 1: It's been a crazy market. The b I LTL peer

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Speaker 1: group is up sixty one percent. Our best is up

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Speaker 1: fifty five percent a year to date, well surpassing the

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Speaker 1: S and P, which is up around twenty percent. What's

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Speaker 1: going on in the LTL market? Can you talk about,

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Speaker 1: you know, the Yellow bankruptcy and what that's done to

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Speaker 1: fundamentals for the industry and specifically for our best.

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Speaker 3: Well, it's been a really interesting year, especially coming off

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Speaker 3: of record years in twenty twenty two and then also

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Speaker 3: in twenty twenty one for us. You know, as we

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Speaker 3: entered twenty twenty three, we noted, you know a bit

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Speaker 3: of a weakness in the macro environment. I think, you

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Speaker 3: know that there's been a sequential decline or a kind

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Speaker 3: of a weaker environ associated with industrial and manufacturing for

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Speaker 3: I want to say twelve to thirteen months, you know,

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Speaker 3: something like that, and that's after a more than two

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Speaker 3: year period of strength. And so that was present and

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Speaker 3: we were addressing that and dealing with that, especially as

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Speaker 3: we entered the second quarter, which was seasonally not as

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Speaker 3: strong as what you would typically see. And so but

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Speaker 3: we were also and we may get into this a

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Speaker 3: little bit later, we were also wrapping up a labor

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Speaker 3: contract in.

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Speaker 2: The month of June that was voted in.

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Speaker 3: In early July. So for us, we had a lot

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Speaker 3: on our plates that we were dealing with. Well, you know,

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Speaker 3: at that point, we were also hearing rumblings about the

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Speaker 3: potential for a Yellow either work stoppage or bankruptcy.

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Speaker 2: And you know, we have.

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Speaker 3: Connections and relationships with many, many customers, and some of

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Speaker 3: those customers were customers that they were impacting as well,

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Speaker 3: and so it was interesting to see all of that

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Speaker 3: come together.

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Speaker 2: But I think maybe the.

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Speaker 3: Audience knows this already, but Yellow went bankrupt in early August,

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Speaker 3: and so that was a significant event because my understanding

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Speaker 3: is they did fifty thousand shipments a day and you know,

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Speaker 3: had a network that was larger than ours in terms

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Speaker 3: of locations, and so so we you know, toward the

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Speaker 3: end of June into July, we had lots of customer

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Speaker 3: interactions asking for solutions, maybe the expansion of what we

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Speaker 3: were already doing with them, and we were responsive. We

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Speaker 3: had lots of ways of responding, either through our asset

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Speaker 3: based network or through the work that we do in

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Speaker 3: our managed transportation area which actually places us great on

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Speaker 3: other lto carriers and so in many cases, and we're

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Speaker 3: continuing to be able to say yes to them to

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Speaker 3: you know, solve their challenge is for the moment. And

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Speaker 3: then also we've seen over time, you know, some impact

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Speaker 3: there too, So it's been interesting from that standpoint.

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Speaker 2: But you know, I don't want to.

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Speaker 3: You know, forget the the you know, kind of the

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Speaker 3: underlying weakness, because that has actually been impacting some of

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Speaker 3: the other solutions. Our truckload solution and ground expedite solution

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Speaker 3: have been impacted.

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Speaker 1: By that, right And just for the listeners out there,

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Speaker 1: when a trucking company is kind of seems to be

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Speaker 1: in trouble, a lot of shippers will pull their freight

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Speaker 1: away from them because they're afraid their freight might get

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Speaker 1: stuck in that network and they won't know when their

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Speaker 1: shipments are going to be delivered, and it becomes like

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Speaker 1: a run on the bank, you know, snowballing effect from

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Speaker 1: a financial impact in Yellow was financially strained for quite

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Speaker 1: some time. So this was kind of like, I don't

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Speaker 1: know what, fifteen years in the making the bankruptcy.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean really and we felt for the customers

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Speaker 3: we did, I mean because many of them, you know,

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Speaker 3: had done business with them for a long time and

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Speaker 3: we're looking for an answer quickly.

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Speaker 1: And is this like kind of stopped any labor issues

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Speaker 1: that you might have in terms of getting people, whether

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Speaker 1: it's uh, salespeople, truck drivers, dock workers. As the failure

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Speaker 1: of Yellow kind of made it easier for you guys

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Speaker 1: to to find people and retain people.

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Speaker 3: It has made it easier, you know. Certainly we're a

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Speaker 3: natural place for them to go. And uh, you know,

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Speaker 3: we we have two examples, I think in our Chicago

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Speaker 3: distribution center and in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, we have full road boards,

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Speaker 3: which is road drivers which are the most difficult to

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Speaker 3: hire and and and so that's.

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Speaker 2: An unusual thing for us.

