Latest news with #Fuller
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Five takeaways from the State of Freight for July: What earnings and the indices are saying about the market
Tariffs have been a major focus of recent installments of FreightWaves' monthly State of Freight webinar, held in conjunction with SONAR, but they took a back seat this month to various data points. What those data points are saying–whether they are about company finances or numbers on demand and capacity–was the focus of the July webinar with FreightWaves and SONAR CEO Craig Fuller and Zach Strickland, SONAR's director of freight market intelligence. Here are five takeaways from Thursday's session. One index rising, the other falling Two trends are showing up in SONAR data that at times can reflect a degree of correlation but isn't doing so now: the outbound tender rejection index (OTRI) is rising, while the outbound tender volume index (OTVI) is falling. The OTVI is reflecting what might be expected given that everybody in the sector still sees the freight market in some degree of a recession. But the OTRI is rising, a sign of tightening capacity as independent owner operators take their trucks off the road and fleets continue to disappear, not able to survive current conditions. Fuller said capacity had been on an upswing for several years, 'with a flood of new participants, companies and truck drivers.' But Strickland showed a chart showing recent increases in net revocations of motor carrier authorities granted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Fuller said he believed enforcement of the English-language only was having just a 'fractional' impact on capacity. But it could become a significant issue if there is a rebound in the housing market that leads to more trucking demand. Strickland and Fuller discussed possible other reasons for the rise in revocations, including impacts from the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. 'This is an ongoing thing that we really need to pay attention to,' Strickland said. Earnings season and what it is saying The July State of Freight webinar occurred in the middle of numerous transportation companies releasing their quarterly reports. The performance of a few companies came in for discussion, including Heartland Express (NASDAQ: HTLD), which posted yet another quarterly loss Thursday. Fuller noted that Heartland's acquisitions over the years have been in the commodity truckload business, 'based on a 1990's long haul business that is no longer there.' He also spoke from personal experience as a member of the family that founded U.S. Xpress, whose profile and financial troubles were similar to what Heartland Express is going through. U.S. Xpress eventually was purchased by Knight Swift. 'The long haul business is dead for those truckload operators,' Fuller said. 'Unfortuantely, Heartland just can't seem to get a handle on that.' U.S. Xpress is now a division of Knight Swift (NYSE: KNX). In Knight Swift's second quarter earnings report, the company said U.S. Xpress had seen its operating margin improve by 300 basis points over the last year. 'Knight Swift has really proven that it can bring U.S. Xpress back to some level of sustainability,' Fuller said, noting the contrast with Heartland's struggles. Short haul ascendant The discussion about Heartland's ties to long haul truckload activity led Strickland to pull up a chart from SONAR showing its index for short haul versus long haul activity. Generally, long haul runs at a higher index, but that has flipped in recent months. The data comes from tenders. Long haul business is anything over 800 miles, Strickland said. Fuller said he believes the shift is part of a longer term trend. But he also said he believes the sort of reindustrialization of the U.S. economy being pursued by the Trump administration could reverse that change. But there's a risk for trucking, he said. As the long haul sector of the freight market becomes more dependent on import activity, 'then a lot of that is going to be containerized and going to go on the railroads.' Across the country on one company's set of tracks With negotiations ongoing between Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) and Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) that would create the country's first true transcontinental railroad, the impact on the transportation sector became a topic of discussion. Describing railroads as a 'dream business,' Fuller noted that Union Pacific profitability has exceeded that of Microsoft at times. 