BNSF Railway Company has acquired 3,508 acres of land in Surprise, Arizona in order to build a major intermodal freight and logistics center. The land was bought from the Arizona State Land Department at auction on March 30, 2022 for $49.1 million. BNSF was the sole bidder. BNSF already owns an adjacent 500 acre parcel that is currently zoned as rural residential.
In 2007, BNSF proposed a 130-acre rail yard, 200-acre automotive shipping facility with up to 16 million square feet of warehouse space in Surprise, but the project was put on hold during the Great Recession. At the time, BNSF projected the project would create 6,000 jobs.
Surprise, Arizona is on a BNSF rail line with the Ennis Spur running to the BNSF certified Southwest Railplex industrial park. The two-square mile park is shovel-ready with all major utilities to site.
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Berkshire Hathaway-backed BYD, one of the world’s best-selling EV brands, is collaborating with NVIDIA on intelligent driving technology.
BYD will use the NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion computing architecture in its new energy vehicles (NEVs) for automated driving and parking, starting in the first half of 2023.
BYD is a leader in the electric vehicle industry, and NVIDIA is a leader in artificial intelligence (AI). The cooperation is an important joint effort in the production and deployment of environmentally sustainable NEVs that become increasingly intelligent with over-the-air software updates.
BYD’s NEVs will feature the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin SoC as the centralized compute and AI engine for automated driving and intelligent cockpit features.
NVIDIA DRIVE Orin, the world’s highest performance automotive-grade SoC, is the AI brain of next-generation vehicles. Delivering 254 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) of compute performance, DRIVE Orin features high-speed peripheral interfaces and high memory bandwidth (205GB/sec) to seamlessly handle data from multiple sensor configurations for safe and secure intelligent driving capabilities. NVIDIA DRIVE Orin achieves systematic safety standards such as ISO 26262 ASIL-D to ensure safe, highly advanced intelligent driving.
NVIDIA DRIVE Orin system-on-a-chip
“Software-defined autonomy and electrification are some of the driving forces behind the automotive industry’s transformation. Through the power of AI and the NVIDIA DRIVE platform, BYD will deliver software-defined EV fleets that are not only safe and reliable but also improve over time,” said Rishi Dhall, Vice President of Automotive, NVIDIA.
With industry-leading technologies such as the Blade Battery, DM-i super hybrid technology, and the e-platform, BYD sold nearly 600,000 electric passenger vehicles in 2021 and had achieved a cumulative production and sales volume of electric passenger vehicles over 1.5 million units. In China, BYD has dominated the top sales of electric passenger vehicles for nine times. Leveraging its strengths in technology, quality, and performance over the last 27 years, BYD continues connecting with customers, fans, and partners, through new technology, wisdom, and value, to drive the industry forward together.
BYD and Berkshire Hathaway
In 2008, Berkshire Hathaway bet on BYD’s potential, purchasing 225 million shares for $232 million. It’s an investment that has paid off handsomely. Berkshire’s original investment of $232 million had grown in value to $7.69 billion as of December 31, 2021.
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway and BYD, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
The Kraft Heinz Company, the owner of the Heinz and Quero brands in Brazil, has completed its acquisition of a majority stake in Companhia Hemmer Indústria e Comércio, a Brazilian food company focused on condiments and sauces, after the deal was approved without restriction by CADE (Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense), Brazil’s antitrust body.
The deal was first announced in September 2021, and CADE was notified in November 2021.
The association with Hemmer, a 107-year-old company based in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, will expand Kraft Heinz’s International Taste Elevation platform with its focus on condiments and sauces and will also support its strategy to increase its presence in emerging markets.
The acquisition aims to accelerate the growth of both companies, whose brands and portfolios are complementary. Hemmer will also benefit from Kraft Heinz’s distribution network and go-to-market model in Brazil, including in the growing foodservice channel.
“This is an important move for our International growth strategy, which is focused on Taste Elevation, our portfolio of high-quality, delicious products that enhance the taste of food,” says Rafael Oliveira, EVP & President, International Markets at Kraft Heinz.
“We are very excited about the completion of the deal, which furthers Kraft Heinz’s plan to become one of the largest food players in the country, expanding our selection for our consumers,” said Fernando Rosa, Managing Director of Brazil at Kraft Heinz. “This combination represents a tremendous growth opportunity for both companies, which are both built on the pillars of tradition, innovation, quality, superior ingredients, and flavor.”