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Speaker 3: We're glad for that but we have been a home

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Speaker 3: for hundreds of Yellow drivers and then also some dock

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Speaker 3: workers as well, and and so I you know, it's

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Speaker 3: been gratifying to be able to find, you know that

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Speaker 3: those workers, but all so I think to be a

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Speaker 3: location for them to go as they're transitioning.

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Speaker 1: So we're recording this mid December. You know, you mentioned

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Speaker 1: that there's some seasonal weakness with the failure of Yellow.

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Speaker 1: Are you seeing tonnage or shipman growth? Are you just

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Speaker 1: seeing declines smaller than they might have would have been.

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Speaker 3: I think overall it's smaller than they might have been.

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Speaker 2: But you know, what I like.

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Speaker 3: To refer to is our the lesson truckload core business

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Speaker 3: in the third quarter relative to what we were seeing previous.

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Speaker 3: So maybe a comparison back to June, we were we

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Speaker 3: really benefited from about twenty percent growth and our core business.

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Speaker 2: And you know that that's good business for us.

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Speaker 3: It's business that you know, works well within the network

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Speaker 3: and enriches you know, the productivity really across the board

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Speaker 3: for the workforce, and so that was beneficial to us

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Speaker 3: in the results that we had for the third quarter.

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Speaker 3: And you know that that uh has worked well. You know,

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Speaker 3: we what we did was we have some transactional business that.

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Speaker 2: We are aware of.

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Speaker 3: We tamp that down, so to speak, and saw the

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Speaker 3: increase in the core business. The two, you know, are

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Speaker 3: are kind of netting out when you look at the

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Speaker 3: total result. So that's what I was referencing when I said,

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Speaker 3: you know, less negative than it would be, but you know,

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Speaker 3: certainly a positive for our network, our people and productivity. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: And also you know that the industry has gotten more consolidated.

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Speaker 1: The lt L industry is a much more consolidated than

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Speaker 1: the truckolate industry, which is extremely fragmented. Anyone with a

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Speaker 1: CDL and a couple of bucks in their pocket can

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Speaker 1: get into that business, whereas the LTL business is very

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Speaker 1: acid intensive, whether it's equipment or facilities. So the market's

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Speaker 1: obviously gotten more concer validated. The LTL pricing has been

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Speaker 1: pretty good. So where where do you see pricing going

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Speaker 1: from here?

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Speaker 3: Well, you know, I feel like that there's never been

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Speaker 3: a time where the resources that are being deployed in

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Speaker 3: an LTL network, whether it's the real estate assets, the

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Speaker 3: you know, the equipment and the people have been more

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Speaker 3: recognized and so I, you know, I feel good about

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Speaker 3: the strength of the pricing environment now, and it you know,

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Speaker 3: really shouldn't change, you know, based on what we know

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Speaker 3: going into twenty twenty four, even though there is quite

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Speaker 3: a bit of uncertainty about you know, the economic environment

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Speaker 3: in twenty twenty four. One thing that I've been pointing

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Speaker 3: out to you know, that we talk to investors and

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Speaker 3: others is just the recognition that Yellow's network is out

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Speaker 3: of service right now. And if you think about a

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Speaker 3: network that was serving fifty thousand shipments a day not

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Speaker 3: being present, you know, as we roll into twenty twenty four,

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Speaker 3: that will still be the case for some time. You know,

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Speaker 3: they're not even fully complete with the auction process on

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Speaker 3: the real estate, and you know, although they've gone through

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Speaker 3: the first phase of it, what we know is that

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Speaker 3: many of these facilities need a good.

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Speaker 2: Amount of work in order to get back going.

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Speaker 3: And so, you know, I feel like as we start

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Speaker 3: the year, you know, that's going to be a factor

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Speaker 3: in the overall tightness of the carrier capacity, so to speak,

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Speaker 3: in the industry, which bodes well for pricing.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and we published our LTL outlook last month and

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Speaker 1: we are calling for mid single digit increases in revenue

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Speaker 1: for one hundred x fuel search charges. So that's kind

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Speaker 1: of how we're expecting the market to go next year.

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Speaker 1: You know, you mentioned some of these facilities that Yelle

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Speaker 1: used to own are no longer in service, and you know,

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Speaker 1: there was just an announcement I think it was last

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Speaker 1: week or two weeks ago about couple of carriers that

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Speaker 1: have bought some properties. Are you guys involved in that?

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Speaker 1: Have you bought any properties?

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Speaker 2: We did.

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Speaker 3: We came away from that initial part of the auction

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Speaker 3: with three and again there's they're still working through. I

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Speaker 3: think there were over forty properties that weren't auctioned for

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Speaker 3: one reason or another, and then there's also some leased facilities,

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Speaker 3: you know, and so it's not complete. But we in

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Speaker 3: the initial phase, we came away with three locations that

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Speaker 3: were much needed.

