Right now, the timing of this is difficult. There's no doubt a price increase of this magnitude would be justified by the costs. But it's not what the shipping community is willing to hear right now.
Most every company has a Web presence these days. Primarily they are using it to trace and track freight.
I've been waiting most of my career to see these guys go public. I can't think of a bigger and better company in recent memory that's decided to do this.
They'll have to do something. If he senses in six to nine months that the deal is going forward, he can't sit there for years and watch them cherry-pick their best freight.
The investment community has developed an incredible fear of railroad mergers. A lot of people think the court will reverse the moratorium. That's more important than fuel prices right now.
Splitting up the assets makes infinite sense, not only from a financial perspective but from an operating perspective or competitive perspective.. No one wants market dominance to take place. The shipping community certainly doesn't want it, even the competing railroads out West don't want it.
The tender offer tells me a lot of ups employees are incredibly loyal, that they believe in the company long-term. But I think there could be some selling of shares and until that overhang is taken up through higher demand, it will put pressure on the stock.
I would have been disappointed if they had not raised rates by about 3 percent. This is what we all modeled for.
It still doesn't carry the day. But as e-commerce grows, it's becoming more significant. I'll end up eating those words one day.
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