E.T. Transport Interview with Lion Force Owner

[Michael Ludwig]

Thoughts?

 

[theman]

If it is the banks that foreclosed, secured creditors are always taken care of first. That's the law ... this is what happens when the banks are in politicians' pockets.

He is right - the payroll should be paid first but this isn't the reality.

 

[loaders]

Hmmmm? Where to begin. Firstly, I do not know the man but I am sure he is a decent fellow who truly loved his company and wanted nothing more than to see it succeed. However, it appears that he and his partners did not know the meaning of “ over extend”. I get the feeling that they wanted to be the next Pride Group, a large, flashy trucking company with beautiful terminals and huge, expansive fleets. It troubles me that at this point he now wants to blame others such as BDO for the late financial filings, the US tariffs, COVID, the downturn in the economy. Yes, they were all contributing factors to his demise, but they were also felt by every other trucking company, large and small and not everyone had to close their doors. Again, the bank, in this case RBC, is acting like a drug dealer, continuing to supply his addicted customer knowing that his product is doing irreparable harm. When money is flowing that freely and in such large amounts with nothing more than a signature, the recipient can forget that these loans actually have to be repaid, at least at some point in time. This is a case where more, and better legal/financial advice was severely needed. Had they remained in their old terminal and used profits to pay down debt, their rise to to top might have been achieved. A company that has only been in business for 10 years is asking for trouble trying to grow that quickly. I guess I am old fashioned, but “slow and steady” actual does win its fair share of races!

 

[Fr8Guru]

Hmmmm? Where to begin. Firstly, I do not know the man but I am sure he is a decent fellow who truly loved his company and wanted nothing more than to see it succeed. However, it appears that he and his partners did not know the meaning of “ over extend”. I get the feeling that they wanted to be the next Pride Group, a large, flashy trucking company with beautiful terminals and huge, expansive fleets. It troubles me that at this point he now wants to blame others such as BDO for the late financial filings, the US tariffs, COVID, the downturn in the economy. Yes, they were all contributing factors to his demise, but they were also felt by every other trucking company, large and small and not everyone had to close their doors. Again, the bank, in this case RBC, is acting like a drug dealer, continuing to supply his addicted customer knowing that his product is doing irreparable harm. When money is flowing that freely and in such large amounts with nothing more than a signature, the recipient can forget that these loans actually have to be repaid, at least at some point in time. This is a case where more, and better legal/financial advice was severely needed. Had they remained in their old terminal and used profits to pay down debt, their rise to to top might have been achieved. A company that has only been in business for 10 years is asking for trouble trying to grow that quickly. I guess I am old fashioned, but “slow and steady” actual does win its fair share of races!

Comparing a bank to a drug dealer is scary accurate. Everything is good until the dealer cuts you off.

Also everyone thinks that if they get a loan once, they can just refinance that loan and get another. It works until it doesn't.

 

[Michael Ludwig]

Hmmmm? Where to begin. Firstly, I do not know the man but I am sure he is a decent fellow who truly loved his company and wanted nothing more than to see it succeed. However, it appears that he and his partners did not know the meaning of “ over extend”. I get the feeling that they wanted to be the next Pride Group, a large, flashy trucking company with beautiful terminals and huge, expansive fleets. It troubles me that at this point he now wants to blame others such as BDO for the late financial filings, the US tariffs, COVID, the downturn in the economy. Yes, they were all contributing factors to his demise, but they were also felt by every other trucking company, large and small and not everyone had to close their doors. Again, the bank, in this case RBC, is acting like a drug dealer, continuing to supply his addicted customer knowing that his product is doing irreparable harm. When money is flowing that freely and in such large amounts with nothing more than a signature, the recipient can forget that these loans actually have to be repaid, at least at some point in time. This is a case where more, and better legal/financial advice was severely needed. Had they remained in their old terminal and used profits to pay down debt, their rise to to top might have been achieved. A company that has only been in business for 10 years is asking for trouble trying to grow that quickly. I guess I am old fashioned, but “slow and steady” actual does win its fair share of races!

"I get the feeling that they wanted to be the next Pride Group, a large, flashy trucking company with beautiful terminals and huge, expansive fleets." Yep, I kind of got that feeling too, and they got too focused on making that a reality and lost sight of what was really happening.
I think they definitely needed better, and sooner, legal advice. At one point in the video he says he spent over $700k on lawyers. IMHO, they weren't very good lawyers ... but then again, maybe they didn't have much to work with either.
What is that old saying? There are 3 sides to every story ... his, hers, and the truth. Seems applicable here.

 

[senditover]

Unfortunately the Too Big To Fail theory applies only to Banks and industries with little to no competition and high barriers to entry.

Unless you're heavily liquid going in, trucking requires a lot of patience and basic knowledge of economics would do you a great service.

 

[Michael Ludwig]

Unfortunately the Too Big To Fail theory applies only to Banks and industries with little to no competition and high barriers to entry.

Unless you're heavily liquid going in, trucking requires a lot of patience and basic knowledge of economics would do you a great service.

Or if your name is synonymous with a common household pet of the feline variety

 

[loaders]

Or if your name is synonymous with a common household pet of the feline variety

The other thing that bothered me about Harry’s mea culpa, was his boast about how much he knew about the trucking industry. For sure, operating 200+ trucks will impart a certain degree of knowledge, whether you want it or not, but really….only 10 years? I think I can speak for a few on this site who, like me, learned about this business working with and listening to the old boys who went before us, guys with 20, 30, 40, 50 years running iron up and down the road. Sorry, but 10 years is a bit too quick to have figured out how this business works. Perhaps the banks should have picked up on that……if their greed wasn’t clouding their vision.

 

[theman]

It's a pattern that just keeps continuing. Spot freight is like the saying - live by the sword, die by the sword. The only way to properly grow a trucking company is based on contract freight, long term relationships. And being disciplined with the money ...

I find this is what most of the trucking industry lacks.