USA Truck Inc (USAK) 2022 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the USA Truck First Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded.

早上好，歡迎參加美國卡車 2022 年第一季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意此事件正在被記錄。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mike Stephens, Senior Vice President, Finance, Strategy and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給財務、戰略和投資者關係高級副總裁邁克·斯蒂芬斯 (Mike Stephens)。請繼續。

Thank you, Jenny. Good morning, and welcome to USAT Capacity Solutions first quarter earnings conference call. Joining us this morning from the company are James Reed, President and CEO; and Zach King, Senior Vice President, and CFO. Thank you for joining us today.

謝謝你，珍妮。早上好，歡迎參加 USAT 容量解決方案第一季度收益電話會議。今天早上，公司總裁兼首席執行官詹姆斯·里德 (James Reed) 也加入了我們的行列。以及高級副總裁兼首席財務官扎克·金 (Zach King)。感謝您今天加入我們。

In order to help you better understand USAT Capacity Solutions and its results, some forward-looking statements could be made during the call. As we all know, forward-looking statements, by their very nature, are subject to uncertainties and risks. For a more complete discussion of factors that could affect the company's future results, please refer to the forward-looking statements section of the company's earnings press release and the company's most recent SEC public filings. In order to provide you more meaningful comparisons, certain information discussed on the conference call could include non-GAAP financial measures as outlined and described in the tables in our earnings press release.

為了幫助您更好地了解 USAT 容量解決方案及其結果，電話會議期間可能會做出一些前瞻性陳述。眾所周知，前瞻性陳述本質上會受到不確定性和風險的影響。有關可能影響公司未來業績的因素的更完整討論，請參閱公司收益新聞稿的前瞻性聲明部分以及公司最近向 SEC 公開提交的文件。為了向您提供更有意義的比較，電話會議上討論的某些信息可能包括我們的收益新聞稿中的表格中概述和描述的非公認會計準則財務指標。

I will now turn the time over to James.

現在我將把時間交給詹姆斯。

Great. Good morning, everyone, and thanks, Mike. The first quarter performance at USA Truck represents the seventh consecutive quarter of record-setting results. Our team delivered the best Q1 adjusted operating income and adjusted earnings per share in our company history and the highest revenue quarter in the history of USA Truck. The first quarter was also our fourth consecutive record-setting revenue quarter. We have been consistent in our messaging and approach. This was a business in need of an operational and financial overhaul, and we have delivered that.

偉大的。大家早上好，謝謝邁克。美國卡車公司第一季度的業績代表連續第七個季度創紀錄的業績。我們的團隊實現了公司歷史上最好的第一季度調整後營業收入和調整後每股收益，以及美國卡車歷史上最高的季度收入。第一季度也是我們連續第四個創紀錄的收入季度。我們的信息和方法一直保持一致。這是一家需要進行運營和財務改革的企業，而我們已經實現了這一點。

Our task was to bring consistent industry-level results with more consistency and predictability over time. USA Truck now has among the highest performing businesses in this sector with a trailing 12-month return on invested capital of 14.1% and a trailing 12-month adjusted earnings per share of $3.93. The approach has never changed as we took specific measures to derisk and bring resilience to the business that we feel will endure through all cycles.

我們的任務是隨著時間的推移提供一致的行業級結果，並具有更高的一致性和可預測性。 USA Truck 目前是該行業表現最好的企業之一，過去 12 個月的投資資本回報率為 14.1%，過去 12 個月的調整後每股收益為 3.93 美元。這種方法從未改變，因為我們採取了具體措施來降低風險並為我們認為將在所有周期中持續存在的業務帶來彈性。

We reengineered the network to optimize our profitability. We grew our dedicated and quasi-dedicated portfolio to just under 40% for the Trucking segment as this is a less volatile, more cycle-resistant and predictably profitable business. We have always stayed focused on contract rate. We use the spot market very sparingly. In fact, over the last 8 quarters, our average percent of spot market freight is less than 6%. And in the first quarter, it was approximately 7%.

我們重新設計了網絡以優化我們的盈利能力。我們將卡車運輸領域的專用和準專用投資組合增加到略低於 40%，因為這是一個波動性較小、更耐週期且盈利可預測的業務。我們始終關注合同利率。我們很少使用現貨市場。事實上，在過去 8 個季度中，我們現貨市場運費的平均百分比低於 6%。第一季度約為 7%。

And significantly, we have shifted our revenue in asset-light and non-asset businesses to approximately 65% of the business or nearly [2/3] of our revenue. This creates higher returns on capital and a more consistent margin construct, especially in our owner/operator business, which makes up 27% of the trucking segment. Each of these constructs reduce the inherent risk of downward pressure on financial results.

值得注意的是，我們已將輕資產和非資產業務的收入轉移到業務的約 65% 或收入的近 2/3。這創造了更高的資本回報率和更一致的利潤結構，特別是在我們的業主/運營商業務中，該業務佔卡車運輸領域的 27%。這些結構中的每一個都降低了財務業績下行壓力的固有風險。

No doubt, we have had a great run of results over the last several years. And yet, despite a slightly cooling market, we still expect 2022 to be our best year ever for results. Our internal models and current view of the market have us putting up a 2022 result that both raises our last -- our latest trailing 12-month results and obviously results in the best year ever for USA Truck.

毫無疑問，我們在過去幾年中取得了一系列出色的成果。然而，儘管市場略有降溫，我們仍然預計 2022 年將是我們有史以來業績最好的一年。我們的內部模型和當前的市場觀點使我們得出了 2022 年的結果，該結果不僅提高了我們最近 12 個月的結果，而且顯然是美國卡車有史以來最好的一年。

USA Truck continues to post record profits. We now have $3.93 in trailing 12 months adjusted earnings per share and see upside to that this year with current market conditions. We understand the sensitivities of our model to potential downside pricing pressure. And even if we assume rate reductions, barring any other unforeseen catastrophe that may be set the company or industry, we still see trough earnings above $2.50 a share. We believe in the markets over the long term as arbiters of value and expect proper consideration of trough earnings and actual results will soon be recognized. We intend to just keep improving earnings and controlling what we can in the meantime.

美國卡車公司繼續創造創紀錄的利潤。我們現在的過去 12 個月調整後每股收益為 3.93 美元，並認為在當前市場條件下，今年該收益將有所上升。我們了解我們的模型對潛在下行定價壓力的敏感性。即使我們假設降息，除非公司或行業可能遭遇任何其他不可預見的災難，我們仍然會看到每股收益超過 2.50 美元。我們相信，從長遠來看，市場是價值的仲裁者，並預計對谷底收益和實際結果的適當考慮將很快得到認可。我們打算繼續提高收入並同時控制我們能做的事情。

Our balance sheet is strong and improving, and our liquidity and leverage metrics position us well for future growth. Today, we will offer updates on the market dynamics, segment performance in the quarter; and finally, on the outlook. I'll now turn the time over to Zach to discuss the financial results.

我們的資產負債表強勁且不斷改善，我們的流動性和槓桿指標為我們未來的增長奠定了良好的基礎。今天，我們將提供本季度市場動態、細分市場表現的最新動態；最後，關於前景。現在我將把時間交給扎克討論財務業績。

Thank you, James. If you'll please turn with me to Slide #3, we'll do a brief review of our financial results. Base quarterly revenue, which excludes fuel surcharge, was up 22.3%, consolidated quarterly operating revenues came in at $201.1 million, which represents a 26.9% increase year-over-year. Consolidated adjusted operating ratio for the quarter was 89.2%, down from 95.6% in the prior year, primarily driven by improvements in base revenue per mile in our trucking segment as a direct result of our continued network optimization efforts and market uplift.

謝謝你，詹姆斯。請跟我一起翻到第三張幻燈片，我們將對我們的財務業績進行簡要回顧。不包括燃油附加費的基本季度收入增長了 22.3%，綜合季度營業收入為 2.011 億美元，同比增長 26.9%。本季度合併調整後的運營率為89.2%，低於上一年的95.6%，這主要是由於我們持續的網絡優化工作和市場提升的直接結果，我們的貨運部門每英里基本收入的提高所致。

The full year maturation of our dedicated business unit growth and increases in revenue per load and load count in our USAT Logistics segment. These -- the results of these initiatives generated adjusted earnings per diluted share of $1.48 and $27.4 million in adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter. This brings our trailing 12-month adjusted EPS to $3.93 and adjusted EBITDA to $86.5 million.

我們的 USAT 物流部門的專用業務部門的增長以及每次裝載收入和裝載數量的增加，全年已趨於成熟。這些舉措的結果為第一季度帶來了 1.48 美元的調整後每股攤薄收益和 2740 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA。這使得我們過去 12 個月調整後每股收益達到 3.93 美元，調整後 EBITDA 達到 8650 萬美元。

Turning to Slide #4. Trucking operating revenue before intersegment eliminations increased $13 million or 12.6% to $116.1 million. Base revenues, excluding fuel, were up 7.6% to $99.9 million compared to $92.8 million for the first quarter of 2021. Our Trucking segment generated $13 million in adjusted operating income and an 87% adjusted operating ratio. The primary driver of these results was a $0.42 increase in base revenue per loaded mile when compared to the first quarter of 2021 and the full year maturation of new dedicated contracts within our dedicated business unit.

轉向幻燈片 #4。部門間抵銷前的卡車運輸營業收入增加了 1,300 萬美元，即 12.6%，達到 1.161 億美元。不包括燃料的基本收入增長 7.6%，達到 9990 萬美元，而 2021 年第一季度為 9280 萬美元。我們的卡車運輸部門調整後營業收入為 1300 萬美元，調整後營業比率為 87%。這些業績的主要推動力是與 2021 年第一季度相比，每裝載英里的基本收入增加了 0.42 美元，以及我們專用業務部門內新專用合同的全年成熟。

Utilization decreased 65 miles per truck per week or approximately 4.2% for the first quarter -- from the first quarter of 2021. This decrease is a result of decreased utilization in our owner operator fleet, which represents approximately 30% of our available tractor fleet and our network optimization strategy that optimizes for operating profit and revenue per tractor over miles and other variables.

與2021 年第一季度相比，每輛卡車的利用率每週減少65 英里，即第一季度約4.2%。這一下降是由於我們的業主運營商車隊利用率下降所致，該車隊約佔我們可用拖拉機車隊的30%，我們的網絡優化策略可優化每台拖拉機的營業利潤和收入以及其他變量。

In addition, a transition to a higher percentage of dedicated business within our Trucking segment has also impacted our utilization. These rate and utilization outcomes positively affected base revenue per available tractor per week, which increased $451 or 11.8% year-over-year for the first quarter. The average available tractor count for the first quarter of 2022 was 1,821, which is a 3.8% decrease when compared to the first quarter of 2021.

