2 days ago
Three and a half years of freight recession did two things to the truck financing market at once. It shredded the credit profiles of the carriers who most needed to borrow. It also pushed a large share of the lenders who would have lent to them out of the sector. Both are now rationing the equipment replacement cycle the industry has spent two years waiting on.
Kirk Mann stayed in. As executive vice president and general manager of the transportation vendor solutions business at Mitsubishi HC Capital America, he financed trucks through the entire downturn and watched a great many of them come back.
"There are a lot of lenders, banks that left, and so we've had the benefit of being one of the lenders actually lending money in this ****** e," Mann said in an interview with FreightWaves. What competition remains is mostly OEM captive finance arms, a couple of large independents and a few bank-led groups, he said.
The carriers that did not survive were overwhelmingly the newest. On average, 85% of motor carriers with fewer than two years of operating experience and their own operating authority failed over a three-year stretch of the downturn, Mann said.
Back in January 2023, Mann sat in Mitsubishi HC Capital's Chicago offices with Wayne Pass, the company's chief credit officer for vendor solutions, since retired. He asked what a Freightliner Cascadia 13-speed with a tall sleeper and fewer than 500,000 miles was worth. Both men wrote down $45,000. Mann then asked what the company was financing those trucks at. About $110,000.
#mitsubishi #back #financing #large
Kirk Mann stayed in. As executive vice president and general manager of the transportation vendor solutions business at Mitsubishi HC Capital America, he financed trucks through the entire downturn and watched a great many of them come back.
"There are a lot of lenders, banks that left, and so we've had the benefit of being one of the lenders actually lending money in this ****** e," Mann said in an interview with FreightWaves. What competition remains is mostly OEM captive finance arms, a couple of large independents and a few bank-led groups, he said.
The carriers that did not survive were overwhelmingly the newest. On average, 85% of motor carriers with fewer than two years of operating experience and their own operating authority failed over a three-year stretch of the downturn, Mann said.
Back in January 2023, Mann sat in Mitsubishi HC Capital's Chicago offices with Wayne Pass, the company's chief credit officer for vendor solutions, since retired. He asked what a Freightliner Cascadia 13-speed with a tall sleeper and fewer than 500,000 miles was worth. Both men wrote down $45,000. Mann then asked what the company was financing those trucks at. About $110,000.
#mitsubishi #back #financing #large
15 days ago
On August 29, Reuters reported that Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE:HMC) and Nissan Motor could reach an agreement as soon as the following Monday to jointly develop a vehicle operating system and onboard computer, according to ***** an's Nikkei newspaper. The tie-up would target new models arriving as early as 2029 and marks the clearest sign yet that the two ***** anese automakers are rebuilding cooperation more than a year after their $60 billion merger talks fell apart. Honda has plenty riding on getting both the technology and the timing right.
Honda told Reuters it is discussing "potential areas of collaboration" with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors under their existing strategic partnership, though it stressed no deal has been finalized. A Nissan spokesperson said the company is exploring "various possibilities" and would share details once something is confirmed. Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa said earlier this month that talks with Honda over software collaboration were underway, and on Honda's own fiscal first-quarter earnings call, management confirmed it is exploring cooperation with Nissan on software-defined vehicles, batteries and shared vehicle platforms to pool volume across both companies. A shared computing platform could let Honda spread the cost of software development across a far larger base of vehicles, an advantage smaller automakers rarely get on their own.
That potential collaboration comes as Honda's core business is performing better than expected. Operating profit for the fiscal first quarter, reported August 5, reached a record JPY530.7 billion, powered by an all-time high JPY233.9 billion motorcycle profit on strong demand in India and Brazil. Automobile operating profit held at JPY192.1 billion despite a rough patch in China, a 5% margin management attributed partly to a JPY78.1 billion positive tariff impact. In the United States, high gasoline prices pushed buyers toward Honda's hybrids, and the company captured a 10% share of the market in April and May, its best showing in five years. Management responded by raising full-year operating profit guidance to JPY650 billion and adjusted operating profit, which excludes EV-related losses, to JPY1.17 trillion, while holding the dividend at JPY70 per share and keeping a JPY3.3 trillion net cash position.