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Risk and the amount of time you intend to hold a stock are inextricably linked, according to Warren Buffett. That linkage is what makes day trading stocks so risky, as the shorter the holding period, the more likely that short term price movements will sink you.
“Well, we do define risk as the possibility of harm or injury. And in that respect we think it’s inextricably wound up in your time horizon for holding an asset,” Warren Buffett said at the 1994 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “If you intend to buy XYZ Corporation at 11:30 this morning and sell it out before the close today, I mean, that is, in our view, that is a very risky transaction. Because we think 50 percent of the time you’re going to suffer some harm or injury. If you have a time horizon on a business, we think the risk of buying something like Coca-Cola at the price we bought it at a few years ago is essentially, is so close to nil, in terms of our perspective holding period. But if you asked me the risk of buying Coca-Cola this morning and you’re going to sell it tomorrow morning, I say that is a very risky transaction.”
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
BNSF Railway Company and J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. are launching a joint effort to substantially improve capacity in the intermodal marketplace while also meeting the expanding needs of current customers.
Demand for intermodal services has grown significantly in recent years as companies look to secure capacity, while reducing costs and their carbon footprint.
Based on current and projected trends, J.B. Hunt plans to grow its intermodal fleet to as many as 150,000 containers in the next three to five years, a 40+% increase from its count at the end of 2021. The company has completed more than four million intermodal loads since 2020.
“Over the past few years, intermodal has been disrupted by increased demand and tight capacity, resulting in poor container velocity and long dwell times,” said John Roberts, president and CEO of J.B. Hunt. “Together, J.B. Hunt and BNSF will enhance their work to bring back the consistency and reliability customers expect with intermodal services and further embrace intermodal conversion and transloading services. This priority falls directly in line with J.B. Hunt’s mission statement to create the most efficient transportation network in North America.”
Looking forward and as part of the initiative, BNSF will increase capability at multiple intermodal facilities. To further integrate its joint service product with J.B. Hunt, BNSF is providing several property locations around key intermodal hubs in Southern California, Chicago, and other key markets to increase efficiency at terminals.
Additionally, BNSF will bolster its railcar equipment to accommodate the anticipated increase in container capacity, which will support efficient throughput and strong service performance.
In addition to growing its container count, J.B. Hunt will add supporting chassis based on market need. Over the years, both companies have invested billions of dollars to ensure intermodal’s ability to grow with customers and meet the increasing demand for intermodal services.
“More than 30 years ago, J.B. Hunt Transport Services and BNSF predecessor The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company loaded a Hunt trailer onto a railcar to help usher in the modern age of intermodal freight transport,” said Katie Farmer, BNSF president and CEO.
“BNSF’s industry-leading service combined with J.B. Hunt’s unparalleled intermodal product has set the standard for seamless door-to-door service. We will raise the bar on service to the next level through technology and innovation as we further integrate our platforms with real-time data exchanges. We want our customers to enjoy the best of both worlds: economical and environmentally friendly service delivered by transportation’s premium providers.”
The companies will leverage technology, including the industry leading J.B. Hunt 360°®, to improve efficiencies in rail transport. J.B. Hunt 360’s digital freight matching platform is one of the few in the industry to support intermodal services. Based on analysis of J.B. Hunt 360 transactions and annual bid activity, the company estimates that an additional 7 to 11 million shipments could be converted to intermodal, supporting long-term growth opportunities while avoiding carbon emissions.
J.B. Hunt and BNSF disrupted the transportation industry in 1989 by developing a double-stack shipping solution that would complement both rail and trucking services, a first for modern transportation. Today, J.B. Hunt operates the largest company-owned intermodal fleet in North America with more than 109,000 53’ containers supported by company-owned chassis and tractors.
BNSF operates the largest intermodal rail network handling roughly 1 million more intermodal units each year than any other railroad and through their investments offer the fastest intermodal route between Southern California and the Midwest.
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Berkshire Hathaway’s American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ) has announced its new Signature Stackburgers™ menu. Centered on cheeseburgers that deliver on consumer demand for big flavor and variety, this new menu is the most significant product rollout for ADQ in the past 20 years.
“Our hot food menu, served at our DQ® Grill & Chill® restaurants, is key to our business goal to become a balanced leader in both food and treat items. We know that means innovating and expanding our everyday food offerings, and the new Signature Stackburgers go beyond typical cheeseburgers that you find at quick service restaurants,” said Troy Bader, president and chief executive officer at International Dairy Queen. “Offered in five flavor varieties, our new Signature Stackburgers deliver on everything fans want, and we are confident these new cheeseburgers will keep our fans coming back for more.”