此外，卡車運輸部門向更高比例的專用業務轉型也影響了我們的利用率。這些比率和利用率結果對每台可用拖拉機每週的基本收入產生了積極影響，第一季度同比增加了 451 美元，即 11.8%。 2022 年第一季度平均可用拖拉機數量為 1,821 台，比 2021 年第一季度減少 3.8%。

Turning to Slide #6. We'll review the results of our USAT Logistics segment. Revenue before intersegment eliminations increased $20.9 million from the first quarter of '21 or 42.5% to $97.4 million. Our Logistics segment generated $6.1 million in adjusted operating income and had a 93.2% adjusted operating ratio. Gross margin dollars increased $5.1 million to $13.3 million in the quarter. Load count increased to approximately 41,300 loads during the first quarter of 2022 from the 33,100 loads in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 24.8% and an increase of 2.5% or approximately 1,000 loads sequentially. This increased our margin per load to $321 from $249 in the first quarter of '21.

轉向幻燈片 #6。我們將審查 USAT Logistics 部門的業績。部門間抵銷前的收入較 2021 年第一季度增加 2090 萬美元，即 42.5%，達到 9740 萬美元。我們的物流部門調整後營業收入為 610 萬美元，調整後營業率為 93.2%。本季度毛利率增加 510 萬美元，達到 1,330 萬美元。 2022 年第一季度的負載數量從 2021 年第一季度的 33,100 次增加至約 41,300 次，增加了 24.8%，環比增加了 2.5%，即約 1,000 次負載。這使我們的每次裝載利潤從 21 年第一季度的 249 美元增加到 321 美元。

Turning to Slide #7. We'll discuss our key balance sheet and liquidity measures. As of March 31, 2022, total debt and finance lease liabilities were $161.1 million. Net debt was $149.1 million, and our net debt to adjusted EBITDA for the trailing 12 months ended was 1.7x, down from 1.8x in Q4 of '21. This represents a net debt increase of $10.8 million from Q4 '21 and a 0.1 turn improvement in our leverage ratio. As we announced in our fourth quarter earnings call and subsequent 10-K, we entered into a $131 million asset-backed credit agreement on January 31, 2022, along with a series of fixed-rate term loans. This new structure provides a more predictable equipment valuation and increased borrowing capacity as well as equipment financing arrangements that secure low-cost fixed interest rates over time. This new structure provides full availability under our credit facility as of March 31, 2022, and liquidity of $142 million.

轉向幻燈片#7。我們將討論我們的關鍵資產負債表和流動性措施。截至 2022 年 3 月 31 日，債務和融資租賃負債總額為 1.611 億美元。淨債務為 1.491 億美元，截至過去 12 個月的淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 之比為 1.7 倍，低於 21 年第四季度的 1.8 倍。這意味著淨債務較 21 年第 4 季度增加了 1,080 萬美元，槓桿率提高了 0.1 倍。正如我們在第四季度財報電話會議和隨後的 10-K 中宣布的那樣，我們於 2022 年 1 月 31 日簽訂了一項 1.31 億美元的資產支持信貸協議，以及一系列固定利率定期貸款。這種新結構提供了更可預測的設備估值、更高的借貸能力以及設備融資安排，可確保長期的低成本固定利率。截至 2022 年 3 月 31 日，這一新結構使我們的信貸安排完全可用，流動性達 1.42 億美元。

Looking at the remaining [month] of 2022. We expect $45 million to $55 million of net CapEx for the remainder of the year. While procuring tractors and trailers remains uncertain, we have seen consistent deliveries through the first quarter and expect to receive the remainder of our orders throughout the year. We have also seen elevated used equipment pricing, which is resulting in increased gains in proceeds for the period, offsetting a significant portion of the CapEx incurred on the delivery of new equipment.

展望 2022 年剩餘時間。我們預計今年剩餘時間的淨資本支出將達到 4500 萬至 5500 萬美元。儘管採購拖拉機和拖車仍存在不確定性，但我們在第一季度的交付量保持穩定，並預計全年都能收到剩餘的訂單。我們還看到二手設備價格上漲，導致該期間收益增加，抵消了交付新設備所產生的大部分資本支出。

With that, I'll now turn the call back over to James to offer more insight into the quarter and our outlook.

現在，我將把電話轉回給詹姆斯，以提供有關本季度和我們前景的更多見解。

Great. Thanks, Zach. The quarter dynamics were seasonally about average on a historical basis. We use an arithmetic moving average model to understand the seasonality of our low tender demand signals. In January and February were strong on a seasonal basis with March, slightly below normal seasonal trends. Pricing remains strong on a historical basis even as we do see declines in spot pricing that has been widely reported. And yet, our base rate per loaded mile was the highest in our history and remains strong. Supply side issues have persisted regarding the availability of drivers and tractors from OEMs. It remains historically difficult to recruit drivers as our cost per hire, while down 2.7% quarter-over-quarter is still near all-time highs. Each of the OEMs have imposed bill of material cost increases or surcharges, some reaching over $10,000. Trailer costs are up almost 50% in the last 3 years, and insurance premiums remain near all-time highs as well.

偉大的。謝謝，扎克。從歷史角度來看，該季度的季節性動態約為平均水平。我們使用算術移動平均模型來了解低招標需求信號的季節性。 1 月和 2 月與 3 月相比季節性強勁，略低於正常季節性趨勢。儘管我們確實看到了廣泛報導的現貨價格下降，但從歷史角度來看，定價仍然強勁。然而，我們每裝載英里的基本費率是我們歷史上最高的，並且仍然強勁。關於原始設備製造商提供的司機和拖拉機的供應方面的問題仍然存在。由於我們的每次僱傭成本，招聘司機仍然是歷史性的困難，儘管環比下降 2.7%，但仍接近歷史最高水平。每個 OEM 廠商都增加了材料成本或附加費，有的達到 10,000 美元以上。過去 3 年，拖車成本上漲了近 50%，保險費也接近歷史最高水平。

These structural factors affect the entire industry even among private fleets, and thus, this cost pressure ultimately supports sustained price strength relative to past cycles. Despite continued OEM delays, we have received 186 trucks year-to-date and expect to receive 344 more by the end of the year. So that puts us in a good spot from an age of fleet standpoint with average age of our trucks at 2.6 years exiting the quarter with expectations that we will be just above 2 years by the end of this year.

這些結構性因素影響整個行業，甚至私人車隊，因此，這種成本壓力最終支持相對於過去週期的持續價格上漲。儘管 OEM 持續延遲，我們今年迄今已收到 186 輛卡車，預計到年底將收到 344 輛。因此，從車隊年齡的角度來看，我們處於有利位置，本季度結束時我們卡車的平均年齡為 2.6 年，預計到今年年底我們將略高於 2 年。

I'd like to now talk about the segment. In our trucking segment, we had an outstanding quarter, delivered sequential and year-over-year improvements in financial results that demonstrate the exact trajectory we have expected over the last 5 years. We think it's important that the investment community understand the dynamics in this segment and how it has changed over the years. This is not the business people might assume it is. USA Truck's trucking business is not the traditional asset-based business of the past. We have intentionally and methodically diversified and derisked this segment through thoughtful shifts in our asset allocation between traditional irregular out trucking, dedicated and quasi-dedicated growth and our asset-light owner-operator business.

我現在想談談這個部分。在我們的卡車運輸部門，我們度過了一個出色的季度，財務業績連續和同比改善，這證明了我們在過去 5 年中所預期的確切軌跡。我們認為投資界了解這一領域的動態以及多年來它的變化非常重要。這並不是商界人士所想像的那樣。美國卡車公司的貨運業務並非過去傳統的資產型業務。我們有意、有條不紊地實現了這一細分市場的多元化，並通過在傳統的不定期貨運、專用和準專用增長以及輕資產業主運營商業務之間進行深思熟慮的資產配置轉變，降低了該細分市場的風險。

I'd like to talk about the dedicated business unit first. This business makes up just under 40% of our Trucking segment revenues. It produces recurring OR in the mid-80s on balance over time and is currently performing even better than that. We delivered low 80s OR performance in the first quarter. The core dedicated business has been on a historic pair up 38% year-over-year in terms of revenue growth. The beauty of this business, particularly in moderated markets, is that it actually performs best in these market conditions, as we reported before, in an exuberant market with rapid expansion, this business incurred start-up costs that mask the true underlying economics of the investment.

我想先談談專門的業務部門。該業務占我們貨運部門收入的近 40%。隨著時間的推移，它在 80 年代中期產生了重複的 OR，目前的表現甚至比這更好。我們在第一季度的 OR 性能低於 80 年代。核心專用業務的收入增長歷史性地同比增長了 38%。這項業務的美妙之處，特別是在溫和的市場中，在於它實際上在這些市場條件下表現最好，正如我們之前報導的那樣，在一個快速擴張的繁榮市場中，這項業務產生的啟動成本掩蓋了該行業真正的基本經濟狀況。投資。

Now that the majority start-up costs have been incurred, our infrastructure, equipment and people are in place, and we can sustain these results for the foreseeable future even if the broader market softens. Add to the underlying stability and consistency of the dedicated business that we have nearly 200 trucks of dedicated business sold and committed to, we just need to seat the trucks and have the assets. This gives us great flexibility amid market uncertainty and immediate opportunities to further grow the business within our existing footprint. We have the fungibility to move underperforming assets into this relatively more predictable business. And thus, we are actively identifying assets in our traditional truckload business to move over to this more profitable, more consistent and better insulated business unit as a risk mitigation and profit maximization strategy in shifting markets.

現在大部分啟動成本已經產生，我們的基礎設施、設備和人員都已到位，即使大盤走軟，我們也可以在可預見的未來維持這些成果。再加上我們已銷售和承諾的近 200 輛專用業務卡車的專用業務的基本穩定性和一致性，我們只需要安置卡車並擁有資產即可。這為我們在市場不確定的情況下提供了極大的靈活性，並為我們提供了在現有業務範圍內進一步發展業務的直接機會。我們有能力將表現不佳的資產轉移到這個相對更可預測的業務中。因此，我們正在積極識別傳統卡車業務中的資產，以轉移到這個利潤更高、更一致和隔離更好的業務部門，作為不斷變化的市場中的風險緩解和利潤最大化戰略。

Now let me add some details on owner-operators. An important element of our tactics in executing a more asset-light business model has been our shift to more and more owner operators. These independent contractors are phenomenal business partners who supply us with predictable, reliable capacity to meet our customers' needs. The financial profile of this business in the context of USA Truck's Trucking segment is quite remarkable too. They make up 27% of our Trucking segment available trucks consistently provide around a 90 OR in all market conditions and become more predictable and reliable in softening markets.

