The Daily Dash is a quick look at what is happening today in the state of freight.
Freight volumes remain strong through July
There was little evidence that freight volumes would weaken beyond the Fourth of July holiday peak — and this bullish outlook proved correct. The outbound tender volume index (OTVI) remains strong after the traditional holiday peak and finished this week 25% above 2019 volumes. Truck capacity remains tight. Tender rejections climbed again this week and are now at 16.55%.
Seth Holm has more in his weekly freight market wrap-up: Volumes stay strong, up 25% year-over-year in a recession.
OSHA orders trucking company to reinstate whistleblower
OSHA ordered JHOS Logistics and Transportation Inc. of Wilmington, California to reinstate and pay back wages to a driver carrying an illegal overweight load. The driver had been ticketed before for a similar load and notified inspectors about the company’s practice, which is the reason the driver was terminated. The ruling requires JHOS to pay back wages, punitive damages and attorney fees.
Clarissa Hawes has more details on the penalties and the case here: OSHA orders carrier to reinstate driver after raising safety concerns.
New share offerings likely to drive down Nikola stock price
Nikola’s stock has been on a roller-coaster ride since the company went public via a reverse merger six weeks ago. Shares reached a peak of roughly $90 — equating to a gain of 103% — a few days after the completion of the deal, but have since lost roughly 50% of their value. Early investors are now registering to sell even more shares, which will likely drive the stock even lower over the coming weeks.
Alan Adler has more on how new shares of Nikola stock will likely drive down its stock price here: Flood of new and cheap shares sink Nikola stock.
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Did you miss this?
Earnings season began this week as truckload carriers J.B. Hunt, Heartland and Marten reported stronger-than-expected earnings. The consensus view is that the sharp drop in freight volumes in April was followed by a sharp V-shaped freight recovery in June that saved public truckload carriers from a distatorous second quarter.
With that said, the buzzword for second-half expectations is “uncertainty,” reports Todd Maiden: ‘Uncertainty’ clouds second-half visibility for J.B. Hunt.
You can read more analysis from John Kingston about second-quarter earnings results for Marten and Heartland here: Marten, Heartland stock prices get boost after strong.