'The consolidation ends up making them that much more profitable,' he said. As to the question of who else might benefit from a consolidation besides the railroads, Fuller said 'I would argue that rarely does a real merger benefit the shippers.' However, a consolidation between the two railroads, UP in the west and NSC in the east, would likely aid large shippers like Amazon. . Owner operators and brokers would likely lose, he said, but he added that large intermodal carriers such as J.B. Hunt (NASDAQ: JBHT) or HubGroup (NASDAQ: HUBG) would benefit. 'I think the traditional railroad shippers, the big commodity players like coal or grains, they probably lose because the service quality will likely deteriorate for them. But it should improve for intermodal.' A revival of freight tech Fuller said that 'one of the most exciting things happening at freight now' is a revived interest in freight technology. Prior to the pandemic, Fuller said there were a slew of technology vendors offering new products, backed by venture capital. In his discussion, he only mentioned one specific company that has been active: Triumph Financial (NASDAQ: TFIN), which bought Greenscreens AI earlier this year and is looking to expand its Intelligence division. But beyond that, he said, 'there's just a lot of deal flow happening.' He described much of the activity as being around 'next generation' technology, like freight tech powered by AI. More articles by John Kingston Yet another broker liability case, this time in the Fifth Circuit, adds to the growing mix Much happened at Triumph Financial during the quarter; USPS dispute settled Supply chain software provider Manhattan Associates soars after strong revenue growth The post Five takeaways from the State of Freight for July: What earnings and the indices are saying about the market appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
South Wales Argus
5 days ago
- South Wales Argus
Newport drug driver was 15 times cocaine limit in Caldicot
Rikki Fuller, 37, from Newport was spotted by a police officer when the defendant was near the Severn Tunnel Junction railway station in Caldicot. He was sweating and slurring his words when he was pulled over when at the wheel of a Ford Focus car at around 2am in the morning on Saturday, July 20 last year. The defendant was also just over the legal limit for driving with cannabis in his blood. These offences put him in breach of a suspended prison sentence imposed just two months earlier for assaulting an emergency worker, criminal damage and possession of cannabis. MORE NEWS: Driver caught speeding at 47mph in 20mph zone Fuller was jailed for 12 weeks, suspended for 12 months, and made the subject of a six-month drug rehabilitation activity requirement and ordered to complete a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement. Speaking about the offences committed in July 2024, Jac Brown, prosecuting, told Newport Crown Court: 'There were obvious signs of impairment due to the defendant driving on the wrong side of the road.' Fuller, formerly of Waltwood Park Drive, Llanmartin admitted driving with a cocaine derivative and a cannabis derivatine in his blood. He had 10 previous convictions for 20 offences including a relevant one for drug driving for which he was banned from driving for 14 months in April 2021. The defendant's barrister Elin Morgan said: 'He had taken cocaine on the day in question before he went to sleep. 'A friend asked him for a lift and he thought he was OK to drive, but he wasn't. 'He clearly wasn't – not even close to it.' Miss Morgan added that her client had responded well to the attachments of his suspended prison sentence and completed them. Fuller was currently homeless, the court was told, and is on the waiting list for council accommodation. He is also working part-time as a landscaper. Judge Celia Hughes told him: 'You were 15 times the legal limit for driving with cocaine – it's odd to think there is a legal limit for driving with cocaine but there is one nonetheless. 'The officer said you were sweating and slurring your speech. 'You could easily have caused a serious accident and not only injured yourself but others.' The judge decided not to sent him straight to prison. She said to him: 'You are in a different place from when you committed these offences.' Fuller was jailed for 16 weeks with the sentence suspended for 12 months. The defendant was banned from driving for four years and ordered to pay a victim surcharge and £150 costs.