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Speaker 1: Right Are these are these locations that are going to

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Speaker 1: be additional to your network? Are you going to maybe

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Speaker 1: replace them with smaller locations or locations that are maybe

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Speaker 1: not in the best geographic position to serve a certain market.

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Speaker 3: Well, in each case, they're replacing and actually growing in

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Speaker 3: terms of capacity each of the locations. And so so

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Speaker 3: there are replacements on the one hand, but they're larger

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Speaker 3: somewhat larger than the location that they're replacing.

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Speaker 1: Okay, and just switching geared a little bit, I kind

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Speaker 1: of shared, you know, my exciting transportation career as working

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Speaker 1: the graveyard shift at Apa Trucking in the early nineteen nineties.

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Speaker 1: What got you interested in the transportation industry.

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Speaker 3: Well, it's interesting, I you know, when I think back

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Speaker 3: about where my career started.

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Speaker 2: You know, I, as you mentioned, I have an accounting.

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Speaker 3: Degree that I graduated from University of Oklahoma with. And

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Speaker 3: when I was in college, I worked for a prominent

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Speaker 3: lawyer in Norman, and you know, was able to use

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Speaker 3: some of my accounting skills in his entrepreneurial business. But

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Speaker 3: you know, just grew in my understanding of small business

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Speaker 3: when I was with him, and he encouraged me to

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Speaker 3: think bigger. And I was ended up ended up at

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Speaker 3: Arthur Anderson in Oklahoma City. Back then it was a

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Speaker 3: big eight accounting firm. And what where what The business

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Speaker 3: that I learned there, for the most part, was you know,

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Speaker 3: the oil and gas business. And so I leveraged, you know,

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Speaker 3: what I had learned in Oklahoma City into a position

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Speaker 3: in in Little Rock, Arkansas with the e y and

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Speaker 3: my husband's originally from Arkansas, so that was kind of.

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Speaker 2: A natural move for us.

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Speaker 3: But it's uh, our company was a client of mine

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Speaker 3: when I was at EY, and then also several other

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Speaker 3: trucking companies that that you would recognize, for instance, the

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Speaker 3: Arkansas Freateways that was the predecessor to FedEx Fray ultimately

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Speaker 3: was a client of mine, and uh, you know Maverick

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Speaker 3: flatbed Carrier us a truck and you know. So that

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Speaker 3: that's where I got to learn the business and I

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Speaker 3: could see from there what was good about the business,

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Speaker 3: what I felt good about in terms of.

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Speaker 2: The leader teams.

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Speaker 3: I was on the tax side, so I also worked

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Speaker 3: with the individual owners or the CEOs of these companies

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Speaker 3: and I got to know them better. But I could

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Speaker 3: also see that there was some risk.

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Speaker 2: Taking that was going on and.

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Speaker 3: That didn't always result in success in our industry. And

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Speaker 3: so that's where I got to know the business. That's

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Speaker 3: where I got to know our company, and ultimately I

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Speaker 3: was asked to join our company as the controller. And

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Speaker 3: so you know, I came into the business in an

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Speaker 3: accounting and finance area, but I knew based on my

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Speaker 3: experience just how much I loved the business. And so

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Speaker 3: I wanted to make sure that I did the work

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Speaker 3: that I had efficiently and give myself time to be

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Speaker 3: in those sales and operations and pricing meetings and to

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Speaker 3: spend some time in the field and that sort of thing.

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Speaker 3: And you know that that's what led me to being

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Speaker 3: CFO and then ultimate lead CEO of our company.

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Speaker 1: Did you did you face any obstacles when you were

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Speaker 1: starting in the industry, Well.

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Speaker 3: What I'd say is, as you know, in public accounting,

357
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Speaker 3: you worked with a.

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Speaker 2: Good balance of men and women. You know, in the

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Speaker 2: work that you were doing.

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Speaker 3: I did recognize that most of the you know, the

361
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Speaker 3: trucking leaders were men. And I remember whenever I came

362
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Speaker 3: to work and I would sit in conference rooms you

363
00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:32,560
Speaker 3: know here in Fort Smith, that I was typically the

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Speaker 3: only woman sitting at the table. But you know, Robert Young,

365
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Speaker 3: the CEO that I worked for, he was super supportive

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Speaker 3: of me. Our board was very supportive of me, and

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Speaker 3: you know, I just spent my time not focused on

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Speaker 3: that but learning the business and making sure that I

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Speaker 3: was available to gain as much knowledge as.

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Speaker 1: I could, right, And I think you were, you know,

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Speaker 1: you're someone that a lot of young women could look

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Speaker 1: up to when they're thinking about getting into the trucking

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Speaker 1: industry because you know, it's it's become a much more

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Speaker 1: diverse industry even in the last ten years.