Created as an everyday offering to defeat burger boredom, the Signature Stackburgers menu comes in five flavor varieties in the U.S. Offered as one-third pound doubles and one-half pound triples, each cheeseburger is made with 100-percent seasoned real beef and served on a soft and toasted bun with a wide array of delicious toppings.
The New Signature Stackburgers menu includes:
• FlameThrower® with fiery FlameThrower sauce, perfectly melted Pepper Jack*, jalapeno bacon, tomato and lettuce
• Loaded A.1.® with A.1. Thick & Hearty Steak Sauce, creamy peppercorn sauce, thick-cut Applewood smoked bacon, perfectly melted Sharp American* and crunchy onion rings
• Bacon Two Cheese Deluxe with perfectly melted Sharp American* and White Cheddar*, thick-cut Applewood smoked bacon, tomato, onion, lettuce, pickles, ketchup and mayo
• Two Cheese Deluxe with perfectly melted Sharp American* and White Cheddar*, tomato, onion, lettuce, pickles, ketchup and mayo
• Original Cheeseburger with perfectly melted Sharp American*, pickles, ketchup and mustard
“We know our fans are looking for cheeseburgers that offer big flavor and premium ingredients that keep them coming back for more, and the Signature Stackburgers menu was designed to meet that craving,” said Kelly Kenny, vice president of brand and product marketing at ADQ. “We now are offering five different cheeseburgers that bring flavor variety to our everyday menu, each made with perfectly melted cheese, seasoned beef and a host of creative toppings, all served on a perfectly soft and airy bun.”
The Signature Stackburgers menu is available at all DQ Grill & Chill restaurants across the U.S.
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Both natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) are much in the news these past few weeks, as Europe looks for alternative sources of energy to replace natural gas supplied from Russia. However, Berkshire Hathaway has been making key natural gas and LNG acquisitions long before the latest headlines.
Already a major player in natural gas distribution, in 2020, Berkshire made a big strategic bet on natural gas and LNG when it paid $4 billion for the natural gas transmission and storage assets of Dominion Energy, and assumed $6 billion of its debt. The acquisition, rocketed Berkshire from roughly 8 percent of all U.S. natural gas transmission to 18 percent.
Berkshire Hathaway’s Expanding Natural Gas and LNG Operations
Berkshire’s natural gas pipelines consist of BHE GT&S, LLC, Northern Natural Gas Company and Kern River Gas Transmission Company.
Berkshire’s BHE GT&S, which was acquired in the Dominion Energy deal in November 2020, is an interstate natural gas transmission and storage company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, that operates around 5,500 miles of transmission lines in the eastern U.S and 756 bcf of total natural gas storage — with 420 bcf of working gas capacity — as well as gathering, processing and field services businesses. It provides a variety of LNG solutions through Pivotal LNG, its 25% operating stake in Cove Point LNG — the import, export and liquefaction facility in Lusby, Maryland — and other LNG processing and storage initiatives.
One of BHE GT&S’s key LNG assets is currently undergoing rapid expansion. Located along the St. John’s River in Jacksonville, Florida, the JAX LNG facility began operations in 2018 as a joint venture between Pivotal LNG, a BHE GT&S company, and NorthStar Midstream. In May 2021, Pivotal LNG announced that it will be tripling liquefaction to 360,000 gallons a day and doubling its LNG storage to 4 million gallons by early 2022.
Following the completion of the JAX LNG expansion, Pivotal’s full network of LNG assets will reach a production capacity of over 470,000 gallons per day and a storage capacity of approximately 9 million gallons at its three facilities in Alabama, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
This LNG will mostly serve customers in the eastern U.S. and Puerto Rico, with some of the JAX LNG committed to reducing international maritime emissions through a long-term LNG supply agreement with a major maritime company for its dual-fueled ships.
As for other Berkshire natural gas and LNG assets, Northern Natural, which is based in Nebraska, not only operates the largest interstate natural gas pipeline system in the United States, as measured by pipeline miles, but also has three underground natural gas storage facilities and two LNG storage peaking units.
And Kern River, which is based in Utah, operates a 1,400 miles interstate natural gas pipeline system travels from supply areas in the Rocky Mountains to consuming markets in Utah, Nevada and California. Kern River transports natural gas for electric and natural gas distribution utilities, major oil and natural gas companies or affiliates of such companies, electric generating companies, energy marketing and trading companies, and financial institutions.
Just a couple of years ago, some analysts were saying that a push towards electrification of homes in order to meet climate change goals would reduce worldwide demand for natural gas and LNG.