China remains the biggest drag. Management said the country's combustion-engine and hybrid market shrank by about 40% in the quarter, and Honda's retail units there fell 50% year over year, even after the company moved early to extend its joint venture with GAC through 2028 to calm dealers. Honda is also still absorbing the cost of its shifted EV strategy, forecasting JPY520 billion in EV-related losses for the full year, a figure it revised to reflect foreign exchange effects on compensation talks with North American suppliers that remain unresolved.
#billion #nissan #profit #talks
Honda told Reuters it is discussing "potential areas of collaboration" with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors under their existing strategic partnership, though it stressed no deal has been finalized. A Nissan spokesperson said the company is exploring "various possibilities" and would share details once something is confirmed. Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa said earlier this month that talks with Honda over software collaboration were underway, and on Honda's own fiscal first-quarter earnings call, management confirmed it is exploring cooperation with Nissan on software-defined vehicles, batteries and shared vehicle platforms to pool volume across both companies. A shared computing platform could let Honda spread the cost of software development across a far larger base of vehicles, an advantage smaller automakers rarely get on their own.
That potential collaboration comes as Honda's core business is performing better than expected. Operating profit for the fiscal first quarter, reported August 5, reached a record JPY530.7 billion, powered by an all-time high JPY233.9 billion motorcycle profit on strong demand in India and Brazil. Automobile operating profit held at JPY192.1 billion despite a rough patch in China, a 5% margin management attributed partly to a JPY78.1 billion positive tariff impact. In the United States, high gasoline prices pushed buyers toward Honda's hybrids, and the company captured a 10% share of the market in April and May, its best showing in five years. Management responded by raising full-year operating profit guidance to JPY650 billion and adjusted operating profit, which excludes EV-related losses, to JPY1.17 trillion, while holding the dividend at JPY70 per share and keeping a JPY3.3 trillion net cash position.
China remains the biggest drag. Management said the country's combustion-engine and hybrid market shrank by about 40% in the quarter, and Honda's retail units there fell 50% year over year, even after the company moved early to extend its joint venture with GAC through 2028 to calm dealers. Honda is also still absorbing the cost of its shifted EV strategy, forecasting JPY520 billion in EV-related losses for the full year, a figure it revised to reflect foreign exchange effects on compensation talks with North American suppliers that remain unresolved.
#billion #nissan #profit #talks
21 days ago
The freight market has seen a brutal downturn, with an astounding 85% failure rate for new carriers in the past three years. Kirk Mann, EVP & GM of Transportation and Vendor Solutions at Mitsubishi HC Capital America, dives into why this cycle was the longest, the impact of over-financed ****** ets, and what it means for the future of freight demand and equipment financing. Learn how lenders navigate this volatile landscape and what's next for carrier growth.
The average three-year failure rate for motor carriers with fewer than two years of operating experience and their own ICC authority hit 85% during the prolonged freight downturn, according to Kirk Mann, EVP & GM of Transportation and Vendor Solutions at Mitsubishi HC Capital. Mann shared the figure in a FreightWaves interview, offering one of the starkest measures yet of how the roughly three-and-a-half-year downturn devastated the smallest participants in the for-hire trucking market.
The elevated failure rate traces directly to the equipment bubble that inflated during 2021 and 2022. Mann recalled a conversation with his chief risk officer in which they discussed a four-year-old Freightliner Cascadia with fewer than 500,000 miles — an ****** et the risk officer valued at roughly $45,000 but that the company was financing at $100,000 to $110,000. FreightWaves data showed pre-COVID prices on five-year-old equipment running around $34,000, climbing to as high as $120,000 at the peak. Carriers that entered the business buying equipment at those inflated values were immediately underwater when rates collapsed.
"I remember we were way bubble. It was an ****** et bubble of enormous proportions," Mann said.
When defaults mounted, Mitsubishi HC Capital leaned on workout tools rather than immediate repossession. Mann said the company restructured approximately 75% of its loans during its 2020 customer ****** istance program launched at the onset of COVID-19, and that 95% of those borrowers resumed payments within 90 days. Even so, the lender accumulated repossessed inventory it held "for quite a long time" before conditions improved enough to move units through dealer networks, auctions, and internal sales channels.