375
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Speaker 3: Oh yes, yeah, I appreciate you saying that, but yes,

376
00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:10,840
Speaker 3: I agree with that.

377
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Speaker 1: And you know, our Best, So our Best is turning

378
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,800
Speaker 1: one hundred years old. It's a it's it's a it's

379
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Speaker 1: a pretty incredible feat. Not too many companies can say

380
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Speaker 1: that they're they've they've reached one hundred Certainly not a

381
00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:28,000
Speaker 1: lot of people can say that. Can you talk about,

382
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Speaker 1: you know, some of the major milestones our Best reached

383
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Speaker 1: before getting to that one hundred year mark.

384
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Speaker 3: Well, it's been a fun year for reflection on that lead.

385
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Speaker 3: I mean, we we recently had a round table of

386
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Speaker 3: past leaders that we recorded and it's just useful and

387
00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,280
Speaker 3: valuable discussion that we had with that group. But you know,

388
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:57,960
Speaker 3: our company is very interesting if anyone wants to look

389
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,280
Speaker 3: it up and just look at the past history. But

390
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:06,400
Speaker 3: you know, we initially after Robert Young's father came into

391
00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:09,760
Speaker 3: the business in the nineteen fifties. It was important back

392
00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:15,399
Speaker 3: then because the industry was regulated for you to grow geographically.

393
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,679
Speaker 3: That was the way that you expanded, and as the

394
00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:21,679
Speaker 3: stories told, our company had to overcome a lot of

395
00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:25,879
Speaker 3: challenges with businesses that were almost out of business because

396
00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:28,280
Speaker 3: those were the companies that were for sale. And so,

397
00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:31,760
Speaker 3: you know, it was interesting, you know, that initial growth,

398
00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:37,000
Speaker 3: and then also the stories were told about the costing

399
00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:38,359
Speaker 3: model that was put in place.

400
00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:40,720
Speaker 2: It was just so valuable to understand your profit.

401
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:46,359
Speaker 3: When the industry was deregulated in nineteen eighty, you know,

402
00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:49,439
Speaker 3: it is important to have a new, fresh look at that,

403
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:52,320
Speaker 3: which you know, we were able to do and put

404
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:54,280
Speaker 3: in place an approach that worked well.

405
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:55,800
Speaker 2: Many companies didn't.

406
00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,919
Speaker 3: In nineteen eighty eight, we went through a hostile to

407
00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:04,120
Speaker 3: take over attempt and survived that. It took the company

408
00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:07,280
Speaker 3: private until nineteen ninety two and then went back public.

409
00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:12,880
Speaker 3: And then in nineteen ninety five, our company bought Worldway

410
00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:18,399
Speaker 3: to gain ownership of Carolina Freight, and we actually put

411
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:23,440
Speaker 3: ABF and Carolina together, which turned out to be a bet.

412
00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,000
Speaker 2: The company moved, so to speak. It was very, very.

413
00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:30,080
Speaker 3: Challenging, but the company overcame that as well. And then

414
00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:34,440
Speaker 3: in recent years, you know, as I was asked to

415
00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:38,800
Speaker 3: take leadership, we overcame the Great Recession over one hundred

416
00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:42,439
Speaker 3: million dollar loss, and that's when we really embarked on

417
00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:47,200
Speaker 3: the strategy that we deploy today. We looked at our customers,

418
00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:52,439
Speaker 3: surveyed them, discussed with them what their needs were, and

419
00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:57,400
Speaker 3: really approached this strategic decision to transform our company into

420
00:24:57,400 --> 00:24:58,560
Speaker 3: a logistics company.

421
00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:01,159
Speaker 2: So there's a lot there, but it's.

422
00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:07,200
Speaker 3: Very, very interesting and filled with overcoming challenges, strengthening our

423
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:09,280
Speaker 3: foundation and making the company better.

424
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Speaker 2: Great.

425
00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:12,640
Speaker 1: Well, well, happy birthday. It's going to be one heck

426
00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:17,280
Speaker 1: of a cake. So you know, you mentioned earlier in

427
00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,720
Speaker 1: the conversation labor that you signed a new contract with

428
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,160
Speaker 1: your labor force. For those that don't know, our best

429
00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:26,959
Speaker 1: is a Teamster LTL carrier. Can you talk about your

430
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:30,520
Speaker 1: relationship with labor and what impact the latest contract has

431
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Speaker 1: on costs.

