Competition / Competitors

We operate in a highly competitive industry, and our business may suffer if we are unable to adequately address downward pricing pressures and other results of competition.

Numerous competitive factors could impair our ability to maintain or improve our current profitability. These factors include the following.

     •   We compete with many other truckload carriers of varying sizes and, to a lesser extent, with less-than-truckload carriers, railroads, airfreight forwarders, and other transportation companies. Many of our competitors have more equipment, a wider range of services, greater capital resources, or other competitive advantages.                                        

     •   Many of our competitors periodically reduce their freight rates to gain business, especially during times of reduced growth in the economy. This may limit our ability to maintain or increase freight rates or to continue to expand our business.

     •   Many of our customers also operate their own private trucking fleets, and they may decide to transport more of their own freight.

     •   In recent years, many shippers have reduced the number of carriers they use by selecting “core carriers” as approved service providers. As this trend continues, some of our customers may not select us as a “core carrier.”

     •   Many customers periodically solicit bids from multiple carriers for their shipping needs, and this process may depress freight rates or result in a loss of business to competitors.

     •   The continuing trend toward consolidation in the trucking industry may result in more large carriers with greater financial resources and other competitive advantages relating to their size, and we may have difficulty competing with them.

     •   Advances in technology require us to increase investments in order to remain competitive, and our customers may not be willing to accept higher freight rates to cover the cost of these investments.

     •   Competition from freight logistics and brokerage companies may adversely affect our customer relationships and freight rates.

•   Economies of scale that may be passed on to smaller carriers by procurement aggregation providers may improve the carriers’ ability to compete with us.