Shell, a major LNG producer, thinks otherwise. The company notes that pre-COVID worldwide demand for LNG was at 358 million metric tons in 2019, and according to Shell’s LNG Outlook 2021, “Global LNG demand is expected to reach 700 million tonnes by 2040, according to forecasts, as demand for natural gas continues to grow strongly in Asia and gains further traction in powering hard-to-electrify sectors.”
Once again Berkshire Hathaway finds itself in the right place at the right time, as its natural gas and LNG distribution investments proved prescient.
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Berkshire Hathaway’s Forest River is expanding its strategic partnership with Lightning eMotors, a leading provider of medium-duty and specialty commercial electric vehicles for fleets. The partnership will offer a factory-certified all-electric repower program for shuttle buses and passenger vans.
Repowering gas and diesel-powered commercial vehicles has been common practice for many years since the chassis and body often outlast the powertrains, while repowering vehicles with electric powertrains remains a largely untapped opportunity for many fleet operators.
Forest River is the dominant manufacturer of shuttle buses across US and Canada. There are currently more than 50,000 Forest River shuttle buses and passenger vans across the U.S. and Canada that are eligible for this program. Many of those buses have been highly customized with wheel-chair lifts, roof-top air conditioners and other equipment. Repowering these vehicles not only reduces emissions, it also preserves the prior investment and extends the life of the vehicle all while reducing costs for the customer.
“There have been attempts by smaller and early-stage EV technology companies to repower gasoline and diesel buses to electric, but fleets have been hesitant to invest in these third-party, unauthorized and unproven solutions,” Lightning eMotors CEO Tim Reeser said. “With the Forest River and Lightning eMotors’ factory-certified repower program fleets can be assured they will get a proven and reliable solution backed by two established companies that will stand behind the offering and support the vehicles through their second life.”
The Forest River factory-certified powertrains and installation will be backed by a five-year, 100,000-mile warranty. Additionally, Lightning Energy will provide Forest River dealers and customers with customized charging and microgrid energy solutions, including Lightning’s Mobile Battery Vehicle Charging solutions to ensure customers have the necessary infrastructure to support fast ramp-up of their zero-emission fleets.
This expanded agreement comes after Lightning and Forest River announced in 2021 an $850 million, multi-year strategic partnership to build up to 7,500 zero-emission Class 4 and Class 5 buses.
“We expect that our new repower program with Lightning will be welcomed by our dealers because it is being introduced as the commercial bus industry continues to grapple with a production shortage caused by supply chain issues in the broader automotive market,” said Forest River Bus president David Wright. “Lightning’s zero-emission powertrain provides our customers with an updated powertrain that is not only more sustainable and more efficient than the gasoline engine that is being replaced, but also provides the latest safety and driver technology on a platform that is serviceable and highly customized for their needs.”
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell a stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
BNSF Railway Company’s dispute with its two largest unions will head to arbitration to resolve a conflict over BNSF’s new attendance policy.
The unions, BLET (Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen) and the SMART Transportation Division, represent 17,000 BNSF workers and were prevented from striking by a court decision.
U.S. District Court Judge Mark Pittman ruled on February 22, 2022, that the unions’ dispute over the policy constituted a “minor dispute” under the terms and conditions of the Railway Labor Act.
In a joint statement issued by the two unions, they said that “The court’s use of ‘minor’ does not signify the importance of the issue, but is only a legal term which provides that resolution of the matter must be by arbitration. In considering a potential appeal of the District Court’s ruling, it was determined that an appeal could take another one to two years, and likely not result in a different decision. An appeal would not be the quickest, or most effective way, to stop the BNSF policy. The quickest and most direct way to challenge this policy is through a Public Law Board or Special Board of Adjustment, properly constituted under Section 3 of the Railway Labor Act. That board will have the authority to strike down either the entire policy or the most egregious parts of the policy much more quickly. The time frame will be months as opposed to years.”
BNSF’s unions maintain that the BNSF Hi-Viz attendance policy is “forcing its employees to work even when they or their families are sick, and when they are fatigued beyond the point of being able to work safely.”
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Warren Buffett’s such a legendary investor that you might think that he has found the ultimate way to get rich, but that’s not what Buffett himself believes. His comment on the differences between his approach and Peter Lynch’s shows just that.
“I’ve said in investing, in the past, that there’s more than one way to get to heaven,” Warren Buffett said at the 1994 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “And there isn’t a true religion in this, but there’s some very useful religions.”
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.