現在讓我添加一些有關業主經營者的詳細信息。在執行更加輕資產的商業模式方面，我們策略的一個重要組成部分是我們轉向越來越多的業主經營者。這些獨立承包商是傑出的業務合作夥伴，他們為我們提供可預測、可靠的能力來滿足客戶的需求。在美國卡車貨運部門的背景下，該業務的財務狀況也相當引人注目。它們占我們卡車運輸細分市場的 27%，在所有市場條件下始終提供 90 OR 左右的卡車，並且在疲軟的市場中變得更加可預測和可靠。

The reason this business is so financially predictable is that we pay this group on a percentage basis of revenues, meaning they receive a fixed percentage of the contracted rate on a load, and that model persists in all market conditions. Think about that. When the market strengthens as it has over the last couple of years, this group makes about a 90 OR for the company at elevated rates, and in a down market, they would also deliver a 90 OR. Now we acknowledge that a 90 OR on a lower revenue number is a lower number, but it is predictable and provides an excellent return on capital for the company in all market conditions. Additionally, this group is more incented to grow in softening markets.

該業務在財務上如此可預測的原因是，我們根據收入的百分比向該群體支付費用，這意味著他們收到負載合同費率的固定百分比，並且該模型在所有市場條件下都持續存在。考慮一下。當市場像過去幾年那樣走強時，該小組會以較高的利率為公司提供大約 90 OR，而在低迷的市場中，他們也會提供 90 OR。現在我們承認，較低收入數字的 90 OR 是一個較低的數字，但它是可預測的，並且在所有市場條件下都為公司提供了出色的資本回報率。此外，該群體更有動力在疲軟的市場中實現增長。

Typically, owner-operators move to the relative safety of large carriers like USA Truck with access to robust contract freight, established market relationships, and lower price volatility when compared to what they would encounter in the spot market. For this reason, we expect more opportunities with our owner-operator fleet as cycles migrate from all-time highs.

通常情況下，業主運營商會轉向相對安全的大型承運商，例如美國卡車公司，因為與現貨市場相比，他們可以獲得強勁的合同貨運、已建立的市場關係以及較低的價格波動性。出於這個原因，隨著自行車從歷史最高點遷移，我們預計我們的業主運營商車隊將有更多機會。

And finally, I want to discuss traditional company-owned over-the-road fleet. This fleet, excluding the owner-operators, makes up just under 40% of the segment. In fact, the Dedicated business is actually a larger percentage of the segment now than the company-owned truckload tractors are. Historically, this has been the focus of investors. And yet, it is a proportionately smaller facet of our business than ever. This doesn't mean we don't focus on it. We do, but we need to calibrate the impact of the market and the performance of this business in a broader context. We continue to improve the network. We are focused on reducing the age of the fleet. We have dramatically improved our driver turnover and retention statistics, and we do all this with a very minimal exposure to the spot market.

最後，我想討論一下傳統公司擁有的公路車隊。該機隊（不包括業主運營商）佔該細分市場的近 40%。事實上，專用業務目前在該細分市場中所佔的比例實際上比公司自有的卡車牽引車所佔的比例還要大。從歷史上看，這一直是投資者關注的焦點。然而，它在我們業務中所佔的比例比以往任何時候都小。這並不意味著我們不關注它。我們確實這樣做，但我們需要在更廣泛的背景下校準市場的影響和該業務的業績。我們不斷完善網絡。我們致力於降低機隊的機齡。我們極大地改善了司機流動率和保留率統計數據，並且我們在現貨市場上的暴露程度非常低。

I want to add some commentary here about fleet size and trade cycle dynamics as well. We are currently behind our own internal plan for fleet size, owing mostly to difficulty in getting owner-operators to either come over to USA Truck because they've done so well in a historic rate market or to the fact that they simply cannot get a truck. On the first point, we have always seen owner-operators migrate to our fleets in more moderated markets, and we have already seen that occurring over the last couple of weeks. And on the latter point of finding a truck, we believe our strategy has led to some great optionality around this.

我還想在這裡添加一些關於船隊規模和貿易週期動態的評論。我們目前支持我們自己的車隊規模內部計劃，主要是因為很難讓業主運營商轉向美國卡車公司，因為他們在歷史性的費率市場上做得很好，或者因為他們根本無法獲得美國卡車公司的支持。卡車。關於第一點，我們總是看到業主運營商在較為溫和的市場中遷移到我們的車隊，並且我們已經在過去幾週看到了這種情況的發生。關於尋找卡車的後一點，我們相信我們的策略已經帶來了一些很大的選擇餘地。

Overall, with respect to fleet size, we have, by virtue of reducing our trade cycle from 5 to 4 years, many more trucks coming out of the fleet a year earlier than in the past and with many fewer miles. We have the option, therefore of either selling those trucks for gains, keeping them in our company fleet, which is not our strategy right now or converting these trucks via our leasing company or an outside lessor to owner-operator available trucks. The likely path will be a combination of all 3 and market dynamics will have a great influence on what we choose to do. But we can audible real-time based on market conditions. With over 400 owner-operators on our wait list and a network built to accommodate them, we expect modest growth in fleet size over the coming quarters, and we'll certainly keep everyone updated on how we choose to navigate this great opportunity.

總體而言，就車隊規模而言，通過將貿易週期從 5 年縮短至 4 年，我們的車隊比過去提前一年推出了更多卡車，行駛里程也少了很多。因此，我們可以選擇出售這些卡車以獲取收益，將它們保留在我們公司的車隊中（這不是我們目前的策略），或者通過我們的租賃公司或外部出租人將這些卡車轉換為業主運營商可用的卡車。可能的路徑將是所有這三個因素的結合，市場動態將對我們選擇做什麼產生很大的影響。但我們可以根據市場情況實時發聲。我們的候補名單上有超過400 家業主運營商，並且建立了一個為容納他們而建立的網絡，我們預計未來幾個季度機隊規模將適度增長，並且我們肯定會讓每個人了解我們選擇如何抓住這一巨大機遇的最新信息。

Finally, the truckload business itself has the most exposure in our portfolio to market moves in the sense that freight softens or declining contract rates as freight softens or declining contract rates have the most direct impact here. And thus, while this group delivered a sub-90 OR in the quarter, we would expect it to perform in a high 80s to mid-90s OR range, depending on where we are in the freight cycle. Let's now talk about our Logistics segment.

最後，卡車裝載業務本身在我們的投資組合中受市場波動影響最大，因為貨運疲軟或合同費率下降對這裡產生最直接的影響。因此，雖然該集團在本季度交付了 90 以下的 OR，但我們預計其表現將在 80 年代至 90 年代中期的 OR 範圍內，具體取決於我們處於貨運週期的哪個階段。現在讓我們談談我們的物流部門。

Logistics had a record quarter in revenue, margin and profit. This business is a significant contributor to our company and now makes up 50.5% of base revenue, and this quarter accounted for 31.9% of consolidated adjusted operating income. If we were to exclude gains on sale of assets, this business would have accounted for 48% of consolidated adjusted operating income. This business alone adds significant value and work to our company that we continue to believe is absent in the market's evaluation of our performance.

物流業的季度收入、利潤率和利潤均創歷史新高。該業務對我們公司做出了重要貢獻，目前占基本收入的 50.5%，本季度佔合併調整後營業收入的 31.9%。如果我們排除資產出售收益，該業務將佔合併調整後營業收入的 48%。僅這項業務就為我們公司增加了重要的價值和工作，我們仍然認為市場對我們業績的評估中缺少這些價值和工作。

One of the things we like about logistics is that the margins are reasonably predictable across market conditions. And so being able to crank significant volume through the business, I think the supermarket model becomes the highest priority in an installation against retreating markets. We continue to grow rapidly in this segment where we consistently deliver best-in-class results. Other than record profits, margins and revenues in the quarter, our greatest accomplishment was the addition of over 40 more people year-over-year in a legendary tough employment market. We expect this team and these results to continue to grow.

我們喜歡物流的原因之一是，在不同的市場條件下，利潤率都是可以合理預測的。因此，能夠通過業務大幅提高銷量，我認為超市模式成為應對市場萎縮的裝置中的最高優先級。我們在這一領域繼續快速發展，始終如一地提供一流的成果。除了本季度創紀錄的利潤、利潤率和收入之外，我們最大的成就是在傳奇般的嚴峻就業市場中同比增加了 40 多名員工。我們期望這個團隊和這些成果能夠繼續發展。

I'll now update listeners on some metrics we become accustomed to sharing. The first is load count volume. Our load count continues to be strong. Q1 volumes were up 2.5% sequentially and 24.8% year-over-year. This is critically important in any market condition. We now produce the throughput to harvest profits in all markets.

現在，我將向聽眾通報我們習慣於分享的一些指標。第一個是負載計數量。我們的負載量仍然強勁。第一季度銷量環比增長 2.5%，同比增長 24.8%。這在任何市場條件下都至關重要。我們現在生產的吞吐量可以在所有市場上獲得利潤。

The next is USAT Logistics revenue per employee is actually down 1% year-over-year. We are ramping our many new associates into this organization and expect their revenue productivity to accelerate. A risk, of course, is as market rates decline, it does get harder and harder to post revenues. And so volume is our primary leading indicator in this space, and we expect to see gains there. The next metric is margin dollars per employee. It represents another staggering statistic. Our logistics team produced over $102,000 in gross margin dollars per employee in the quarter. This represents an $11,000 increase per employee year-over-year or 12% improvement year-over-year.

