Alain Bedard
Analyst · Benoit Poirier with Desjardins. Please go ahead
Yeah. Well, Benoit, Daseke's OR in Q1 is closer to 96 than 99, right? So that's number one. So it's the level of activity, Benoit, in Q1 that killed us with our specialty truckload in the US. Our miles were down depending on the week, up to 15%. So just a disaster in terms of the fact also that we had excess trucks and excess trailers, right? But that will correct over '25. The excess assets will correct it over '25. Now, in terms of the culture of the truckload in the US, the specialty truckload in the US, it's not an issue like we had at TForce Freight a few years ago. The trend, what you'll see us do more in the US is we will drive less miles and have more revenue, right? That's the goal. And so our asset-light operation, if you look at the way we report logistics revenue, right, so you'll see in our US specialty truckload operation, we will grow our asset-light operation, okay? And probably, let's say, the asset side of our business will stay about the same size, less assets, okay, but better revenue, better miles per truck, better revenue per truck. And if I remember correctly, David, okay, our revenue per truck in Q1 is better, okay, in our US specialty truckload. We have more miles per truck, okay, with a little bit less of revenue per mile in Q1, okay? But that is reversed in Q2, where we have better rate per mile in Q2 in our specialty truckload so far, okay? And we have a little bit more miles per truck again, okay, in Q2 so far. So the trend is going to improve over time. And the Daseke acquisition, I'm telling you, I mean, we have a fantastic operating team there. It's just like we have -- like I said to Steve at TFI, Steve Brookshaw, see, we have very good truckers there. It's just like we have to transform these guys as a very good business guys, okay? It's all about making money, right? It's all about the bottom line. Yes, we are in business to service customer, but we service customers if we make money. If we don't make money, I mean, what's the sense of servicing customers. So for example, one of our business, Wiley, okay, those guys are big into a sector of the industry where we look at the number of trucks we have there, we have 150 trucks, 600 trailers, 600 trailers. Why do we have 600 trailers? Well, that's, right? So we have way too many trailers. And even 150 trucks for that segment of our business, we have 50 too many trucks, right? Because we are hauling a product that is difficult to haul where you could be subject to claim, okay? And, guys, we can't haul that for 2 points to the bottom line. Might as well put our capital into, let's say, a bank, okay, we're going to get 4% dividend. Why would you invest capital for that? So for sure, in that division, the 600 trailer will go down to 300 during the course of '25, okay? It may be down to 200, right? And the number of trucks may go down to from 150 to 100, okay, where it makes sense. So that's a little bit of a change, okay, where Steve is working hard with the team there to turn a trucker's business into a business, right, a trucking company into a business about making money. So we said a 96 OR in Daseke in Q1, it's not acceptable. Everybody knows that. I mean 4 points to the bottom line, no, okay? So the guys know, hey, specialty truckload. I mean, look at our van world in Canada running a 90 OR, okay, if you exclude the gain on asset, a 90 OR in Canada, where we are competing with the Driver Inc [indiscernible]. And those guys are able to get to a 90 OR and our specialty is 94, not acceptable, okay? Globally, Daseke is 96 something, right? So we know what to do. We'll keep working at it. And for sure, I mean, we see until that tariff uncertainty and fog, whatever you call it, okay, for sure, we'll be under pressure in terms of miles in terms of volume. But I think that in six months -- three months, six months, okay, we'll have a better visibility and then people will start, okay, buying again in the industrial sector that is core to us.