#freight
The average three-year failure rate for motor carriers with fewer than two years of operating experience and their own ICC authority hit 85% during the prolonged freight downturn, according to Kirk Mann, EVP & GM of Transportation and Vendor Solutions at Mitsubishi HC Capital. Mann shared the figure in a FreightWaves interview, offering one of the starkest measures yet of how the roughly three-and-a-half-year downturn devastated the smallest participants in the for-hire trucking market.
The elevated failure rate traces directly to the equipment bubble that inflated during 2021 and 2022. Mann recalled a conversation with his chief risk officer in which they discussed a four-year-old Freightliner Cascadia with fewer than 500,000 miles — an ****** et the risk officer valued at roughly $45,000 but that the company was financing at $100,000 to $110,000. FreightWaves data showed pre-COVID prices on five-year-old equipment running around $34,000, climbing to as high as $120,000 at the peak. Carriers that entered the business buying equipment at those inflated values were immediately underwater when rates collapsed.
"I remember we were way bubble. It was an ****** et bubble of enormous proportions," Mann said.
When defaults mounted, Mitsubishi HC Capital leaned on workout tools rather than immediate repossession. Mann said the company restructured approximately 75% of its loans during its 2020 customer ****** istance program launched at the onset of COVID-19, and that 95% of those borrowers resumed payments within 90 days. Even so, the lender accumulated repossessed inventory it held "for quite a long time" before conditions improved enough to move units through dealer networks, auctions, and internal sales channels.
#freight
23 days ago
Archion Corporation, the newly-established holding company for **** anese truck-makers Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) and Hino Motors, reported its maiden quarterly financial results, for the first quarter of the current fiscal year and its outlook for the full year.
The company was established at the beginning of **** an's current fiscal year, on 1 April 2026, as the 100% shareholder of both Hino Motors and MFTBC. The truck-makers' former parent companies, Toyota Motor Corporation and Daimler Truck AG, each own 25% of Archion's equity, with the remaining 50% of shares publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Combined Hino and MFTBC revenues increased by 14% year-on-year to JPY 597.9 billion (US$ 3.76 billion) on a like-for-like basis in the April-June quarter of 2026, while operating earnings rose by 32% to JPY 29 billion before 'preliminary bargain purchase' gains.
Including the preliminary bargain purchase gains, applicable because "the fair value of the net **** ets acquired exceeded the purchase consideration transferred at the time of the integration," operating profit rose elevenfold year-on-year to JPY 262.3 billion, while net profits were up fourteenfold to JPY 262.3 billion.
Total vehicle sales rose by 14% year-on-year to 60,000 units in the April-June quarter, up from 52,000 units a year earlier, supported by "strong products, improved product offering and supply following the launch of new heavy-duty and light-duty truck models."
#rose
The company was established at the beginning of **** an's current fiscal year, on 1 April 2026, as the 100% shareholder of both Hino Motors and MFTBC. The truck-makers' former parent companies, Toyota Motor Corporation and Daimler Truck AG, each own 25% of Archion's equity, with the remaining 50% of shares publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Combined Hino and MFTBC revenues increased by 14% year-on-year to JPY 597.9 billion (US$ 3.76 billion) on a like-for-like basis in the April-June quarter of 2026, while operating earnings rose by 32% to JPY 29 billion before 'preliminary bargain purchase' gains.
Including the preliminary bargain purchase gains, applicable because "the fair value of the net **** ets acquired exceeded the purchase consideration transferred at the time of the integration," operating profit rose elevenfold year-on-year to JPY 262.3 billion, while net profits were up fourteenfold to JPY 262.3 billion.
Total vehicle sales rose by 14% year-on-year to 60,000 units in the April-June quarter, up from 52,000 units a year earlier, supported by "strong products, improved product offering and supply following the launch of new heavy-duty and light-duty truck models."