其次是 USAT Logistics 員工人均收入實際上同比下降了 1%。我們正在將許多新員工加入該組織，並期望他們的收入生產力能夠加快。當然，一個風險是隨著市場利率下降，公佈收入確實變得越來越困難。因此，成交量是我們在這個領域的主要領先指標，我們預計會看到增長。下一個指標是每位員工的保證金美元。它代表了另一個令人震驚的統計數據。本季度，我們的物流團隊每位員工的毛利率超過 102,000 美元。這意味著每位員工的收入同比增加 11,000 美元，即同比提高 12%。

And finally, our USAT Logistics loads per employee is actually down 13.3% year-over-year. This is a function of our growth. With head count up over 40% and load count up just under 25%, we know that the key to our growth will be getting our new associates ramped up and productive as quickly as possible. This will be a key measure to watch going forward. As spot market pricing has abated from its size, this business is quite well-positioned to expand margins in the portion of our portfolio that is contract-based. Where we have contracts in place and now lower and sometimes decreasing capacity costs, we see margin expansion opportunities. That makes up about 50% of this business. The remainder is transactional and thus requires the kinds of efficiencies we have discussed to continue to improve, and we expect they will. The logistics story is straightforward. The team continues to set records in terms of revenue, low count margin and profits. We're quite bullish on the prospects of that continuing.

最後，我們的 USAT Logistics 每位員工的負荷實際上同比下降了 13.3%。這是我們成長的一個功能。員工數量增加了 40% 以上，負載數量增加了不到 25%，我們知道，我們增長的關鍵是讓我們的新員工盡快提高能力並提高生產力。這將是未來值得關注的一項關鍵措施。由於現貨市場定價已與其規模相比，該業務處於有利位置，可以擴大我們基於合同的投資組合部分的利潤。如果我們簽訂了合同，並且現在產能成本降低，有時甚至還在下降，我們就會看到利潤率擴張的機會。這約佔該業務的 50%。其餘部分是事務性的，因此需要我們討論過的效率來繼續提高，我們預計它們會這樣做。物流故事很簡單。該團隊在收入、低計數利潤和利潤方面繼續創下記錄。我們非常看好這種情況持續下去的前景。

Now let me say something about the outlook. The outlook for USA Truck is very good. As I noted earlier, we expect 2022 to be a record year for earnings. We don't live in a vacuum. We see and hear all the market changes that everyone else sees -- load tenders have softened generally, tender rejections are down market-wide and USA Truck. Spot rates have softened considerably, and it's likely that contract rates will see some downward pressure in the coming months. Noting all of that, our performance year-to-date is far ahead of last year. April year-over-year is at least as good and maybe even slightly better than last year. And remember, 2021 was a record year. And we have not seen any downward move in our contract rates.

現在讓我談談展望。美國卡車的前景非常好。正如我之前指出的，我們預計 2022 年將是盈利創紀錄的一年。我們並不是生活在真空中。我們看到並聽到了其他人看到的所有市場變化——負載招標普遍疲軟，整個市場和美國卡車的投標拒絕率下降。即期利率已大幅走軟，未來幾個月合同利率可能會面臨一些下行壓力。考慮到所有這些，我們今年迄今為止的表現遠遠領先於去年。與去年同期相比，四月份的情況至少與去年一樣好，甚至可能略好一些。請記住，2021 年是創紀錄的一年。我們沒有看到合同費率有任何下降。

As previously discussed, we have successfully restructured our network and derisked and rebalanced our portfolio. We have created a business that insulates against downside risk through a growing dedicated business, more emphasis on asset-light owner-operator business and a non-asset logistics business that on its own is near a top 50 broker by revenues in this country. Our non-asset and asset-light revenues are now 65.6% of revenue, and we have never relied on the spot market for our business improvement. We were right around 7% of our freight derived from the spot market in the quarter. While some companies are retreating to the safe harbor of contractual rates away from the exposure of spot rates, we never left the safety of the harbor and therefore, are much less exposed to market moves on pricing.

如前所述，我們已經成功重組了我們的網絡，並降低了風險並重新平衡了我們的投資組合。我們通過不斷發展的專業業務、更加重視輕資產業主運營商業務以及非資產物流業務（按收入計算，其本身已接近美國前 50 名經紀商），創建了一項能夠抵禦下行風險的業務。我們的非資產和輕資產收入現在佔收入的65.6%，我們的業務改善從來沒有依賴於現貨市場。本季度我們約 7% 的運費來自現貨市場。雖然一些公司正在撤退到合同利率的安全港，遠離即期利率的風險，但我們從未離開過安全港，因此，受到市場定價波動的影響要小得多。

USA Truck has been transformed. We think context is missing in the marketplace, despite the moves of all-time highs in the freight market by almost any measure, this market is still one of the best markets of all time. Widely [read] measures of loads per truck, rate performance, and indices measuring sentiment and capacity variability all mostly indicate a historically strong market. In our estimation, this is still the second or third best market of all time. The toughest headwind remains finding qualified drivers and in close second is the lack of readily available new tractors. These factors will continue to provide a ballast to downward concern. There aren't enough drivers or enough trucks in our view to warrant the comments from the balcony. And if things do reach the fever pitch pronouncements, it's still an enormous market where we are gaining share, improving our reputation and out-executing our prior sales.

美國卡車已經改造。我們認為市場缺乏背景，儘管貨運市場幾乎以任何標準衡量都創下歷史新高，但該市場仍然是有史以來最好的市場之一。廣泛[閱讀]每輛卡車的裝載量、費率表現以及衡量情緒和運力變化的指數都大多表明了歷史上強勁的市場。據我們估計，這仍然是有史以來第二或第三好的市場。最困難的阻力仍然是尋找合格的駕駛員，緊隨其後的是缺乏現成的新拖拉機。這些因素將繼續抑制下行擔憂。我們認為沒有足夠的司機或卡車來保證陽台上的評論。即使事情確實達到了狂熱的程度，這仍然是一個巨大的市場，我們正在贏得份額，提高我們的聲譽並超越我們之前的銷售業績。

Finally, I want to give a brief strategic update. Last quarter, we introduced that we would update observers on our progress towards our strategic objectives. Recall that it is our goal to be over $1 billion in revenue between $4.25 and $4.50 in EPS with a low 90s trucking OR and doubling the size of logistics by the end of 2024. We are happy to report that we are ahead of schedule on each of those outcomes.

最後，我想簡要介紹一下戰略更新。上個季度，我們介紹說，我們將向觀察員通報我們實現戰略目標的最新進展。回想一下，我們的目標是到2024 年底，通過90 年代的卡車運輸或將物流規模擴大一倍，實現每股收益4.25 美元至4.50 美元之間的收入超過10 億美元。我們很高興地報告，我們在每項任務上都提前完成了這些結果。

Our 3 specific strategic priorities to achieve these outcomes are as follows: one, expand and densify our asset business east of I-35. By virtue of our continued revenue and profit expansion, all of which occurred within our defined footprint, we are marching forward ahead of our plan. There may be a time in the future where we expand to other markets and modalities but that time is not now. We believe densification is a winning formula in this business, and we intend to continue to densify East of I-35 until such point as the next best opportunity is elsewhere. We're nowhere close to that right now.

為實現這些成果，我們的 3 個具體戰略重點如下：第一，擴大並密集化 I-35 以東的資產業務。憑藉我們持續的收入和利潤擴張（所有這些都發生在我們既定的足跡範圍內），我們正在向前推進我們的計劃。未來某個時候，我們可能會擴展到其他市場和模式，但現在還不是時候。我們相信，緻密化是該行業的製勝法寶，我們打算繼續緻密化 I-35 州際公路以東，直到下一個最佳機會出現在其他地方。我們現在還遠未達到這個目標。

Two, double the logistics business. Our goal is to grow this business to $400 million of top line revenue by the end of 2024. There's a chance that happens by the end of 2022. By almost any measure, we are 2 years ahead of schedule in this sector. We expect great things from this business.

二是物流業務翻番。我們的目標是到 2024 年底將該業務的總收入增長到 4 億美元。到 2022 年底這有可能實現。幾乎以任何標準衡量，我們在該領域都比計劃提前了 2 年。我們對這項業務抱有巨大的期望。

And three, reduce the asset fleet age. This is the one area we are behind schedule. Our average age of fleet is 2.6 years with a goal to get to 2. We believe we will be very close to back on plan in this metric by the end of 2022. As we consider this strategic plan in the context of our recent results, we expect to see corresponding value creation for shareholders. We truly appreciate those who have invested with us and stayed committed to the stock. In our opinion, USA Truck remains one of the best stories in this space.

第三，降低資產機隊年齡。這是我們落後於計劃的一個領域。我們機隊的平均機齡為 2.6 年，目標是達到 2 年。我們相信，到 2022 年底，我們將非常接近實現這一指標的計劃。當我們根據最近的業績考慮這一戰略計劃時，我們期望為股東創造相應的價值。我們衷心感謝那些與我們一起投資並始終致力於股票的人。我們認為，《美國卡車》仍然是這個領域最好的故事之一。

USA Truck has returned our leverage levels to below 2x. We've improved liquidity with a full unencumbered credit facility at our disposal. We have delivered profitable results in 16 of the last 20 quarters. We've delivered record quarterly EPS results in the last 7 consecutive quarters, and we have 12 months trailing adjusted EPS of $3.93, the highest of all time with a 14.1% trailing 12 return on invested capital. With these earnings, the stock has been trading just under 2x EBITDA plus debt, less than 4x last trailing 12 months earnings and less than 6x trough earnings estimates. All we can do is remain vigilant and committed to the idea that earnings drive value over the long term and continue to put up record results.

USA Truck 已將我們的槓桿水平恢復到 2 倍以下。我們通過可用的完整無阻礙信貸額度改善了流動性。在過去 20 個季度中，我們有 16 個季度實現了盈利。我們在過去連續 7 個季度取得了創紀錄的季度每股收益，並且過去 12 個月的調整後每股收益為 3.93 美元，是歷史最高的，過去 12 個月的投資資本回報率為 14.1%。憑藉這些收益，該股的交易價格略低於 EBITDA 加債務的 2 倍，不到過去 12 個月盈利的 4 倍，低於谷底盈利預期的 6 倍。我們所能做的就是保持警惕，並致力於長期盈利驅動價值並繼續創造創紀錄業績的理念。

On a comparable multiple [alone] or even on an EBITDA multiple, USA Truck's market value is substantially undervalued by any measure. The Logistics segment is now over half of company revenues, and our overall asset-light non-asset business account for nearly [2/3] of revenue. It is our belief that a demonstrably higher multiple valuation is warranted. We cannot, and are not sitting idly by. Our Board will continue to work with management to evaluate means to return value to shareholders. We are keenly aware of our responsibilities and alternatives and confident that we will solve this [Gordian not] evaluation in the discharge of our responsibilities.

