Rush Enterprises

Class 8 bookings rebound in August as OEMs crack open orderbooks

Whiute Volvo Class 8 truck and signage

Month-over-month orders for Class 8 trucks nearly doubled in August. But fleets are still not getting all the new equipment they want, even in a slowing economy.

FTR reported preliminary North American Class 8 net orders for August jumped 98% over July to 21,400 units as OEMs began to fill build slots for the first quarter of 2023. But caution remains to avoid a repeat of late-2021 cancellations due to overbooking colliding with supply shortages.

“OEMs felt the need to start filling in their Q1...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/class-8-bookings-rebound-in-august-as-oems-crack-open-orderbooks

Truck Tech: Rush hour edition

Truck Tech logo on blue background

Rusty Rush not only operates more truck dealerships than anyone on the planet, he also knows technology. And he has opinions on just about everything. So, buckle up. It’s Rush hour. 

Also this week, TuSimple and Plus have rumored suitors, and Nikola is going to the ATM but not the one at the bank on the corner.

The world according to Rusty Rush

Rusty Rush, president, chairman and CEO of Rush Enterprises, is one of those people you could listen to all day. His down-home Texas twang and affable...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-tech-rush-hour-edition

Class 8 truck orders slump in July despite strong demand

The new 57X on-highway truck from Western Star

Class 8 truck orders in July resembled popular concert tickets the day after they are sold out. No one orders any.

The analogy by Don Ake, vice president of commercial vehicles for FTR Transportation Intelligence, captures the situation and the sentiment surrounding new equipment. Parts and components availability is improving. But it is not equal to the pent-up demand for tractors.

“OEMs could increase production by about 10% over the current rate if they could get the parts, but the supply...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/class-8-truck-orders-slump-in-july-despite-strong-demand

Truck Tech: Alpha male call edition

This week, Lordstown Motors CEO Daniel Ninivaggi took umbrage to a question about leadership at the struggling electric pickup truck maker; competing trucking industry events push green agendas; and a look at the state of aftermarket parts amid the supply chain crisis.

Who’s the alpha male around here?

The final question from Bank of America Securities senior automotive analyst John Murphy to Lordstown Motors Corp. CEO Daniel Ninivaggi on the struggling electric pickup truck maker’s earnings call...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-tech-alpha-male-call-edition

Truck Tech: Autonomous perspectives edition

Welcome back to Truck Tech. This week, we’re unpacking the recent CES panel discussion I moderated that featured autonomous truck developer TuSimple, its manufacturing partners Navistar and Scania, and Nicole Nason, a veteran administrator of federal highways and previously the nation’s top safety regulator. 

Autonomous trucking’s challenges

Taking stock of the challenges facing autonomous trucking led to some unexpected observations around route planning, infrastructure, the driver shortage and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-tech-autonomous-perspectives-edition

Rush Enterprises pays $205M to add 16 more truck dealerships

Rush Enterprises Inc., already far and away the nation’s largest network of new and used commercial truck dealerships, is spending $205 million to acquire 16 more dealerships from Summit Truck Group. 

It is the biggest acquisition in Rush’s 26-year history, bringing to 125 the number of franchised locations in 22 states. The newly acquired International brand dealerships consist of five locations in Arkansas, three in Kansas, seven in Missouri and one in Tennessee. 

Also in the deal: eight...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/rush-enterprises-pays-205m-to-add-16-more-truck-dealerships

Locomation convoy plan doubles down on autonomous trucking challenge

Autonomous trucking startup Locomation is pursuing with two Class 8 trucks what others are trying to accomplish with one: ultimately operating without a driver in either cab. 

The 3-year-old company is based in Pittsburgh, home of Carnegie Mellon University, a launch point for many of the brightest minds in robot cars and trucks. Founder Cetin Mericli is one of that group. 

Locomation is not just about autonomous trucks, a challenge of at least a half-dozen well-financed startup companies. San...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/locomation-convoy-plan-doubles-down-on-autonomous-trucking-challenge

Truck Talk: Autonomous patent edition

This week, we look at how technology patents suggest possible winners and also-rans in the autonomous trucking race to commercialization. And Cummins cuts a deal that replaces the sunsetting of its 20-year-old natural gas joint venture with Westport Fuel Systems.

A patent argument

Sizing up the prospects of autonomous software trucking companies needs a scorecard, or maybe a Racing Forum. There’s no question that a horse race to commercialization is underway. Distinguishing winners from also-rans...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-talk-autonomous-patent-edition

Seller’s market for newer used trucks is hot, hot, hot!

Stratospheric prices for newer-model used trucks are becoming the norm as new truck orders fall deeper into a backlog worsened by a microchip shortage and other supply chain constraints.

“From a margin perspective in the first quarter, that was the highest used margin that I can ever remember,” said W.M. “Rusty” Rush, chairman, CEO and president of Rush Enterprises, the nation’s largest chain of commercial vehicle dealerships. “I expect going forward that used truck margins will still remain...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/sellers-market-for-newer-used-trucks-is-hot-hot-hot

Service and parts carry Rush Enterprises’ Q1 earnings

Revenue from parts and service more than covered the Q1 operating cost of Rush Enterprises Inc.’s (NASDAQ: RUSHA) chain of truck and bus dealerships, offsetting lower Class 8 truck sales.

The 122.6% absorption rate was nearly double the percentage of most car and truck dealers. The calculation is based on how much of a dealership’s operating cost is absorbed by fixed operations like service, aftermarket parts and collision repairs.

Fixed operations accounted for approximately 63% of Rush’s gross...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/service-and-parts-carry-rush-enterprises-q1-earnings

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