Swift Transportation Co. announced that a special committee formed by its board of directors rejected an offer from Swift’s largest shareholder, Jerry Moyes, to buy the company for $29 per share in cash. The Phoenix-based trucking company said the committee determined the offer was inadequate and that it would begin talks with Moyes to determine if the price could be increased. The committee said it also had begun discussions with other potential buyers.
NATSO, the trade association for truck stop and travel plaza operators, said it is “strongly opposed” to new tolls on highways and bridges, whether added to new or existing lanes, even if the new fees are designated for new roads and bridges. Tolls essentially are double taxation for truckers that already pay 40 percent of highway users’ fees, said NATSO, which supports the continued use of federal fuel taxes to provide highway funding.
Wells Fargo & Co. acquired Dallas-based EFC Partners, which does business as Evergreen Funding Corp. and provides accounts receivable purchasing for small and midsize companies, focusing on trucking, staffing and manufacturing. Terms were not disclosed.
Pitt Ohio Express and The CEI Group formed a partnership under the brand TruckGuardian Group to jointly provide risk and safety management services, and collision and claim management services. Visit www.truckguardian.com.
Everyone knows that new tractor purchases in 2007 will be a bit more painful financially because of the new engine emissions requirements. All the more reason to have a good plan and a good relationship with your truck dealer. With those in place, you need not necessarily fear the higher prices.
“Unfortunately, a lot of the people who come to us needing trucks need a lot of help getting their ducks in a row before we can even think about proceeding with any transaction,” says Robert Raiford, senior vice president of Southland International Trucks, a high-volume truck dealer headquartered in Birmingham, Ala. “Ideally, you should have started working on a plan for expansion long before ever contacting us,” Raiford says. Even so, your dealer can and should be an ongoing resource, he says. “We look at it like pulling a chair up and becoming a partner in your business with you.”
Raiford says that first you should work to avoid the red flags that can kill the best financing deals – obvious things such as association with a past bankruptcy, unresolved tax liens and slow payment history. A record of non-sufficient funds checks also can kill a deal.