無論以可比倍數（單獨）計算，還是以 EBITDA 倍數計算，美國卡車公司的市場價值都被大大低估了。物流業務目前占公司收入的一半以上，我們整體輕資產非資產業務佔收入的近2/3。我們相信，明顯更高的市盈率估值是有必要的。我們不能，也不會袖手旁觀。我們的董事會將繼續與管理層合作，評估為股東回報價值的方法。我們敏銳地意識到我們的責任和替代方案，並相信我們將在履行我們的責任時解決這個[Gordian not]評估。

It is a great time at USA Truck. We have had yet another quarter of record results. We believe 2022 will be a record year for earnings. We have restructured, rebalanced, and derisked our portfolio, and we have a solid balance sheet that affords us some near- and long-term strategic flexibility.

這是美國卡車的美好時光。我們又取得了創紀錄的季度業績。我們相信 2022 年將是盈利創紀錄的一年。我們重組、重新平衡了我們的投資組合併降低了風險，我們擁有穩健的資產負債表，為我們提供了一些近期和長期的戰略靈活性。

With that, I'll now turn the call back over to Jenny for Q&A. Thanks.

現在，我將把電話轉回給珍妮進行問答。謝謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, the floor is now open for questions. (Operator Instructions) Your first question is coming from Elliot Alper.

女士們、先生們，現在可以提問。 （操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 Elliot Alper。

Great. I appreciate the detailed prepared remarks. I guess starting off on the trucking side. So clearly, pricing is holding up nicely. Would be curious to hear your thoughts on kind of what happened in the spot market? And then if you could talk about any recent conversations you had about repricing with customers in April and as well as the percent of repricing in the first quarter.

偉大的。我很欣賞詳細準備的發言。我想從卡車運輸方面開始。很明顯，定價保持得很好。想听聽您對現貨市場發生的事情的看法嗎？然後，您是否可以談談您最近在 4 月份與客戶進行的有關重新定價的對話，以及第一季度重新定價的百分比。

Yes. Thanks, Elliot. So in terms of kind of what’s happening in the spot market, there’s no doubt that there’s been a softening. We don’t see anything unique that other people don’t see. And we think one of the benefits of our model is that just really doesn’t affect us. We have a logistics business that is about 50% contract based and so they see margin expansion in that type of environment. And then on the rest of our business which is highly transactional they are exposed to the spot, but you got to think about what that means. That gives us an opportunity to turn some of that freight into contract freight longer term. So we see that as a net positive on the logistics side.

是的。謝謝，艾略特。因此，就現貨市場發生的情況而言，毫無疑問已經出現疲軟。我們看不到任何其他人看不到的獨特之處。我們認為我們模型的好處之一是它實際上不會影響我們。我們的物流業務大約 50% 是基於合同的，因此他們看到在這種環境下利潤率會擴大。然後，在我們其他高度交易的業務中，他們面臨著風險，但你必須考慮這意味著什麼。這使我們有機會將部分貨運轉化為長期合同貨運。因此，我們認為這對物流方面是積極的。

On the asset side, it's almost a non-factor for us because we just simply don't play that much in that space. In terms of repricing, there's some really interesting dynamics that I think people need to consider -- are you guys still there? Can you still hear us?

在資產方面，這對我們來說幾乎不是一個因素，因為我們只是在這個領域玩得不多。在重新定價方面，我認為人們需要考慮一些非常有趣的動態——你們還在嗎？你還能聽到我們的聲音嗎？

Yes.

是的。

Sorry, I just got a text that said they lost us. On the pricing side, there are a couple of dynamics I'd like to kind of elaborate on. The first one is, yes, admittedly, we do have some of our customers who have come to the table and expanded their bid process to additional rounds, which is usually an indicator that they're searching for some lower long-term prices. But on balance, our contract price hasn't moved at all. April was and has been extremely strong with virtually no movement in our contract pricing. And as kind of that pig in the python or rat through the snake, however, you want to say it, works its way from a pricing standpoint through the bid cycle, even the largest customers don't implement their bids until the middle or end of July. And so whatever downward contract pricing, which I will say has been very limited. Whatever does go into effect would be later in the year. That's point number one.

抱歉，我剛剛收到一條短信，說他們失去了我們。在定價方面，我想詳細說明一些動態。第一個是，是的，不可否認，我們確實有一些客戶已經來到談判桌，並將他們的投標過程擴展到更多輪次，這通常表明他們正在尋找一些較低的長期價格。但總的來說，我們的合同價格根本沒有變化。四月份的表現非常強勁，我們的合同定價幾乎沒有變化。然而，你想說的是，就像蟒蛇中的豬或蛇中的老鼠一樣，從定價的角度來看，整個投標週期都是如此，即使是最大的客戶也不會在中間或結束時實施他們的投標七月。因此，無論合同定價如何下調，我想說的都是非常有限的。無論何時生效，都將在今年晚些時候生效。這是第一點。

Point number two, other than additional rounds of bids, we've seen no material change from the number of customers asking for bids. So in past cycles, you see people kind of sprinting to the front of the line, trying to move their bid behavior to a time when they think they can take advantage of the market. And we just haven't seen that yet. We don't see that occurring. I hope that answered your question.

第二點，除了額外的投標輪次之外，我們沒有看到要求投標的客戶數量發生重大變化。因此，在過去的周期中，你會看到人們衝到隊伍的前面，試圖將他們的出價行為轉移到他們認為可以利用市場的時間。我們只是還沒有看到這一點。我們沒有看到這種情況發生。我希望這回答了你的問題。

Yes. No, definitely. So I guess on the dedicated side, how quickly can you grow that percentage revenue within the Trucking segment. Is this something that takes some time to ramp? I believe you said it was about 40% of the segment in the first quarter.

是的。不，絕對是。因此，我想在專用方面，卡車運輸領域的收入百分比增長速度有多快。這是需要一些時間才能完成的事情嗎？我相信你說過，第一季度這一比例約為 40%。

Yes, exactly. So one of the comments I made in the prepared remarks is we literally have 200 trucks where we have contracts and commitments with customers, and we just don't have drivers in those trucks. And so we are going right now through a fungibility exercise to identify any underperforming company assets on the traditional truckload side that we can move over. The trucks are 100% fungible. Humans aren't always. So it becomes an exercise of can you match a driver that's currently driving OTR into a dedicated truck? Or can you find somebody that's looking for a job that wants the more desirable features of that job, they're home more frequently. It's more consistent work, it's more predictable, et cetera. So I wouldn't say it's a flash in the pan, but I also wouldn't say it's a stretch to say we can get there in a quarter, 1.5 quarters. Zach, do you want to add anything there?

對，就是這樣。因此，我在準備好的發言中發表的評論之一是，我們實際上擁有 200 輛卡車，我們與客戶簽訂了合同並做出了承諾，但我們只是在這些卡車上沒有司機。因此，我們現在正在進行可替代性練習，以確定我們可以轉移的傳統卡車裝載方面表現不佳的公司資產。卡車 100% 可替代。人類並不總是如此。因此，這變成了一個練習，你能否將當前正在駕駛 OTR 的駕駛員匹配到專用卡車上？或者你能找到一個正在找工作的人，他想要這份工作的更理想的功能，他們在家的頻率更高。這是更一致的工作，更可預測等等。所以我不會說這是曇花一現，但我也不會說我們可以在四分之一、1.5 個季度內實現這一目標有些牽強。扎克，你想添加什麼嗎？

No, no, that's what I was going to just expand that. But you hit it. Yes, the trucks are fungible and we can move those around between the business units. The people aspect is a little bit more strategic.

不，不，這就是我要擴展的內容。但你擊中了它。是的，卡車是可以互換的，我們可以在業務部門之間移動這些卡車。人員方面更具戰略性。

Okay. Great. And then you mentioned some owner-operators coming on to the USA Truck network. Is this purely just the dynamics of the spot market?

好的。偉大的。然後您提到一些業主經營者加入了美國卡車網絡。這純粹是現貨市場的動態嗎？

I don't think purely. Thanks for asking that, by the way. I should have put something in my prepared remarks. We took some kind of specific thoughtful [cogent] actions, I don't know, maybe 4 or 5 weeks ago. We increased the amount of fuel discounts that we share with drivers with owner-operators, I should say. We actually put a safety bonus on them because even though they own their own trucks and they're liable for their damage to their own trucks, we are super serious about improving our safety record. And so we put a bonus in place for them that allows them to earn some additional compensate or pay, I should say, not compensation but pay for their performance.

我不認為純粹。順便說一下，謝謝你這麼問。我應該在準備好的發言中添加一些內容。我不知道，也許四五週前，我們採取了某種具體的深思熟慮的[令人信服的]行動。我應該說，我們增加了與司機和業主經營者分享的燃油折扣金額。實際上，我們為他們提供了安全獎勵，因為即使他們擁有自己的卡車並且他們要對自己卡車的損壞負責，但我們非常認真地改善我們的安全記錄。因此，我們為他們提供了獎金，使他們能夠獲得一些額外的補償或支付，我應該說，不是補償，而是為他們的表現支付費用。

And then the challenge, as I mentioned, is it's been very, very difficult for them to get trucks. And I think that's what's missing in some of the public commentary that people are making. It's still really hard to get trucks. And so with the paucity of trucks and the challenges in getting drivers, those are 2 limits to a cycle change that we haven't seen simultaneously in the past. And in fact, and we don't want to hide from the data, if you look at the BLS data, there was about 5 months where the increasing drivers coming into the marketplace.

正如我提到的，挑戰是他們獲得卡車非常非常困難。我認為這正是人們發表的一些公開評論中所缺失的。卡車仍然很難買到。因此，由於卡車的稀缺和獲得司機的挑戰，這是我們過去沒有同時看到的自行車變化的兩個限制。事實上，我們不想隱瞞數據，如果您查看 BLS 數據，就會發現大約 5 個月內，越來越多的司機進入市場。

But in the March report, which I’ve heard no one talked about this, number of truck drivers actually went down in the BLS data. That's point number one. Point number two, the number of drivers working in the industry in the SIC code is still well below where it was pre-pandemic levels. So I just think people are missing some of the broader factors. And those all play into what's going on with the owner-operators. So we enhanced our program. We do see spot market pricing falling off, which naturally when you squeeze that balloon, they flee to the relative safety of large carriers like us. And we actually have some trucks coming off a year earlier than they ordinarily would that allows us to put them into our lease program, and we think we can go fill some of that backlog. So we think we're in a really good spot.