432
00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:36,439
Speaker 3: Yes, well, first of all, we understand the importance of

433
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:40,119
Speaker 3: having a relationship with labor, and you know that's not

434
00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:43,960
Speaker 3: always the easiest thing to do, but it's been really

435
00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:46,760
Speaker 3: a cornerstone of our approach is to make sure that

436
00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:49,480
Speaker 3: we do. And so Seth runs Er that runs abf

437
00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:53,440
Speaker 3: Right has a relationship with Sean O'Brien, you know, and

438
00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:58,080
Speaker 3: then underneath that we have good relationships with others that

439
00:25:58,119 --> 00:26:02,080
Speaker 3: are involved, both the negotiations and the operations. That was

440
00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:06,199
Speaker 3: really really important in navigating, you know, to a successful

441
00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:10,520
Speaker 3: outcome the labor contract that we have, and so that

442
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:14,200
Speaker 3: we had finished a contract that was about a two

443
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:18,080
Speaker 3: percent overall increase that went from twenty eighteen into twenty

444
00:26:18,119 --> 00:26:23,119
Speaker 3: twenty three, and so we knew that that was below

445
00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:25,520
Speaker 3: the level of inflation so to speak, in the last

446
00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:29,040
Speaker 3: couple of years, and so we had to rectify that,

447
00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:33,680
Speaker 3: adjust that, and so our first year's increase in wages

448
00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,520
Speaker 3: was about a thirteen and a half percent increase, which

449
00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:39,919
Speaker 3: you know, that put us in a better place I

450
00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:42,719
Speaker 3: think to attract and retain good people.

451
00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:45,440
Speaker 2: And we've done that, and.

452
00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:48,480
Speaker 3: So it adds, you know, some some dollars, probably about

453
00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:51,400
Speaker 3: twenty five million dollars a quarter. The labor contract does.

454
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,720
Speaker 3: But you know, the strength of our company comes from

455
00:26:55,760 --> 00:27:00,600
Speaker 3: our overall approach. We navigated from second quarter into third

456
00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:04,680
Speaker 3: very well with actually an improvement in the operating ratio

457
00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:08,520
Speaker 3: for ABF, which is basically the inverse of operating margin,

458
00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:14,560
Speaker 3: and absorbed that and did very well. So it's been

459
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:17,640
Speaker 3: fine and good since we've finished that up.

460
00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:21,200
Speaker 1: How do you mitigate those additional costs.

461
00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:22,240
Speaker 2: What do you doing.

462
00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:26,919
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's really really important to stay focused on any

463
00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,680
Speaker 3: approach that you can use to gain efficiency in the business.

464
00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:32,800
Speaker 3: But you know, lead you and I've been around this

465
00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:35,920
Speaker 3: business for a long time, and I can tell you this,

466
00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,359
Speaker 3: there has never been a time where there's a greater

467
00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:43,600
Speaker 3: amount of information and visibility, whether it's the units of

468
00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:47,359
Speaker 3: work or the specific profile of the freight that you're handling.

469
00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:50,919
Speaker 3: And so we're taking all of that data and information

470
00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:55,040
Speaker 3: and our great analytics people and other technology and innovation

471
00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:59,080
Speaker 3: tools that we have to better understand each area so

472
00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:03,480
Speaker 3: that we can further, you know, transform into an even

473
00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,520
Speaker 3: more efficient company. That's what our shippers expect us to do,

474
00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:09,439
Speaker 3: and that's what we're doing. A good example might be

475
00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:13,920
Speaker 3: our city routes. You know, we put through a change

476
00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:19,160
Speaker 3: there that uses algorithmic AI, you know, to help us

477
00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:25,280
Speaker 3: plan those most efficiently, and it's improved our operating expenses

478
00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:27,320
Speaker 3: by about a half a million dollars a month. And

479
00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:30,080
Speaker 3: that's just phase one of it. And so we have

480
00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:34,680
Speaker 3: initiatives and fleet optimization, you know, our road line haul

481
00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:38,120
Speaker 3: moves and all across the company, you know, we're working

482
00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:40,200
Speaker 3: to gain efficiencies and that's what you have to do

483
00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:44,560
Speaker 3: when you have a labor cost increase such as that, right.

484
00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:47,840
Speaker 1: And just for those out there, consensus expectations are for

485
00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:50,840
Speaker 1: our best to generate an operating ratio of ninety one

486
00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:54,800
Speaker 1: point five percent for their LTL business and that maybe

487
00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:57,360
Speaker 1: going down by one hundred and fifty bases points to

488
00:28:57,480 --> 00:28:59,880
Speaker 1: ninety percent and again lower the number of the better,

489
00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:02,200
Speaker 1: so when it goes down, it's a good thing. So

490
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:05,840
Speaker 1: that gives an ebit margin in the low double digits.

491
00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:09,120
Speaker 1: Can you talk about you know, there's been a lot

492
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:13,040
Speaker 1: of talk about electric trucks and you know where they

493
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:15,720
Speaker 1: fit in in the industry. Are you guys playing around

494
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:19,000
Speaker 1: with EV trucks and what kind of what does your

495
00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:20,320
Speaker 1: experience have been so far?

