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To: reaper who wrote (195850)	10/7/2002 2:15:26 PM
From: Andriy Turhovach	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

Reaper - i. Its my understanding that Consolidated is going to liquidate. At least I haven't heard otherwise. As for their trucks - LOL - have you ever seen them??? Yuck... Seriously, I imagine a lot of them will end up in Mexico, the Middle East, and elsewhere overseas. Little known but true, that's where a good portion of used, unwanted US trucks go. ii. I have limited knowledge of CH Robinson, other than I've heard nothing but good things about them. They've been around forever, founded in the very early 1900s, I believe. They are one of the largest third party logistics companies in North America with gross revenues in the neighborhood of $3 billion. I believe the Company has no debt, strong free cash flow, and has increased its net revenues at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 15% for the past twenty-five years. I assume their non-asset-based philosophy enables them to focus on optimizing the transportation solution for its customers, rather than on its own asset utilization. A good thing, I would imagine as this aspect of the business (asset utilization and expense)/fuel accounts for the bulk of a typical carrier's operating budget. So, to answer your question, no, I can't think of anything that would uniquely impact them. iii. Cut throat and extremely competitive although those wouldn't be the only factors. Reliability and efficiency are also tops, especially in this day of JIT manufacturing. No knowledge of specifics. You could try contacting the terminal manager of one of the smaller carriers (someone with a terminal located near where you live) and strike up a conversation with them. Some of these guys love to talk. Or, you could always pay a visit to your local truck stop and talk to some of the "owner-operators". Don't waste your time with the "company" drivers, though. They don't know anything. iv. As far as I know, unless things have changed, most of the leasing companies as well as the manufacturers who also lease (such as Freightliner, International, Kenworth, and Paccar) offer their own financing programs. But not entirely sure as to exactly how the majority do it. Please keep in mind that most of what I'm telling you is strictly anecdotal..I'm not involved in that industry anymore (and have no desire to ever be involved in it again).