Today's Pick-Up: Son Of Spaghetti Junction; YRC In Consolidation Mode

Those who missed the 1987 opening of metro Atlanta's Tom Moreland Interchange, unfavorably known as "Spaghetti Junction" because of its complicated and entwined five roadways, need only drive 10 or so miles north to see its offspring being born. The state is erecting a spiral staircase that will regulate the interchange at Interstate 285, which is Atlanta's perimeter highway, and State Route 400, which connects Atlanta to its northern suburbs and whose heavy volumes make it an interstate in everything but name. What's different is that the current work is progressing amidst insane traffic congestion not present when the stack interchange connecting Interstates 85 and 285 was going up. Spaghetti Junction is consistently ranked by the non-profit American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) as the country's worst truck bottleneck. Given that metro Atlanta lives and dies by the motor vehicle and that the region's explosive industrial, commercial and residential growth shows no signs of abating, it won't take long for the son to resemble the father.

Did you know?:

YRC Worldwide, Inc.'s YRCW market capitalization stands at about $90 million following the August 9 plunge in its share price after reporting weak second-quarter results. YRC's "enterprise value," or what it would roughly cost to acquire the company, is around $825 million, according to investment firm Deutsche Bank. That combines $735 million in net debt – gross debt minus cash – and its $90 million market cap. It excludes pension liabilities.

Quotable:

"…We think the transportation world over time is going to be fully automated, and we're engaged in automating almost every touch point of the transaction from the time a customer seeks capacity to the selection of that capacity and the various steps that take the freight from origin to destination. And we're doing it across multiple modes."

– Matt Fassler, chief strategy officer for XPO Logistics, Inc., on the company's recent quarterly analyst call.

In other news:

Auto consultant sets up logistics shop

Dennis Manns' company, North Motors Group, will assist original equipment manufacturers and automotive logistics providers in North America. (Automotive Logistics)

Private equity firm invests in Vanguard Packaging

Dunes Point Capital, LP (DPC) has made an unspecified investment in Vanguard Packaging, Inc. and its affiliates Advanced Logistics & Fulfillment, LLC, and Great Plains Packaging, Inc. Vanguard designs and manufactures high-resolution graphic corrugated displays, retail ready packaging, industrial packaging products and related assembly, logistics and fulfillment services. (PR Newswire)

UK drug companies will take matters into own hands in no-deal Brexit

About one-third of British pharmaceutical companies have  "put their own procedures in place" instead of relying on government-run ferries to import medicines in the event of a no-deal Brexit. (Pharmaceutical-Journal)

Logistics facility to be built at JFK

New York-based development firm Wildflower Ltd. plans to break ground early next year on a logistics facility near John F. Kennedy International Airport (Costar)

Egypt looks to expand port, logistics network

Egypt's Transport Ministry has completed a plan to build seven dry ports and logistics complexes to serve residential, industrial and commercial centers, the country's transport minister said. (Egypt Independent)
 

Final thoughts:

YRC Worldwide, Inc.'s network optimization strategy, which is expected to take two years to fully play out, looks like it will involve much more consolidation. According to a post on TruckingBoards.com, the sales forces of YRC's national and regional units will be combined into one team, and all regional headquarters operations will be aggregated at the parent's Overland Park, Kansas headquarters. It's already been announced that Northeast regional less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier's New Penn Motor Express' Lebanon, Pennsylvania headquarters will be closed. Even orders for separate driver informs for the three regional units have been canceled, according to the post.

Hammer down everyone!

Image Sourced from Pixabay