496
00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:25,080
Speaker 3: Well, we have you know, some straight trucks, forklifts, and

497
00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:30,000
Speaker 3: yard tractors that we're evaluating. It's pretty small in terms

498
00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:32,600
Speaker 3: of the units involved in that. But what we're trying

499
00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:37,120
Speaker 3: to do is use them in regular operations and try

500
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:39,520
Speaker 3: to better understand where they fit.

501
00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:42,280
Speaker 2: But you know, I can tell you.

502
00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:46,120
Speaker 3: One of the biggest challenges with this experimentation is just

503
00:29:46,320 --> 00:29:52,760
Speaker 3: getting you know, the charging setups into your facilities. You know,

504
00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:56,240
Speaker 3: many times that takes months and months or it's it's

505
00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:59,840
Speaker 3: pretty expensive. And so you know, we're we're working for

506
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,200
Speaker 3: through this, but it's not just the acquisition of the

507
00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:05,800
Speaker 3: vehicles and then putting them into service, but it's all

508
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:09,160
Speaker 3: that goes with that. And you know, we're very conscious

509
00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:13,680
Speaker 3: about our carbon footprint. Our customers are interested in our

510
00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,160
Speaker 3: focus there, and you know, we we also do other

511
00:30:17,280 --> 00:30:20,520
Speaker 3: things when we're able to get involved in the management

512
00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:25,600
Speaker 3: of a of a customer supply chain because oftentimes through

513
00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:30,320
Speaker 3: you know, either pool distribution or consolidations or load planning,

514
00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:33,800
Speaker 3: you know, we can actually reduce you know, the amount

515
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,880
Speaker 3: of miles and therefore fuel that's spent you know, in

516
00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:41,640
Speaker 3: that supply chain execution. And so there's a number of

517
00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:46,040
Speaker 3: ways that we're attacking you know, carbon emissions. But you know,

518
00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:49,400
Speaker 3: we've made a lot of progress just understanding what ours

519
00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:53,360
Speaker 3: are and that's important work to do because that's what

520
00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:56,840
Speaker 3: you can then use to make improvements going forward.

521
00:30:57,600 --> 00:30:59,520
Speaker 1: Right, And it might make sense for the pick up

522
00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:01,880
Speaker 1: and deliver trucks and an LT on network, but it

523
00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:04,880
Speaker 1: might not make sense for the line haul. But the

524
00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:08,560
Speaker 1: problem is you use those units in both networks.

525
00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:10,760
Speaker 2: Right, Right, that's right, That's exactly right.

526
00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:13,880
Speaker 3: You would if you had to be specific, it would

527
00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:17,560
Speaker 3: be more of an operational challenge, perhaps a bit of

528
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:19,440
Speaker 3: an inefficiency as you were doing that.

529
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,080
Speaker 1: So I guess from what you just said, you're an

530
00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:24,960
Speaker 1: extreme early innings kind of putting a toe in the

531
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:25,800
Speaker 1: water right now.

532
00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:27,000
Speaker 2: Yep?

533
00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:30,000
Speaker 1: Okay, do you do you guys have any long term

534
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:35,120
Speaker 1: targets for arc Best, whether they're financial targets or operational targets.

535
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:36,320
Speaker 2: We do.

536
00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:40,640
Speaker 3: You know, we set out there for ourselves seven to

537
00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:43,880
Speaker 3: eight billion in twenty twenty five. Now, we set those

538
00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:48,560
Speaker 3: targets a couple of years ago, and you know, we

539
00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:52,680
Speaker 3: still feel really good about the opportunity set that we have.

540
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:54,960
Speaker 3: You know, I think what's been a bit more of

541
00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:58,320
Speaker 3: a challenge is just you know, the the macro weakness

542
00:31:58,320 --> 00:31:59,640
Speaker 3: that we talked about earlier.

543
00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:03,320
Speaker 1: And I'm sorry, that's that's seven to eight that's in revenue.

544
00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:05,640
Speaker 2: It's eight seven to eight billion in revenue.

545
00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:07,400
Speaker 1: Revenue. Okay, sorry, go ahead.

546
00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:08,480
Speaker 2: It's in revenue. Yeah.

547
00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:11,200
Speaker 3: And you know, but I think when we look at

548
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,840
Speaker 3: our opportunity set, you know, the markets were in amount

549
00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:18,920
Speaker 3: to nearly five hundred billion through this survey work that

550
00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:21,479
Speaker 3: we do with our most loyal customers. We know that

551
00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:24,800
Speaker 3: eighty percent of the need the logistics solutions that we offer,

552
00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:28,680
Speaker 3: and if we were successful just with them over time,

553
00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:31,160
Speaker 3: we should be able to double the size of our company,

554
00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:35,400
Speaker 3: which you know is close to five billion.