但在三月份的報告中，我沒有聽到有人談論過這一點，美國勞工統計局數據中的卡車司機數量實際上有所下降。這是第一點。第二點是，按照 SIC 規則在該行業工作的司機數量仍遠低於大流行前的水平。所以我認為人們忽略了一些更廣泛的因素。這些都影響了業主經營者的情況。所以我們增強了我們的計劃。我們確實看到現貨市場價格下跌，當你擠壓氣球時，他們自然會逃往像我們這樣相對安全的大型承運人。事實上，我們有一些卡車比平常提前一年交付，這使我們能夠將它們納入我們的租賃計劃，我們認為我們可以填補一些積壓。所以我們認為我們處於一個非常好的位置。

Your next question is coming from Jack Atkins of Stephens.

您的下一個問題來自斯蒂芬斯的傑克·阿特金斯。

So James, I guess, if we could maybe kind of start with the logistics business. I appreciated well -- a number of things that you said in your prepared comments. But within logistics, in particular, you guys have just done a great job improving the profitability there and growing the top line. I would just kind of be curious if you would help us for a minute, kind of think about that business today and sort of how it's changed relative to the last down cycle, where we saw the operating ratio approach 100. So there was some cyclicality in that business in the past. Do you think things have changed there where you can avoid that type of cyclicality? I mean I know that it's going to see some margin pressure at some point, but do you think -- I guess I'm just curious if you can maybe talk about how that business has changed cycle trough to potentially the next cycle trough?

所以詹姆斯，我想，我們是否可以從物流業務開始。我非常感謝您在準備好的評論中所說的一些內容。但特別是在物流領域，你們剛剛在提高盈利能力和增加收入方面做得非常出色。我只是很好奇，如果您能幫助我們花一點時間，想一下今天的業務，以及它相對於上一個下行週期的變化，我們看到運營比率接近 100。所以存在一定的周期性過去從事這項業務。您認為情況發生了變化，可以避免這種週期性嗎？我的意思是，我知道在某個時候它會面臨一些利潤壓力，但你認為 - 我想我只是好奇你是否可以談論該業務如何將周期低谷轉變為可能的下一個週期低谷？

Yes. No, it's a great question and observation, Jack. And it also is indicative of the thought process we took to get where we are. And let me tell you what I mean by that. We were pretty irritated in the second half of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 when that business essentially turned negative. And we did a bunch of backward testing analysis to figure out what we could have done to avoid that outcome. And the bottom line is we needed more throughput in the business. We needed more fixed-cost coverage with volume and velocity through the business.

是的。不，這是一個很好的問題和觀察，傑克。它也表明了我們為達到目前目標所採取的思維過程。讓我告訴你我的意思。 2019 年下半年和 2020 年第一季度，我們的業務基本上出現了負增長，這讓我們非常惱火。我們進行了一系列向後測試分析，以找出我們可以採取哪些措施來避免這種結果。最重要的是我們需要更多的業務吞吐量。我們需要更多的固定成本覆蓋以及整個業務的數量和速度。

And we realized, and we've never shared this publicly, and I'm not going to share it now, but we realized kind of the critical mass that we needed to put through the engine to never face that situation again. And so all the metrics we talked about with regard to employee productivity, throughput, just absolute volume, we think we're in a great spot. 2019 was historically low. If you look over time, kind of the average revenue per load in the history of history is around $1,800 and load our -- if you go back and look at our stats, we got down into the $1,100 in 2019 and early 2020.

我們意識到，我們從未公開分享過這一點，我現在也不打算分享它，但我們意識到我們需要通過引擎來避免再次面臨這種情況。因此，我們討論的所有關於員工生產力、吞吐量、絕對數量的指標，我們認為我們處於一個很好的位置。 2019年處於歷史低位。如果你看一下時間，歷史上每次加載的平均收入約為 1,800 美元，如果你回頭看看我們的統計數據，我們在 2019 年和 2020 年初跌至 1,100 美元。

First of all, we don't see that happening again. It was a historical aberration and a statistical aberration. But secondly, if it were to happen again, we don't see our OR going anywhere near 100 because we now have plenty of throughputs to sustain a threat. And you could go forward test that in your models and you reach the same conclusion. Zach, anything you want to add?

首先，我們不會看到這種情況再次發生。這是歷史的偏差和統計的偏差。但其次，如果再次發生這種情況，我們的 OR 不會接近 100，因為我們現在有足夠的吞吐量來維持威脅。您可以在模型中繼續測試這一點，並得出相同的結論。扎克，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

No. And just in 2019 and early 2020 when we saw those 100 ORs in that segment, I mean, that was at a crucial time of the industry, too. The industry was changing in '18, right? You have the democracy of freight or whatever you want to call it, there were some entrants into the marketplace that truly change the dynamic of the industry. We got caught early on a little bit on our heels. And that's what we've worked on for the past 18 months, [we are already] 24 months now is getting back to a position to where we compete in that marketplace and we compete profitably.

不。就在 2019 年和 2020 年初，當我們看到該細分市場的 100 個手術室時，我的意思是，那也是該行業的關鍵時刻。 18 年這個行業正在發生變化，對嗎？你擁有貨運民主，或者無論你想怎麼稱呼它，有一些進入市場的人真正改變了行業的動態。我們很早就陷入了困境。這就是我們在過去 18 個月裡所做的工作，[我們已經] 24 個月了，我們正在回到我們在該市場競爭的位置，並且我們的競爭是有利可圖的。

And I'll just add to that, Jack. The democratization and the digital freight brokerage, it did really change people's perspective. But we settle them very nicely and have a wonderful model. And so as I shared that we were off a little bit in our overall productivity metrics, it's still great. But our leadership team understands they have to get these new employees up to speed quickly because if it softens, you get into the risk of not being able to cover your fixed cost, but we just don't see that right now as a risk. And frankly, we can flex our cost structure there quite easily. So we're in a fundamentally different space because of the volume throughput and productivity that we have. I hope that helps answer your question.

我要補充一點，傑克。民主化和數字化貨運經紀確實改變了人們的觀點。但我們很好地解決了它們並擁有了一個很棒的模型。因此，正如我所說，我們的整體生產力指標略有偏差，但它仍然很棒。但我們的領導團隊明白，他們必須讓這些新員工快速上手，因為如果情況變軟，你就會面臨無法支付固定成本的風險，但我們現在並不認為這是一種風險。坦率地說，我們可以很容易地調整我們的成本結構。因此，由於我們擁有的吞吐量和生產力，我們處於一個根本不同的空間。我希望這有助於回答您的問題。

It absolutely does, and thank you for taking the time to kind of go through that. With regard to the trough earnings scenario, and I'm glad you guys put that out there because I think it's super helpful for folks as we sort of think about the valuation to your point around the stock. When you sort of are thinking about a trough-like scenario, are you layering on a 2019 type freight recession? Or is it something like we saw back in '08 or '09? I'm just trying to get a sense for how deep is the trough that you guys are trying to bake in there.

確實如此，感謝您花時間來了解這一點。關於低谷收益情景，我很高興你們把它放在那裡，因為我認為這對人們非常有幫助，因為我們在某種程度上考慮了您對股票的看法。當您考慮類似低谷的情景時，您是否會考慮 2019 年類型的貨運衰退？還是像我們在 08 年或 09 年看到的那樣？我只是想了解一下你們試圖在那裡烘烤的槽有多深。

Yes. So it's really interesting. And everybody kind of has to do their own analysis to reach their own conclusions. We made a big deal out of this. And I've even seen this in some of the notes that I think you and others have published. We think because of the rising costs associated with the business, whether it's fuel, drivers, trucks, trailers, insurance, you name it. They're kind of -- that raises the floor, right? They just over time, that's what happens in this industry. But in terms of coming off the highs, I don't think we've looked at it in terms of absolute drops. We see no scenario where rate gets back to where it was in '19. And I don't think anybody that's really thinking that through thinks that. But if you look at in terms of percentage drops, that's how we've modeled it.

是的。所以這真的很有趣。每個人都必須進行自己的分析才能得出自己的結論。我們對此做了一件大事。我什至在你和其他人發表的一些筆記中看到了這一點。我們認為，由於與業務相關的成本不斷上升，無論是燃料、司機、卡車、拖車、保險，凡是你能想到的。他們有點——提高了底線，對吧？隨著時間的推移，這就是這個行業發生的事情。但就脫離高點而言，我認為我們沒有從絕對下降的角度來看待它。我們認為利率不會回到 19 年的水平。我認為沒有人真正思考過這一點。但如果你從下降百分比的角度來看，這就是我們的建模方式。

And if you look at decreases over history, and all the data we can see post-1980 with publicly available information, we've seen 2 drops of greater than 5% of 2019 and 2009. That's it. And so we've modeled in that scenario. We've actually modeled it even deeper than that. But at the scenario, we think is going to happen -- I shouldn't say it that way. We don't know what's going to happen. The scenario that we think is the worst case, we think our trough earnings are where I stated in the call. If it gets worse than that, we still have a relatively long profitability ramp that could endure that. So we feel really good about it, even factoring in on a percentage basis, kind of historic drops, which we're not forecasting by the way.

如果你看一下歷史上的下降情況，以及我們在 1980 年後通過公開信息可以看到的所有數據，我們會發現 2019 年和 2009 年有兩次下降幅度超過 5%。就是這樣。所以我們在這種情況下進行了建模。實際上，我們對其進行了更深入的建模。但在這種情況下，我們認為將會發生——我不應該那樣說。我們不知道會發生什麼。我們認為最糟糕的情況是，我們認為我們的盈利低谷就是我在電話會議中所說的情況。如果情況變得更糟，我們仍有相對較長的盈利能力可以承受。所以我們對此感覺非常好，甚至考慮到百分比的歷史性下降，順便說一下，我們並沒有預測到這一點。

Okay. No, that's helpful as well. Last question, and I'll turn it over. But James, you referenced there at the end that you and the Board are really trying to think about ways to enhance shareholder value and try to solve. I like the term, [discordian] not around valuation. Could you maybe talk about some of the things that you guys are contemplating? What do you mean when you say that? And sort of what form could that potentially take?

好的。不，這也很有幫助。最後一個問題，我會翻過來。但是詹姆斯，您在最後提到您和董事會確實在努力思考提高股東價值的方法並嘗試解決問題。我喜歡這個詞，[不和諧]而不是估值。您能談談你們正在考慮的一些事情嗎？你這麼說是什麼意思？這可能會採取什麼樣的形式？

Yes. So I've said this since the day I became CEO, and everybody learns this in business school. The CEO's job, the board's job, the CFO's job every day is to consider, should we keep doing what we're doing? Should we sell all the assets and give the money back to shareholders? Or should we do some kind of combination, whether it's buying somebody else being bought by someone going [private] whatever it is, -- that's not to say that we think about those every single day, but those are the ongoing considerations. I've said that since day one, and we continue to think about that. There's all the obvious arrows in the quiver that boards need to consider, whether it's dividends or buybacks or combinations.

