OKOTOKS, AB – Mullen Group CEO Murray Mullen is “happy to close the books” on 2016, and predicting a return to growth after two years of steady declines.

“It’s a year that was defined by the meltdown in the oil and gas prices in the early part of the year, which really took its toll,” he said of 2016, in a conference call with analysts. “At Mullen we witnessed the carnage first hand, seeing our revenue and profitability decline significantly as demand collapsed. We oversaw the loss of over 550 good hardworking people in 2016 and over 1,500 since 2015, and that’s through no fault of their own.”

Industry rates charged in the fourth quarter of the year were “borderline ridiculous,” he added, stressing that Mullen Group would not adopt similar pricing in the name of building market share. “We take a look at a lot of acquisition opportunities, and I can tell you what we look at is not very pretty,” he said. “They do not make any money. We see this everywhere.” Mullen also questioned whether small carriers would be able to meet the technical requirements of the pending U.S. mandate for Electronic Logging Devices.

Collectively, it helps to explain why he predicts industry capacity to tighten.

While the fleet has about $270 million in cash to support acquisitions, Mullen told analysts that the business will only follow up on opportunities that are seen as a strategic fit. The fleet is also reviving the MoveItOnline load matching platform to support existing and expanding business alike.

There are signs that the economy is recovering, too. Drilling activity in the oil sector was up 50% in January, when compared to the same time last year – a vital indicator for a fleet that serves the energy sector — and Mullen expects the Canadian economy will grow modestly.

“There’s still challenges in the market,” he said. “At the end of the year we think we’ll be in a better position than we have been for some time.”