CBS News
22-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Texas Senate committee advances new THC ban during special legislative session
Just weeks after the governor vetoed a bill banning products containing THC, state senators revived it in the special session, filing nearly identical legislation and passing it unanimously out of committee with a 10-0 vote on Tuesday. Gov. Greg Abbott explicitly asked lawmakers to regulate, not ban, hemp products. Senators argued on Tuesday that it's not going to work. "We'll regulate it," said Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood. "We'll regulate it by banning it. Because we already tried regulating it." Allen Police Chief Steve Dye and Kaufman County District Attorney Leigh Wiley were the first of several invited witnesses to argue that most hemp-derived products on the market today are harmful. "When I went into the largest of the three warehouses, it looked like a giant candy store," said Dye. "So many packages marketed to our young people." Dye, who has led raids of hemp stores and warehouses, argues regulation would be too difficult and costly to be effective. "Regulation would likely be seen by the industry as carte blanche legalization," Dye said. Advocates argue a ban would close hundreds of businesses and hurt Texans who use these products. "Hemp-derived consumables are affordable, accessible and effective," said Mitch Fuller, who represents the Texas VFW. Fuller said many of the VFW's 65,000 veterans see the industry as an alternative to alcohol and opioids. But senators dismissed those claims. "We're taking a stance on this," said Fuller. "Again, no one's using us; we are doing this on our own volition because it helps us. It works great." Abbott was quoted by Impact News on Tuesday, saying he does want to ban intoxicating consumable THC products, which he views as those with more than 3 milligrams of THC. That's still more than what the Senate seems to want to allow, but it may be a sign he's willing to compromise. Senate Bill 5 now heads to the full Senate.
RTÉ News
22-07-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Irish 17-year-old's startup raises €1.2m
An AI startup co-founded by Irish 17-year-old Liam Fuller has secured €1.2 million ($1.4m) in pre-seed funding. Mr Fuller's company, Source, is a platform that automates stock purchasing for retailers using agentic AI. The funding round was led by Australian VC Square Peg, alongside former Stripe CTO David Singleton and the Xtripe angel syndicate. Mr Fuller is the CEO and co-founder of Source and is Square Peg's youngest portfolio founder to date. He has now left school to build Source full-time. "I was shocked to find that most businesses, especially retailers, still rely on email and Excel to buy hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of stock every week," Mr Fuller said. "Source provides a simple interface allowing retail buyers to understand what they should buy and when by integrating into Excel, email and ERPs (Enterprise Resource Planning)." "Source scans inventory and past sales data to generate forecasts and suggest purchase orders with AI that humans can edit and approve with a single click," he added. While visiting family in Australia last April, Mr Fuller secured a meeting with Square Peg co-founder Paul Bassat, and closed the funding round within weeks. "I've been impressed by many young entrepreneurs, but Liam combines technical sophistication with commercial instincts that are rare at any age," Mr Bassat said. "When someone demonstrates this level of execution and strategic thinking at seventeen, the growth trajectory becomes incredibly compelling," he added. The capital will be used to double engineering headcount, launch US pilot programmes this autumn and finance a Silicon Valley relocation later this year.
Scoop
22-07-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Govt Cuts KiwiSaver, Hnry Steps In With $130,000 Injection
Press Release – Hnry Hnry – one of New Zealands largest accountancy firms – says the move responds to growing concern among sole traders about the impact of the governments decision. Hnry is topping up KiwiSaver accounts for 500 randomly selected customers with a one-off $260.72 contribution, directly responding to the government's decision to halve the annual KiwiSaver top-up for the self-employed in Budget 2025. New survey data reveals that 52 per cent of sole traders oppose the government's policy, only 19 per cent support it, and 24 per cent plan to reduce their KiwiSaver contributions as a result. James Fuller, Hnry CEO and co-founder, warns the decision will lead to more people relying on state-funded support and is calling for the top-up to be reinstated for sole traders and broader reform to support sole trader retirement savings. Hnry is topping up the KiwiSaver accounts of 500 sole traders, stepping in after the government halved its annual contribution to self-employed workers from 1 July. The randomly selected Hnry customers will each receive a one-off KiwiSaver contribution of $260.72, matching the amount removed in Budget 2025 and injecting more than $130,000 directly into customers' retirement savings, which could boost the group's collective funds by one million dollars by the time they retire. Hnry – one of New Zealand's largest accountancy firms – says the move responds to growing concern among sole traders about the impact of the government's decision. New findings from the latest Sole Trader Pulse survey, the country's only independent survey of sole traders, reveal: Fifty-two per cent oppose the cut Just 19 per cent support it Almost a quarter say they will reduce KiwiSaver contributions because of it 41 per cent have paused Kiwisaver or saving contributions due to inflationary pressures Unlike employees, sole traders don't receive employer contributions. Their only incentive to save for retirement comes from the government's annual top-up, now halved, which applies if they save at least $1,042.86 a year. 