555
00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:36,320
Speaker 2: As we speak today.

556
00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:40,040
Speaker 3: So you know, we're we've got lots of opportunity and

557
00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:43,160
Speaker 3: with the additional solutions that we've brought in over time,

558
00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:45,640
Speaker 3: it just makes that, you know, more real.

559
00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:47,920
Speaker 1: And how much of that is going to be through

560
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:49,920
Speaker 1: M and A versus organic growth.

561
00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:55,720
Speaker 3: Well, we have really all the runway we need with organic,

562
00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:59,960
Speaker 3: it's just a question of timing. And so we're constantly evaluate,

563
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:03,920
Speaker 3: you know, the opportunities for acquisition that might come on

564
00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:06,720
Speaker 3: the market. You know, we're going to be most interested

565
00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,280
Speaker 3: in ones that would add scale to what we already do,

566
00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:13,200
Speaker 3: or that would have some sort of a technology play

567
00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:16,600
Speaker 3: that would improve the interactions you know that we have

568
00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:21,479
Speaker 3: with customers or our own operational excellence or efficiency that

569
00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:24,200
Speaker 3: we could gain. And so you know, we're not super

570
00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:27,719
Speaker 3: urgent that we have to do something, but you know,

571
00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:30,959
Speaker 3: we we understand the benefit of adding to the scale

572
00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:33,400
Speaker 3: of what we already do, and you know that's what

573
00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:36,840
Speaker 3: we did with the Molo acquisition in November twenty twenty one.

574
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:40,640
Speaker 1: And does our Best have any revenue outside the United States?

575
00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:43,360
Speaker 2: We do, but it's fairly small.

576
00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:47,200
Speaker 3: We have a good presence up in Canada that we've

577
00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:52,680
Speaker 3: had for decades, and we do ocean shipping as well.

578
00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:57,080
Speaker 3: We have partners you know, overseas, but we serve you know,

579
00:33:57,200 --> 00:33:59,959
Speaker 3: ninety percent of the markets and and so a lot

580
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,280
Speaker 3: lot of times, you know, we are able to handle

581
00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:05,560
Speaker 3: a supply chain for a customer end to end.

582
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:09,480
Speaker 1: And so you know, we've been talking. Our Best has

583
00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:14,640
Speaker 1: asset businesses, non asset businesses, So what do you do

584
00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:17,400
Speaker 1: with your cap X kind of how do you target capex?

585
00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:22,160
Speaker 1: And since you're an accountant at heart, you know, when

586
00:34:22,200 --> 00:34:24,920
Speaker 1: you're looking at the numbers, where you spend where are

587
00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:26,799
Speaker 1: you making the investments in our Best?

588
00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:31,400
Speaker 3: If I look back at the last few years, probably

589
00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:35,960
Speaker 3: seventy percent or so of that has been organic, and

590
00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:40,600
Speaker 3: so there's a large capital amount that just to replace

591
00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:43,400
Speaker 3: the fleet, make sure that we're staying you know, on

592
00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:46,920
Speaker 3: top of the most optimal age for tractors and trailers

593
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:50,279
Speaker 3: and that sort of thing. But also you know, we

594
00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:54,040
Speaker 3: have marked on a real estate strategy even before this

595
00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:59,080
Speaker 3: yellow event was in place, that would add a good

596
00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:02,960
Speaker 3: number of door to our LTL network and allow us

597
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:07,080
Speaker 3: to grow in the mid single digit tonnage range.

598
00:35:07,239 --> 00:35:09,760
Speaker 2: And so you know, we have quite a few things

599
00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:10,440
Speaker 2: going on there.

600
00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:13,359
Speaker 3: We've added about two hundred doors to an almost nine

601
00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:17,279
Speaker 3: thousand door network, and we have about five hundred that

602
00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:19,319
Speaker 3: are going to be coming on in the next year

603
00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:23,399
Speaker 3: or so. So you know, those allow for growth and

604
00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:27,960
Speaker 3: you know, take us on a little bit higher end

605
00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:31,240
Speaker 3: of the percentage that I just shared. The other spend

606
00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:35,080
Speaker 3: that we have relates to what I would call transformational spend,

607
00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:37,719
Speaker 3: which you know, some extent that would be in.

608
00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:38,880
Speaker 2: The acquisition arena.

609
00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:41,319
Speaker 3: The other side of that, I don't know if you've

610
00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:45,239
Speaker 3: heard about Box, you know, our freight movement system that

611
00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:47,960
Speaker 3: we launched last year at the PROMAC conference.

612
00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:51,279
Speaker 2: You know, that would be in that category. And then we.

