Giveans believes the relatively static nature of Kirby's
market share over time is intentional.
Kirby is definitely the big gorilla in the
inland barge market,” affirmed Jefferies analyst Randy Giveans.
Kirby is known for acquiring when markets are tough and people are ready and
willing to sell,” said Giveans.
With the S&S transaction, they were able to build their balance sheet up and
do a lot more on the marine side,” Giveans told Marine News.
If you have 10 barges and want to carry even three or four different commodities,
there will be a lot of switching and cleaning required,” said Giveans.
Giveans explained how Kirby's scale allows it to offer
contracts of affreighment(COAs), wherein a certain volume of cargo is agreed to be carried over a specified time frame.
The average interest rate on Kirby's debt was a mere 3.5% last year, 3% in 2017,
and 2.7% in 2016, which Giveans believes is below interest rates being paid by any of its competitors.