's modelling suggests that this could reduce their overall retirement savings by up to 17 per cent. Hnry co-founder and CEO James Fuller says the country's 400,000 sole traders are hardest hit, but there's been no recognition of the impact from the government. 'We don't employ these people, but we do see every day how hard they work and how little support they get. This cut makes it even more difficult for them to establish long-term financial security. It shouldn't fall to private businesses to fill the gap, and while we'd love to help every customer, we're in a position to help some, so we are,' he says. The 500 randomly selected Hnry customers are being notified today of the one-off contribution being paid directly into their KiwiSaver account. Fuller says the government continues to underestimate the scale and contribution of the self-employed workforce, and, as a starting point, is calling on it to reverse the Budget 2025 decision and reinstate the full $521.43 top-up for sole traders. 'We're talking about nearly 20 percent of the workforce; builders, electricians, physios, nurses, and creatives. People we rely on every day, but who are constantly overlooked by a government that favours policies that benefit big business. 'This isn't a fringe issue; the ripple effect is irrevocable; it will create headaches for future governments when it comes to dealing with more retirees relying on state-funded support because they have less in their retirement savings. 'There are also additional levers that could be pulled to encourage people to save for their retirement – contributions in Australia are tax-deductible, which incentivises people to save. We need to be doing more, not less; yet we're stuck with shortsighted decisions that unfairly penalise a workforce that contributes billions to our country's GDP every year,' he says. Hnry is finalising a joint report with the Retirement Commission, set for release next month, exploring ways the government can better support sole traders' retirement savings. The latest Sole Trader Pulse was conducted between 2 and 13 June 2025, with a margin of error of ±4.4%. FAQ How were customers selected? Hnry randomly selected 500 customers from its database, who will be notified today. How much money will each customer receive? Each selected customer will receive a total of $260.72, paid directly into their KiwiSaver account. Hnry will make payments in two instalments: one in July and one in August 2025. Will this be an annual contribution? No. This is a one-off contribution made in response to the government's decision, announced in Budget 2025, to halve the annual KiwiSaver contribution for sole traders. Why has Hnry decided to make this contribution? Modelling from shows that cutting the government contribution will leave the self-employed 17 per cent worse off at retirement than those in traditional employment. Hnry is in a position to provide a one-off contribution and wants to support its customers where it can. Is Hnry responsible for KiwiSaver contributions – and should the private sector be doing more? No. Hnry supports and advocates for New Zealand's sole trader workforce, but it does not employ them and therefore does not make employer KiwiSaver contributions. Employees already receive employer contributions to their retirement savings – the issue here is that sole traders' only incentive, the government contribution, has been halved. By making this one-off payment, Hnry aims to offset the $260.72 loss these 500 sole traders will face in the 2025/26 year, and to draw attention to a broader issue: if the needs of the country's 400,000 sole traders continue to be overlooked, the government risks creating a generation of Kiwis who may require greater support in retirement. About Hnry: Founded in 2017, Hnry is one of New Zealand's largest accountancy firms. It provides a pay-as-you-go, all-in-one digital accounting service that handles invoicing, expenses, payments, taxes, filings, and offers expert on-demand support. Hnry takes care of all the financial admin for contractors, freelancers, sole traders, and the self-employed, allowing them to focus on getting the job done rather than worrying about tax and compliance. Hnry recently won the 'Innovation in Financial Services' category at the 2024 INFINZ Awards. In 2023 and 2024, as well as being one of the leading companies in the Deloitte Fast 50, it was also recognised as the Fastest Growing Technology Business in the Wellington and Lower North Island region.