613
00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:56,480
Speaker 3: Also spend some dollars understanding opportunities for disruptive innovation, so

614
00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:59,799
Speaker 3: in other words, lines of business that we know we

615
00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:05,160
Speaker 3: could attack or embark on, but we're not yet fully

616
00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:08,040
Speaker 3: you know, operational in those. So you know, I think

617
00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:10,800
Speaker 3: that's a good blend of making sure that we stay

618
00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:14,800
Speaker 3: ahead of our customers and making sure that we're ready

619
00:36:14,880 --> 00:36:16,960
Speaker 3: for you know, the next one hundred years.

620
00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:19,640
Speaker 1: Can you just talk about the life cycle of an

621
00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:21,839
Speaker 1: our best truck, you know, you know in the truck

622
00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:24,719
Speaker 1: load space, they usually like to sell their trucks after

623
00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:27,920
Speaker 1: three or four years. What's it? What's what's the truck's

624
00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:29,160
Speaker 1: life in? Uh?

625
00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:31,800
Speaker 3: In our at our best Yeah, I mean typically we

626
00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:35,680
Speaker 3: have Class eight tractors and we would use them in

627
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:39,800
Speaker 3: the the road operation or line hall, which is typically

628
00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:42,399
Speaker 3: between cities, you.

629
00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:44,200
Speaker 2: Know, for about three years.

630
00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:46,839
Speaker 3: And so you know, you're you're going to see that

631
00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:50,239
Speaker 3: unit you know, be on average a year and.

632
00:36:50,239 --> 00:36:51,239
Speaker 2: A half old. Right.

633
00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:55,439
Speaker 3: What we typically do is we'll take that unit then

634
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,560
Speaker 3: transition it out of the road fleet and put it

635
00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:02,480
Speaker 3: in the city operation and it will work there for

636
00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:06,000
Speaker 3: the next say four years, so up to about seven

637
00:37:06,120 --> 00:37:10,600
Speaker 3: years total. And uh, we are doing some different things

638
00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:13,719
Speaker 3: with Class sevens to try to better understand you know

639
00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:16,880
Speaker 3: the utility of those in the city operation but not

640
00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:17,640
Speaker 3: in the main.

641
00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:19,440
Speaker 2: And then we also use.

642
00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:23,680
Speaker 3: Some straight trucks and certain environments you know, uh, particularly

643
00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,160
Speaker 3: safe for instance around New York City or something you

644
00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:27,960
Speaker 3: know that just make more sense.

645
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:32,319
Speaker 1: Gotcha. And when you're when you're home, you know, maybe

646
00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:34,560
Speaker 1: having a glass of wine, reading a book. Do you

647
00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:37,400
Speaker 1: read about transportation? Is there a transition book that you

648
00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:38,040
Speaker 1: like to read?

649
00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:42,880
Speaker 3: You know, we really I was thinking, you know about

650
00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:46,680
Speaker 3: that and and really don't know of a transportation book.

651
00:37:47,960 --> 00:37:49,600
Speaker 2: But you know, one thing that I was.

652
00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:52,600
Speaker 3: Gonna point out to you is we you know, we

653
00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:59,080
Speaker 3: have a new uh game, it's it's for gamers called

654
00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:02,040
Speaker 3: the American Tree Simulator. So i'd point you to that,

655
00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:06,960
Speaker 3: and we recently have our our brands are operational there

656
00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:11,240
Speaker 3: and it allows someone that's in that game to really

657
00:38:11,719 --> 00:38:14,319
Speaker 3: kind of execute on the business that we're in. And

658
00:38:14,480 --> 00:38:19,319
Speaker 3: it's it's really a popular thing. But you know, so

659
00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:22,000
Speaker 3: from a book standpoint, I do plenty of reading, as

660
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Speaker 3: you might imagine, as you do, I know, but you know,

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Speaker 3: there's not a good trucking book. I'm gonna I'm gonna

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Speaker 3: be in search of that though.

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Speaker 1: Maybe you should. Maybe you should write one. I think

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Speaker 1: BOK about your career would be pretty interesting. Well, I

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Speaker 1: think we're going to end it there, Judy. I really

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Speaker 1: want to thank you for your time, and uh, you know,

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Speaker 1: I want to thank everyone for tuning in. If you

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00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:47,359
Speaker 1: like the episode, please subscribe and leave a review. We've

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Speaker 1: lined up a number of great guests for the podcast.

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Speaker 1: Check back to hear conversations with C Seed executives, shippers, regulators,

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00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:58,080
Speaker 1: and decision makers within the freight transportation markets. Also, if

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00:38:58,120 --> 00:39:00,319
Speaker 1: you have any idea for a future episode, please hit

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00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:03,680
Speaker 1: me up on the terminal. We're on Twitter at logistics Lee.

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Speaker 1: Thanks everyone, and be safe out there.