#rose
2 months ago
Wood Mackenzie now estimates that the global upstream oil and gas sector could generate $495 billion in free cash flow in 2026 if crude averages $90 per barrel, more than doubling its previous forecast based on a $60 oil price **** umption. The revision follows the sharp jump in crude prices triggered by the Middle East conflict, turning what had been expected to be another year of disciplined cash generation into one of the industry's most lucrative windfalls in recent years. Yet the gains will be concentrated among the world's largest producers, with the 49 national and international oil companies covered by Wood Mackenzie expected to capture $272 billion of the total.
Wood Mackenzie expects the conflict to reduce global oil production by at least 3%, with Iraq accounting for roughly 3 million barrels per day of lost output, while damage to infrastructure in Qatar is projected to cut global LNG supply by 2%. The stronger cash flow outlook does not alter the industry's longer-term production trajectory. Wood Mackenzie projects average production across the 155 upstream companies it tracks will fall 30% between 2030 and 2040, with more than 70 producers facing declines of more than 50% unless they make significant new investments.
However, WoodMac says energy companies are likely to maintain capital discipline despite the unexpected influx of cash, with capex budgets expected to largely remain flat while share buybacks are projected to decrease by 5% as boards prioritize balance sheet strength and deleveraging.
Related: War Sends Saudi Oil Output Down and Revenue Up
Meanwhile, energy companies are expected to continue to deploy the excess cash to purchase attractive oil and gas **** ets. Upstream M&A surged to a two-year high in the first half of the year, including Shell Plc's (NYSE:SHEL) $16 billion acquisition of ARC Resources, Devon's (NYSE:DVN) $25 billion merger with Coterra and Mitsubishi's (OTCPK:MSBHF) $7.5 billion purchase of Aethon. Dealmakers are increasingly prioritizing stable, low-cost regions and natural gas/LNG **** ets to ensure supply chain security.
#wood #mackenzie
Wood Mackenzie expects the conflict to reduce global oil production by at least 3%, with Iraq accounting for roughly 3 million barrels per day of lost output, while damage to infrastructure in Qatar is projected to cut global LNG supply by 2%. The stronger cash flow outlook does not alter the industry's longer-term production trajectory. Wood Mackenzie projects average production across the 155 upstream companies it tracks will fall 30% between 2030 and 2040, with more than 70 producers facing declines of more than 50% unless they make significant new investments.
However, WoodMac says energy companies are likely to maintain capital discipline despite the unexpected influx of cash, with capex budgets expected to largely remain flat while share buybacks are projected to decrease by 5% as boards prioritize balance sheet strength and deleveraging.
Related: War Sends Saudi Oil Output Down and Revenue Up
Meanwhile, energy companies are expected to continue to deploy the excess cash to purchase attractive oil and gas **** ets. Upstream M&A surged to a two-year high in the first half of the year, including Shell Plc's (NYSE:SHEL) $16 billion acquisition of ARC Resources, Devon's (NYSE:DVN) $25 billion merger with Coterra and Mitsubishi's (OTCPK:MSBHF) $7.5 billion purchase of Aethon. Dealmakers are increasingly prioritizing stable, low-cost regions and natural gas/LNG **** ets to ensure supply chain security.
#wood #mackenzie
2 months ago
New vehicle sales in the Philippines declined by a further 8% to 37,231 units in June 2026, down from 40,483 units in the same month last year, according to member wholesale data released jointly by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers ***** ociation (TMA).
This was the sixth consecutive month of decline for the market, as economic growth in the country continued to slow. The latest government data show that GDP growth slowed to 2.8% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, down from 3.7% in the second half of 2025 and 4.4% for the whole of last year. Higher fuel prices resulting from the conflict in the Middle East have added to existing economic pressures, including the fallout from last year's infrastructure corruption scandal.
Despite a sharp drop in household consumption in the first quarter, the central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 4.75% since April, reversing a two-year easing cycle from a peak of 6.5% in mid-2024, to help rein in surging inflation resulting from the recent fuel price hikes.
In the first six months of 2026, the Philippine vehicle market was down by over 11% to 204,557 units, from 230,912 units in the same period last year, with sales of passenger cars and commercial vehicles both falling by over 11% to 40,503 units and 164,054 units, respectively. Sales of electrified vehicles, including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hybrids, surged by 132% to 31,351 units in this period, however, as consumers prioritized fuel-efficient vehicles amid rising fuel prices.