是的。所以從我成為首席執行官那天起我就一直這麼說，每個人都在商學院學到了這一點。 CEO的工作、董事會的工作、CFO的工作每天就是要考慮，我們應該繼續做我們正在做的事情嗎？我們是否應該出售所有資產並將資金返還給股東？或者我們應該進行某種組合，無論是購買其他人還是被私有化的人購買，無論是什麼，——這並不是說我們每天都在考慮這些，但這些是持續的考慮因素。我從第一天起就這麼說了，我們會繼續思考這一點。董事會需要考慮的所有明顯的箭頭，無論是股息、回購還是組合。

And I just -- I don't want to be too cryptic, but I just want to say, I mean, if you look at my background, and I've really thought about how I want to say this today, I don't want it to sound cocky or arrogant or big-headed, but I come from Intel and Chase and EMC. I've worked for some of the best managed, best governed, well-run companies in the world. And I don't think anybody else in transportation can say that. And if you look at our Board, we have an embarrassment of riches in terms of the quality of our Board and their background experience. All I can say is I promise you that we're not sitting idly by. We are considering all of the arrows in our quiver. We don't have anything to announce, and it wasn't meant to be some veiled message. It's just we're working on figuring out the right way to handle that.

我只是——我不想太神秘，但我只想說，我的意思是，如果你看看我的背景，我真的考慮過我今天要怎麼說，我不知道。我不想讓它聽起來自大、傲慢或自大，但我來自英特爾、大通和EMC。我曾在世界上一些管理最好、治理最好、運營良好的公司工作過。我認為交通領域的其他人都不能這麼說。如果你看看我們的董事會，我們的董事會質量和背景經驗令人尷尬。我只能說，我向你保證，我們不會袖手旁觀。我們正在考慮箭袋中的所有箭頭。我們沒有什麼要宣布的，這也並不是什麼隱秘的信息。只是我們正在努力找出處理該問題的正確方法。

Your next question is coming from Rob Shapiro of Singular Research.

您的下一個問題來自 Singular Research 的 Rob Shapiro。

Have you seen any impact on your client purchases being impacted by the inflationary environment? Have they changed the client purchases?

您是否發現通貨膨脹環境對您的客戶購買產生了影響？他們是否改變了客戶的購買方式？

So first of all, Rob, thanks for picking up coverage on us. We appreciate that you've recognized the story and chosen to get in and cover this. In terms of our purchases, I mean, I don't mean to dodge your question. I think what I'll say is this, we did in preparation for this call, a bunch of bridges on the various operating expense lines of our business, and there is no doubt, we are seeing inflationary pressure on our expenses in the business. And so we work with our customers to pass those through as appropriate. But at the end of the day, this is a highly commoditized market. And the rates will flow and be supported by the underlying cost structure that continues to rise. I hope that touches somewhere on your question.

首先，羅布，感謝您接受我們的報導。我們感謝您認可這個故事並選擇介入並報導這個故事。就我們的購買而言，我的意思是，我無意迴避你的問題。我想我要說的是，我們在為這次電話會議做準備時，在我們業務的各種運營費用項目上架起了一堆橋樑，毫無疑問，我們的業務費用面臨著通脹壓力。因此，我們與客戶合作，酌情通過這些措施。但歸根結底，這是一個高度商品化的市場。利率將會流動，並受到持續上升的基本成本結構的支持。我希望這能觸及你的問題。

Yes, that [sounds] -- and how about -- have you seen the client, their behavior change at all? Or have they not really changed their behavior.

是的，這[聽起來]——怎麼樣——你有沒有看到客戶，他們的行為發生了變化？或者他們並沒有真正改變自己的行為。

You mean in terms of the customers?

你的意思是從客戶角度來說？

Yes. Are they still [down] due to inflationary environment too.

是的。由於通貨膨脹環境，它們是否仍然[下跌]？

Yes. So the way that kind of our business works is we received tenders from big shippers. You think of any top Fortune 1 to Fortune 500 retailer or wholesale provider or goods producer or manufacturer, those are our customers. And so the way that we see any variability in demand is in the tenders that they give us. And if you look at industry data, industry-wide, tenders have slowed down off of peaks and so have tender rejections, which are also a pretty good indicator of what's going on in the underlying demand cycle. And yet, as we said in our comments, People need to kind of keep their wits about them. If you look at it in relative terms to past years like 2018, which was the best year ever before 2021, we're still materially higher in our demand signals than we were in 2018. This is still the second or third best market of all time.

是的。因此，我們的業務運作方式是我們收到來自大型托運人的投標。您可以想到任何財富 1 強到財富 500 強的頂級零售商或批發提供商或商品生產商或製造商，這些都是我們的客戶。因此，我們可以通過他們給我們的投標來了解需求的變化。如果你看一下整個行業的行業數據，就會發現招標已經從高峰期放緩，拒絕投標的情況也是如此，這也是表明潛在需求週期情況的一個很好的指標。然而，正如我們在評論中所說，人們需要對這些問題保持理智。如果你相對於過去幾年（例如2018 年）（這是2021 年之前最好的一年）來看，我們的需求信號仍然比2018 年高得多。這仍然是所有市場中第二或第三好的市場時間。

Your next question is coming from Mike Vermut of Newland Capital.

您的下一個問題來自 Newland Capital 的 Mike Vermut。

I just want to say a phenomenal execution over these past quarters. So can you just give us geographically? I don't know if you hit on this, I might have missed it earlier, what you're seeing and if you're seeing any.

我只想說過去幾個季度的出色執行。那麼你能告訴我們地理位置嗎？我不知道你是否注意到了這一點，我可能之前就錯過了，你所看到的以及你是否看到了。

I think Mike has just dropped out. We do have another question coming from [Patrick Attard], an investor.

我想邁克剛剛退學了。我們確實還有一個來自投資者 [Patrick Attard] 的問題。

Congratulations on a great quarter. I was wondering, have you received any of your trade vehicles from Nikola yet? And have you been able -- and if so, were you able to compare the savings on the fuel on it? And then also, are you considering driverless trucks to alleviate the problem you have with finding truck drivers?

祝賀您度過了一個美好的季度。我想知道，您收到尼古拉寄來的貿易工具了嗎？您是否能夠——如果是的話，您是否能夠比較其所節省的燃料？另外，您是否正在考慮使用無人駕駛卡車來緩解尋找卡車司機的問題？

Great questions, Patrick. It's nice to meet you, and thanks for asking them. On the Nikola trucks, we have not received them yet, but we do expect to receive them in the quarter -- in second quarter. Right?

很好的問題，帕特里克。很高興認識你，感謝你邀請他們。對於尼古拉卡車，我們還沒有收到它們，但我們預計會在第二季度收到它們。正確的？

In the year.

當年。

So we expect to receive them soon. And I actually will be with Nikola next week. And so we're looking to deploy those in some dedicated formats. We're working with the customers and we'll update you on that as soon as that occurs. We're really excited about it.

所以我們希望很快就能收到它們。事實上，下週我會和尼古拉在一起。因此，我們希望以一些專用的格式部署它們。我們正在與客戶合作，一旦發生，我們會立即向您通報最新情況。我們對此感到非常興奮。

In terms of cost comparisons, one of the things we're doing with them is working on some collaborated TCO modeling total cost of operation -- or ownership modeling with them to make sure we understand fully the questions you've asked. But as soon as we have that data and have some experience, we will come back and update the investment community on it.

在成本比較方面，我們與他們一起做的事情之一是對總運營成本進行一些協作 TCO 建模，或者與他們進行所有權建模，以確保我們完全理解您提出的問題。但一旦我們掌握了這些數據並積累了一些經驗，我們就會回來向投資界通報最新情況。

On the driverless trucks, it's a really interesting question. I got asked on a panel about 4 or 5 years ago about the inevitability of it. And I come from technology. And I kind of was like, yes, it's inevitable. It's already here. We have been out and visited with -- and I won't name the names, but we visited with a number of the driverless or autonomous truck manufacturers. I've even ridden in some of the trucks and had the opportunity to interact with them. We've made no commitment with them.

關於無人駕駛卡車，這是一個非常有趣的問題。大約四、五年前，我在一個小組中被問到它的必然性。我來自科技。我有點想，是的，這是不可避免的。它已經在這裡了。我們已經出去拜訪了——我不會透露姓名，但我們拜訪了許多無人駕駛或自動卡車製造商。我什至乘坐過一些卡車並有機會與他們互動。我們沒有與他們做出任何承諾。

We do frankly think there's a time when that will become inevitable when it will become part of our fleet. We've always said from a strategy standpoint, because it's a highly commoditized market, we don't have to be on the bleeding edge. We think there's no kind of strategic benefit to being a first mover. So we'll monitor this closely, and we'll follow it and act appropriately. Just in asking your question, I just want to clarify one thing. We don't know. I don't think it's an incontrovertible fact that drivers go away. In fact, we hope that's not the outcome. We think there will be specific applications where it makes the most sense. But you can rest assured that we will be on trend and in the marketplace as appropriate. I hope that answered your question.

坦率地說，我們確實認為，當它成為我們機隊的一部分時，這將是不可避免的。我們總是從戰略的角度說，因為這是一個高度商品化的市場，我們不必處於最前沿。我們認為成為先行者並沒有任何戰略利益。因此，我們將密切關注這一情況，並採取適當行動。我只是想澄清一件事。我們不知道。我不認為司機離開是一個不爭的事實。事實上，我們希望這不是結果。我們認為會有最有意義的特定應用。但您可以放心，我們將緊隨潮流並適當進入市場。我希望這回答了你的問題。

Yes, yes, it does. I kind of agree with you, it's better to have a driver in a truck because that way, you got better control of what's going on, so to speak.

是的，是的，確實如此。我有點同意你的觀點，卡車裡最好有一名司機，因為這樣你就可以更好地控制正在發生的事情，可以這麼說。

Thanks a lot. Jenny, I hope we can get Mike Vermont back.

多謝。珍妮，我希望我們能讓邁克·佛蒙特回來。

Yes. He's with us. I have him right now, and I'm going to promote him so he can ask his question.

是的。他和我們在一起。我現在就抓住了他，我將提升他，這樣他就可以提出他的問題。

I don't know how I dropped off there. So I got 2 questions for you. One, there's a lot been said that in China right now, you have a population locked in that's larger than U.S. population as a whole. Have you seen geographically weakness coming off of the West Coast or any spots that you think that, that's a big contributor to what's happening now and that, that may reverse dramatically once everything starts to open up there and you start getting the containers moving again?

