The Trucker 060120

THETRUCKER.COM
b Celadon from page 19 b
to handle its truck-leasing business in 2015, it
assumed a minority role in the venture, owning
49.99% of 19th Capital. Celadon sold its entire
share to Element Fleet Management three years
later. Quality Companies came under federal
scrutiny when Celadon auditors raised questions
about investment strategies. The investigation
revealed that executive decisions and handling
of assets cost stockholders more than $60 million.
The executives involved in the dealing
were eventually charged with federal crimes.
In the May 1 agreement, H19 Capital
LLC acquired assets that included thousands
of trucks and trailers, all service and support
machinery equipment, intellectual property, a
portfolio of accounts receivable, and 600 existing
truck leases. Real estate included in the
transaction consists of two truck yard leases
and a 136,000-square-foot maintenance facility
in Indianapolis. The facility has a storage
capacity of 1,700 trucks.
Hilco Global intends to continue operating
the truck-leasing company and hopes to expand
operations during the anticipated post-pandemic
economic resurgence. Element Fleet Management
originally planned to close 19th Capital
and disburse its assets after three years. Officials
stated more recently that the deteriorating market
for used trucks forced a change in its time line,
resulting in the sale to H19 Capital LLC. Element
Fleet Management and H19 Capital noted that
the agreement would save “dozens” of jobs.
Celadon assets among $43 million in
auction proceeds
In late April, Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers
of Houston held a two-day auction that
included trucks and trailers previously owned
by Celadon. While the exact equipment and
auction value for Celadon-specific assets are
unknown, the sale included 370 trucks and
b Sales from page 19 b
percentage basis, is International, according to
information received from Wards Intelligence
(wardsintelligence.com). Sales of 7,499 Class 8
trucks on the U.S. market for the first four
months of the year lag 41.9% behind the 12,902
units sold at the same point last year. Market
share for the period has dropped from 14.8% to
12.5%. International was the only OEM to sell
more Class 8 trucks in the U.S. market in April
than in March, 1,961 to 1,886 for an increase
of 4%. Compared to April 2019, however, sales
declined 44.6% from 3,547 sold in that month.
Freightliner’s April sales of 4,315 trucks
showed a decline of 27.9% from March sales of
5,983 and were 47.4% behind the 8,209 sold in
April 2019. For the year to date, Freightliner’s
22,202 Class 8 trucks sold on the U.S. market
trails last year’s January to April sales by 11,593
units, or 34.3%. The company’s share of the U.S.
Class 8 market has dropped from 38.9% at the
end of April 2019 to 36.9% this year, and 34.1%
for the month of April.
To find the last month that Volvo Trucks sold
fewer than 1,000 Class 8 units in the U.S., you’d
have to go all the way back to January 2012. The
OEM sold 951 trucks in April, a drop of 44.6%
from March sales of 1,717. Compared to April
350 dry van, reefer and flatbed trailers.
FreightWaves reported that the auction included
“hundreds of trucks and trailers” previously
owned by Celadon. Likewise, Ritchie
Brothers indicated it would be selling more than
300 Celadon trucks and 1,400 trailers, including
International ProStars, Kenworth T680s and
Volvo VNL6702s.
The Houston auction also included farm and
oil-drilling equipment, making it difficult to estimate
the portion of the $43 million in sales related
to the trucks and trailers. Preregistered bidders
totaled 8,600 from 62 countries worldwide.
Of total sales, 93% went to U.S. bidders, primarily
in Texas, California and Florida. Other buyers
included companies or individuals in Peru, India
and Italy.
Stakeholders selected Ritchie Brothers to sell
more than 1,700 pieces of Celadon equipment at
auction during March, April and May at 19 locations
in the U.S. and Canada. Ritchie Brothers
delayed all but three auctions due to COVID-19.
As of mid-May, Ritchie Brothers plans to sell
563 pieces of Celadon equipment in online auctions
at 16 locations by the end of June. A schedule
of auctions is available at www.rbauction.
com/store/celadon. The website also provides
instructions for bidders and guidelines for limited
on-site equipment inspections.
Ritchie Brothers describes its inventory with
the note, “Celadon Group’s reputation for using
best-in-class trucks, maintenance programs and
technology over their 30 years in business is second
to none, and the pride in ownership shows in
every asset.”
Former Celadon executive team members
assume new roles with new firms
Reliance Partners, a commercial insurance
agency with several U.S. locations, has
named Thom Albrecht, a former Celadon executive,
as its chief financial officer and chief
revenue officer. Albrecht, while lacking experience
in the insurance sector, brings his reputation
as a leading analyst of freight transportation to the
2019, sales dropped more than half (59.6%) from
2,199 trucks sold. For the year to date, Volvo
sales are down 31.2%, slightly more than the decline
for the entire market.
Volvo-owned Mack Trucks outsold Volvo
Trucks in the U.S. Class 8 market in April with
delivery of 1,063 units, a 24.3% decline from
March sales of 1,404 and 44.8% beneath April
2019 sales of 1,924. Mack has actually gained
market share in 2020, going from 6.6% of Class 8
trucks sold at the end of April 2019 to 7.8% at
the same point this year. April 2020 sales represented
8.4% of the market, which may be attributable
to the heavy presence Mack has in the
vocational market.
Kenworth sold 2,290 Class 8 trucks in April,
a 15.7% decline from March sales and 39.0% behind
April 2019 sales. For the year to date, the
company has sold 9,508 units, 20.5% behind last
year’s pace of 11,955. As for market share, the
company’s smaller-than-average sales declines
have actually increased its share of the market,
which climbed from 13.8% at the end of April
last year to 15.8% at the same point this year and
reached 18.1% for the month of April 2020.
Peterbilt sales of 1,553 were 30.9% behind
March sales of 2,247 and 59.6% beneath April
2019 sales of 3,842. For the year to date, Peterbilt
sales nearly match the industry average,
declining 30.3% compared to 30.7 for the
entire industry. 8
Business June 1-14, 2020 • 21
company. Reliance headquarters in numerous states,
including Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin,
California and Florida.
Albrecht is the last of Celadon’s five-member
executive team to assume a leadership role at another
U.S. firm.
In January, former Celadon CEO Paul Svindland
assumed the same post with STG Logistics
of Chicago.
Celadon’s former executive vice president
and general counsel joined Svindland at STG Logistics
in March, accepting the role of chief administrative
officer and general counsel.
In late April, Celadon’s former vice president
and chief accounting officer Vincent Donargo
joined the Indianapolis tech start-up Novus Capital
Corp., a company announcing its intent to go
public with a $100 million offering.
Previously Celadon’s chief operating officer
before the company’s bankruptcy filing, Jon
Russell left the company in November 2019
to join Indianapolis-based TVC Pro Driver, a
provider of legal services to commercial truck
drivers and fleets. 8
GO
LET’S
iStock Photo
Celadon, among the largest carriers in the
U.S. and the largest serving the U.S., Canada
and Mexico, abruptly ceased operations without
notice to employees over the weekend of
Dec. 7-8, 2019.