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Well, we just talked about JB Hunt. Shares are lower in the after hours by about three point four percent. The company did report estimates for intermodal revenue, dedicated revenue, operating revenue. Should note that all came in below estimates. First quarter earnings per share also falling below estimates. We do love talking about trucking and we love talking about logistics, Carol absolutely. I mentioned that yesterday when we talked about to Greg Hewitt over at DHLLL Express, the US step
around exactly. We actually couldn't get enough yesterday, So back with us. Melissa Foreman, President at Triumph Pay. It's a payment platform that connects broker, shippers and carriers, a division of TBK Bank and part of the publicly traded Triumph Financial, which has about one point eight billion dollars market cap. Most of joining us this afternoon from Dallas, Melissa, good to have you back with us. I do want to get to the news that you guys have in just
a moment. But first, given what we just heard from from JB. Hunt, give us an update on your business. What are you seeing in terms of what trucks are going where right now?
Yeah, I thank you one, thank you for having us back. We're always happy to be here. But we're hearing and seeing the same things that everybody else has. It is a rough freight marketplace right now, and the recession is real, and it's just you know, when you look at Q one, it was one of the softest ones we've seen, you know, some of the normal seasonality feels like it had come back and then dropped away again. So you know, it's
really hard to predict and project what's happening. It just knowing that this recession has been lingering for as long as it has. I think we're in what month, twenty four, twenty five of it. It's just rough on everybody.
When you say recession, are you talking about a trucking recession or economy wide recession?
Yeah, freight recession.
Freight recession.
Okay, what does that mean? Is there just too much competition out there. I mean, that was some of the concerns going into the JB Hunt numbers.
Yeah, I think that what is happening right now is you just have a gluttony of capacity in the marketplace. And so with all that capacity, these carriers trying to hold on and survive till twenty five, I think is the mantra it. You know, they're just there's too much capacity in order to make the rates competitive and profitable for them to operate. So that's depressing the average invoice price, which makes it rough on everybody in the industry.
Is that just left over from the pandemic? Is that what this is about?
Or what?
It's really hard to tell, you know, certainly, at the peak of the pandemic, we had, you know, some of the best times in transportation, and then there was the this leveling or reset of what is the new norm? And I just I don't think we'd figured out what that is yet.
Okay, So I was just gonna ask the same thing that Carol just asked, which is, you know, is it just that we bought everything we needed during the pandemic? We don't need any more touches? Yeah, but it's hard to see that two years.
Out from rails or even years.
Or is it or or has our has our spending shifted to services?
I think it's a little bit of both.
You know, we all certainly spent a lot of a lot of money on products during the pandemic because services weren't an option, and there was also, you know, some misbalances in inventories. And what I think we're hearing in the market more recently is some of the inventory restocking is starting to happen.
So that is a good sign.
But certainly services I think have taken a higher priority, just you know, as people have kind of gotten back out into the world. You were talking about business travel as an example earlier in your segment on how that's up right, So travel, I think across.
The board seems to be up. I know the planes are full when I'm on.
Them, and so the services and experiences I think are still taking a higher precedent.
Well, so, what can you tell us about route differentials in the trucking industry, because I do wonder if there are certain routes where they are getting the rates and certain where they're not. What can you tell us about that?
Yeah, I would say I'm not an expert on specific lanes or commodities, but I do know where carriers have the buying power and the density, they're able to still negotiate the longer term contracts, and so you know, that's certainly a place to focus and where you can garner the rates that make sense for you to be profitable.
So I want to talk a little bit cross border because you guys have some news when it comes to what's going on in Mexico. And what's so interesting is is Carol, we've talked about this quite a bit over the last few months. From the idea interesting exactly. You know, I don't necessar suspect. I think we can't. To a
certain extent, we can call it near shoring. To a certain extent, we can call it, you know, a return to what happened during the nineties in the United States before we saw a lot of manufacturing move to China and other parts of the just when NAFTA was a one exactly. And I want so so Melissa, tell us exactly what's going on when it comes to what's happening with cross border right now.
Yeah, I think, as as you mentioned, like, we're seeing a lot more manufacturing go back to Mexico and as you said, it was there back in the times of NAFTA. I remember that very well and all of the business that was going across the border, and we're there again, and there's so much opportunity to be able to help
support transportation specifically in that space. We have you know, carriers at our clients and brokers at our clients that are have set up shop on both sides of the border and just trying to take advantage and leverage the efficiencies that that that brings them and the you know efficiency gains and costs and in time, yeah, go ahead.
I would say to do that, though you have.
To also be able to make payments to those carriers in preferably the currency that they prefer, and it's really hard right now.
There's not a lot of density and being able to do.
Mexican payso payments too small carriers in the space, and so we saw this as an opportunity to one support and kind of get ahead of where the growth is going for cross border operations, but also to meet our customers where they need us to, and that's to be able to pay their carriers in the currencies they prefer with the dollar softening a little as compared to paesos, more and more carriers have been asking our clients to be paid in Mexican payso and they didn't have the
opportunity to do that before. So it was causing some capacity issues for them and carry relationship issues.
So we wanted to bring that to market.
Carol, you might remember the big take that we did back in September all about how Mexico has passed to become the US the largest US trading partner. Happened back in twenty twenty three. Pretty well, Well, Teresa, is the question most of why, why is this something that you were only able to do just now? You know, if there has been so much going to Mexico, why were you able to do this years ago?
Yeah, It's it's complex, and we've been building out our payments network for the last several years and expanding into multiple currencies. You know, we started with you know, the US dollar, moved into Canadian dollars as our clients asked for that.
Now we're getting asked for Mexican pesos.
But the regulatory and compliance components of what goes into that is pretty complex, and so we started this effort, you know, at the beginning of last year, and it just takes time to get it done and to do it well. And so that's why we're we're launching when we are. It's just the effort that goes into it. We anticipate being able to move and releasing European and Asian payments towards the later part of this year as well.
How much is this business pick depth since you guys have started.
You know, we are not executing payments yet, okay, So we expect to have the ability to support that for our customers by the end of Q two, so the end of this quarter, and then work with them and their integrations with their TMSs and accounting systems to turn it live. So we haven't but when we're talking to our clients, what we're hearing from them is about on average, five percent of their business is now being done in Mexico and they're having to turn business away because they
don't have a good payment option. And so our hope is that in our expectation is that as we launch these new capabilities, it's going to give our customers the competitive advantage.
To be able to move into those markets more deeply.
Are these truckers, these drivers making the same kind of money that other drivers are making.
I don't have an answer to that. I'm just curious. I'm curious. If you don't, yeah, sorry, I'm not.
We love picking your brain because you do know so much about this industry.
So forgive me. I know what I've thought about that averages. Well, what's the.
Platform goes up? Like, you're probably gonna have a lot more information, but it is fascinating because I am curious about the level of activity and the dynamics of that market in particular, so really interesting stuff. Promise you'll come back once the platforms up and running and we can kind of dig a little bit more into what you guys are seeing. Always appreciate it. Such a timely interview. We're telling our producer, this is the perfect interview to
have after we were talking about JB. Hunt, just to get your perspective on what you see as great.
Also, I just want to say shout out to Melissa Foreman's tech team or whoever set up this shot. You know, Melissa herself. She's got a microphone on. It looks like she's in a studio. It's like perfectly lit. I mean you know, it's like we take like three or four people.
To everybody who comes on our area.
Yeah.
Please, wondering Melissa Foreman be Well, Tuxian president of Triumphey in Dallas