我不知道我是怎麼下車的。所以我有兩個問題要問你。第一，很多人都說，目前中國的人口數量比美國總人口還要多。您是否看到西海岸或您認為的任何地方的地理弱點，這是造成現在正在發生的事情的一個重要因素，一旦那裡的一切開始開放並且您開始讓集裝箱再次移動，情況可能會急劇逆轉？

Yes. It's a really good question, Mike. I mean I was looking at some of the reporting this morning. I think there's less than 30 ships in L.A. port. Actually, Zach, he's going to go look at it. We have a report that helps us see all the ships that are in the lineup out between China and the port. But frankly, kind of as L.A. goes, everybody else goes, I tend to joke at least mathematically, there's really only one head haul market in America in terms of the math and it's L.A. And so there's no doubt that when and if that freight backlog gets this large, it's inevitable, but that's going to have an impact on us.

是的。這是一個非常好的問題，邁克。我的意思是我今天早上正在看一些報導。我認為洛杉磯港口只有不到 30 艘船。事實上，扎克，他要去看看。我們有一份報告可以幫助我們查看在中國和港口之間的所有船隻。但坦率地說，就像洛杉磯一樣，其他人也一樣，我至少在數學上傾向於開玩笑，就數學而言，美國實際上只有一個頭程運輸市場，那就是洛杉磯。所以毫無疑問，何時以及如果貨運積壓變得這麼大，這是不可避免的，但這會對我們產生影響。

What I don't know is if we can look at last year and use that as like some kind of predictive template about what it means to us because I just don't know. Inflation has gone up, and that's not a great thing. Fuel prices are expensive and people are likely to spend less. But I was just this week and my daughter's soccer game with the President of a bank, and he said, "My deposits are at all-time highs. My loans are at all-time lows. People are flushed with cash and they're not -- they're just -- they have money. I don't know that people care.

我不知道我們是否可以回顧去年並將其用作某種預測模板來了解它對我們意味著什麼，因為我只是不知道。通貨膨脹已經上升，這不是一件好事。燃油價格昂貴，人們的支出可能會減少。但就在本週，我女兒正在與一家銀行行長觀看足球比賽，他說：“我的存款處於歷史最高水平。我的貸款處於歷史最低水平。人們現金充裕，他們不——他們只是——他們有錢。我不知道人們會關心。

So I don't know, Mike, there's a supply side, there's a demand side. I'm not sure what the implications are of either of those things. And so we'll just watch it closely. But so far, mostly because our network is east of I-35, we haven't seen any real changes in our demand, but you know that kind of works its way through the system. So it's probably too early to tell. But I think it's inevitable that 300 million people get out of house arrest and are able to start producing stuff again, that's got to be good for us.

所以我不知道，邁克，有供給方，也有需求方。我不確定這兩件事的含義是什麼。所以我們會密切關注。但到目前為止，主要是因為我們的網絡位於 I-35 州際公路以東，我們還沒有看到需求發生任何真正的變化，但您知道這種情況會通過系統發揮作用。所以現在下結論可能還為時過早。但我認為 3 億人擺脫軟禁並能夠再次開始生產是不可避免的，這對我們來說一定是有好處的。

Well, and if you look at containers coming off the West Coast at later dates, and if that's in the next couple of months, coupled with produce coming off the West Coast, the demand and the capacity that's going to shift west versus operating -- where we operate today, it's going to drive prices and demand throughout the country.

好吧，如果你看看晚些時候從西海岸運來的集裝箱，如果是在接下來的幾個月裡，再加上從西海岸運來的農產品，需求和運力將向西轉移而不是運營——在我們今天運營的地方，它將推動全國各地的價格和需求。

And Mike, we just got the report pulled up. And so I will tell you that it's kind of weird the way the administration chooses to report this and the port chooses to report this. There are less than 30 ships at birth in L.A., but there are still -- it looks like 75 container ships inside 25 miles of LA and Long Beach, which is a critical stat. That peaked out at 109 on January 9th. It's currently sitting at 75, which is still well above basically any time in 2019, 2020 and 2021 up until about February, March, my eyes aren’t that good. So I would just say, I mean, there's still quite a bit of traffic on the water. And with the coming backlog, like I said, that's got to be good for us.

邁克，我們剛剛拿到了報告。所以我會告訴你，政府選擇報告此事以及港口選擇報告此事的方式有點奇怪。洛杉磯誕生的船舶數量不到 30 艘，但仍然有——看起來洛杉磯和長灘 25 英里範圍內有 75 艘集裝箱船，這是一個重要的統計數據。 1 月 9 日達到峰值 109。目前是 75，基本上仍然遠高於 2019 年、2020 年和 2021 年的任何時間，直到大約 2 月、3 月，我的眼睛不太好。所以我想說，我的意思是，水上交通仍然很多。正如我所說，隨著即將到來的積壓，這對我們來說一定是有好處的。

All right. Excellent. And then just to expand on what Zach was talking. You run screens and you can't find a company that trades below 3x EBITDA, 4x earnings, and I guess, it's 5.5x what could be trough earnings, right? It's absurd and you've gotten 0 credit for what you've done out there. what's the capacity -- yes, I agree. -- something's got to give eventually strategic someone comes in. It can't stay cheap like this forever. What's the capacity to buy back stock while we sit here and take advantage of this because, I've run the number, the accretion dramatic here by buying stock at $15, $16.

好的。出色的。然後只是擴展扎克所說的內容。你運行屏幕，你找不到一家公司的交易額低於 3 倍 EBITDA、4 倍市盈率，我猜，這是市盈率的 5.5 倍，對嗎？這太荒謬了，而且你所做的事情得到了 0 分。容量是多少——是的，我同意。 ——最終必須給予具有戰略意義的人進來。它不可能永遠保持這樣的廉價狀態。當我們坐在這裡並利用這一點時，回購股票的能力有多大，因為我已經計算過，以 15 美元、16 美元的價格購買股票，回購股票的能力會急劇增加。

Yes. I mean I'm a corporate finance guy by training. It may be one of the best ROI investments available to us right now. And so we don't have a newly authorized buyback from the Board at this point. We have not filed a 10b5-1 or anything like that. But we do have an upcoming board meeting, and I promise you that it will be part of the discussions.

是的。我的意思是，我是一名受過培訓的企業財務人員。這可能是我們目前可獲得的最佳投資回報率投資之一。因此，目前我們還沒有獲得董事會新授權的回購。我們尚未提交 10b5-1 或類似文件。但我們確實即將召開董事會會議，我向你們保證這將成為討論的一部分。

Okay. We'll keep it up, guys, and eventually, we'll get rewarded through this.

好的。伙計們，我們會堅持下去，最終我們會通過這件事得到回報。

Thanks, Mike.

謝謝，邁克。

(Operator Instructions) Okay. There appear to be no further questions in the queue. I'll now hand back for closing remarks.

（操作員指示）好的。隊列中似乎沒有其他問題了。現在我將作結束語。

Thanks, Jenny. It seems to me that so much of what we do and see as a matter of perspective. Some of you know that I love to play golf. Mark Twain famously noted that golf is a good walk spoiled. And Hank Aaron recounted his frustration when he noted, it took me 17 years to get 3,000 hits in baseball. It took one afternoon on the golf course. Golf, it turns out is not for everyone. And in some ways, I think transportation shares some parallels with the game. One can do everything right and get a bad break and everything wrong and get a lucky one. But in the end, and over the passage of time, the score will always reflect who plays best. And that is why we do what we do. We love the challenge. We own our results and the only force that could stop our momentum is ourselves. The scorecard should soon reflect that we have played skillfully.

謝謝，珍妮。在我看來，我們所做的和看到的很多事情都是視角問題。你們中有些人知道我喜歡打高爾夫球。馬克·吐溫有句名言，高爾夫是一種被寵壞的好散步。漢克·亞倫 (Hank Aaron) 講述了他的挫敗感，他指出，我花了 17 年才在棒球比賽中擊出 3,000 支安打。在高爾夫球場花了一下午的時間。事實證明，高爾夫並不適合所有人。在某些方面，我認為交通與遊戲有一些相似之處。一個人可能每件事都做對，但會遭遇糟糕的境遇；也可能每件事都做錯，卻會獲得幸運。但最終，隨著時間的推移，分數將永遠反映出誰發揮得最好。這就是我們所做的事情的原因。我們喜歡挑戰。我們擁有自己的成果，唯一能夠阻止我們前進的力量就是我們自己。記分卡很快就會反映出我們打得很熟練。

USA Truck has played the game extremely well and consistently over the last 5 years. I am personally grateful for the great privilege it is to lead this company, but even more grateful than I could ever express for the men and women who have committed their careers and interest to the rebuilding of it. We still see opportunities abounding in our future as we execute on our strategy by leveraging our business model and executing each day better than the last. We have an increasingly asset-light model, a wonderful, dedicated business, a world-class logistics business, a great balance sheet, very good driver retention, a diversified and intentionally stratified customer base, and great results.

USA Truck 在過去 5 年裡一直表現得非常出色且始終如一。我個人非常榮幸能領導這家公司，但我更感激那些為重建公司奉獻自己的事業和興趣的男男女女。我們仍然看到未來充滿機遇，因為我們通過利用我們的業務模式來執行我們的戰略，並每天都比前一天做得更好。我們擁有日益輕資產的模式、出色、專注的業務、世界一流的物流業務、良好的資產負債表、良好的司機保留率、多元化且有意分層的客戶群以及出色的業績。

In short, we clearly see the opportunity to continue our improvement in financial and operational performance across the enterprise. This is a great story that we expect will continue to improve through all types of markets and that the scorecard will soon reflect our progress. And we think that's pretty exciting for everyone who is in the game with us, including stockholders, associates, customers, suppliers, our families, and our communities. Thanks for your time.

簡而言之，我們清楚地看到了繼續改善整個企業財務和運營績效的機會。這是一個偉大的故事，我們預計將在所有類型的市場中繼續改進，記分卡將很快反映我們的進展。我們認為這對於與我們一起參與遊戲的每個人來說都是非常令人興奮的，包括股東、同事、客戶、供應商、我們的家人和我們的社區。謝謝你的時間。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's conference call. You may disconnect your phone line at this time, and have a wonderful day. Thank you for your participation.

謝謝。女士們先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開電話線，度過美好的一天。感謝您的參與。