The overall market leader, Toyota, reported a 9% sales decline to 100,909 units year-to-date, followed by Mitsubishi with 36,321 units (-17%); Suzuki 9,262 units (-14%); Ford 7,435 units (-32%); and Nissan 6,921 units (-42%).
#units #year #down #philippines
This was the sixth consecutive month of decline for the market, as economic growth in the country continued to slow. The latest government data show that GDP growth slowed to 2.8% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, down from 3.7% in the second half of 2025 and 4.4% for the whole of last year. Higher fuel prices resulting from the conflict in the Middle East have added to existing economic pressures, including the fallout from last year's infrastructure corruption scandal.
Despite a sharp drop in household consumption in the first quarter, the central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 4.75% since April, reversing a two-year easing cycle from a peak of 6.5% in mid-2024, to help rein in surging inflation resulting from the recent fuel price hikes.
In the first six months of 2026, the Philippine vehicle market was down by over 11% to 204,557 units, from 230,912 units in the same period last year, with sales of passenger cars and commercial vehicles both falling by over 11% to 40,503 units and 164,054 units, respectively. Sales of electrified vehicles, including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hybrids, surged by 132% to 31,351 units in this period, however, as consumers prioritized fuel-efficient vehicles amid rising fuel prices.
The overall market leader, Toyota, reported a 9% sales decline to 100,909 units year-to-date, followed by Mitsubishi with 36,321 units (-17%); Suzuki 9,262 units (-14%); Ford 7,435 units (-32%); and Nissan 6,921 units (-42%).
#units #year #down #philippines
2 months ago
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and Highlanders (a start-up originating from the University of Tokyo), have announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in establishing a new industrial foundation where humans and robots work together.
Under this MoU, the two companies will explore the joint development of humanoid robots for use at Mitsubishi Motors' manufacturing facilities as well as mass production of Highlanders products at Mitsubishi Motors' Kyoto Plant.
In a statement, MMC said the environment surrounding ******* an's manufacturing industry is undergoing significant change, with labour shortages, increasingly sophisticated manufacturing operations, and the need for more flexible manufacturing systems emerging as major challenges.
Mitsubishi Motors said it is committed to creating new value by collaborating with a diverse range of partners, including start-ups, to address these future challenges.
Highlanders aims to help solve workforce-related issues through humanoid robots and advanced robotics technologies.
Under this MoU, the two companies will explore the joint development of humanoid robots for use at Mitsubishi Motors' manufacturing facilities as well as mass production of Highlanders products at Mitsubishi Motors' Kyoto Plant.
In a statement, MMC said the environment surrounding ******* an's manufacturing industry is undergoing significant change, with labour shortages, increasingly sophisticated manufacturing operations, and the need for more flexible manufacturing systems emerging as major challenges.
Mitsubishi Motors said it is committed to creating new value by collaborating with a diverse range of partners, including start-ups, to address these future challenges.
Highlanders aims to help solve workforce-related issues through humanoid robots and advanced robotics technologies.
3 months ago
A complete list of the golf equipment Bud Cauley used to win the PGA Tour's 2026 RBC Canadian Open:
DRIVER: ***** leist GTS2 (8 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black VeloCore+ 6 X shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: ***** leist GTS3 (15 degrees), with Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX shaft
IRONS: ***** leist U•505 (3), with Fujikura Ventus Velocore+ Black HB 8 X shaft, T250 (4), 620 MB (5–9), with True Temper Dynamic Gold S300 shafts
WEDGES: ***** leist Vokey Design SM11 (48, 52, 56, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold S300 shafts
DRIVER: ***** leist GTS2 (8 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Black VeloCore+ 6 X shaft
FAIRWAY WOOD: ***** leist GTS3 (15 degrees), with Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX shaft
IRONS: ***** leist U•505 (3), with Fujikura Ventus Velocore+ Black HB 8 X shaft, T250 (4), 620 MB (5–9), with True Temper Dynamic Gold S300 shafts
WEDGES: ***** leist Vokey Design SM11 (48, 52, 56, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Gold S300 shafts
