Company Earnings

Kuehne + Nagel is one of the largest third-party logistics providers in the world and it got larger in the second quarter.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services beat second-quarter expectations Monday. However, the back half of 2021 will depend on how well the railroads and shippers can improve their operations.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services reported better-than-expected second-quarter results Monday as the company saw double-digit revenue growth in all divisions when compared to the year-ago period, which contained widespread lockdowns from COVID protocols.

Prologis’ second-quarter results exceeded analysts’ expectations, and guidance moved higher as property rents are increasing at a record pace.

Heartland Express records its best consolidated operating ratio since its last acquisition was fully integrated.

Logistics real estate investment trust Prologis announced Monday that demand for space remains robust and that operations are the healthiest in its 38-year history. The company modestly beat expectations for the second quarter and raised its outlook for the rest of 2021.

Despite headwinds, KCS thinks it can still achieve double-digit revenue growth for 2021.

The $700 million fee to terminate a merger agreement with Canadian Pacific dented KCS’ second-quarter net income. But revenues were up 37% year-over-year.

Truckload’s operating ratio was better but OR deteriorated for dedicated.

Delta Air Lines is seeing strong domestic travel demand, but cargo also helped the company move beyond breakeven in the second quarter.

P.A.M. Transportation benefited from a tight truckload market in the second quarter to post record revenue and operating income.

Railcar manufacturer Greenbrier sees near-term support for new railcars, as well as longer-term support as companies focus on decarbonizing their operations.

The company reports strong fiscal 2021 fourth-quarter results, but warns that a persistent labor shortage will drive up costs and impede productivity.

XPO Logistics provided updated expectations for the second quarter and issued 2022 guidance for soon-to-be stand-alone logistics company GXO.

Autonomous trucking software startup TuSimple’s public offering helps boost Navistar Q2 earnings while a trucking recovery leads to added production.

The large year-over-year revenue increases recorded by less-than-truckload carriers in the second quarter continued with Yellow on Monday after the close. However, the carrier’s operating metrics lagged some of its competitors as it continues to execute a companywide overhaul.

Less-than-truckload carrier Old Dominion reported further acceleration in tonnage and yields in the first two months of the second quarter on Thursday.

Less-than-truckload carriers ArcBest and Saia report continued strength in demand through the first two months of the second quarter.

Truck broker Landstar System raises its second-quarter guidance as shipments and pricing outpace its initial outlook.

Allowances for potential future write-offs also showed improvement in the bank’s second quarter.

ZIM is the liner most exposed to upside from America’s import binge. It’s taking full advantage of the situation.

The company’s pickup and delivery revenue jumps; about 95% of sales were fulfilled from stores

Rising rail traffic and lower numbers of railcars in storage should benefit FreightCar America, as should anticipated market demand to replace an aging railcar fleet, executives said during Monday’s first-quarter earnings call.

The retail giant clobbers its first-quarter fiscal 2022 estimates, while its chairman says the company is more optimistic about 2021 than it was at the start of the year.

Also on the podcast, KeyBank’s Fowler talks about what blowout Q1 earnings said about the state of trucking.

FreightWaves looks at five themes that ran throughout the earnings discussions of the Class I railroads.

DoorDash reported a 198% increase in Q1 revenue compared to Q1 2020, and a 219% increase in orders, although it still posted a negative 34-cent EPS.

Canadian trucking and logistics firm Titanium Transportation Group reported record first-quarter revenue as its U.S. brokerage business and newly expanded trucking fleet fired up the growth engine.

Danaos will stockpile cash from the current boom and spend it on new ships when environmental regs are clearer.

Third-party logistics provider Radiant Logistics handily beat quarterly expectations Monday. Management has returned its focus to share buybacks and M&A.

Formerly containerized cargoes are being loaded onto bulkers. Box-ship orders are keeping future bulker growth in check.

Flatbed truckload provider Daseke reported first-quarter adjusted earnings better than expected. However, with a more than 5x run-up in share price over the past year, a decent quarterly report without a guidance raise sent the stock lower on Friday.

Cold storage facility operator Americold said food manufacturers are “failing to meet the needs of retailers” as COVID-related production shutdowns have drawn down food stocks. The impacts from lower inventories and throughput were seen in the company’s first-quarter report.

An improving economy and a $170 million investment in Bitcoin drove payment provider Square’s revenue up 266% and profits up 79%.

Tanker execs explain lack of distress sales and scrapping this time around, and why new orders will be more curtailed.

A market recovery is underway for railcar lessors and equipment manufacturers, but the market also has a ways to go before it bounces back completely, according to industry observations.

Wayfair said its active customer base grew 57.1% in the past year, and those customers are ordering more items, leading to a nearly 50% increase in Q1 revenue.

Anticipated growth for intermodal will help to support Hub Group’s investments for that sector in 2021.

Less-than-truckload carrier Yellow Corp. reported a sizable first-quarter loss Wednesday as weather, increased purchased transportation expense and a lack of gains on real estate sales weighed on the period.

The earnings call revealed that Uber, like so many others, is working to fill out its driver ranks.

First-quarter revenue results were aligned with FLEETCOR’s expectations, but at $609 million, they fell 8% short of first-quarter 2020 results.

The across-the-board gains exceeded expectations and reflect increasing end-market strength, Trimble CEO says.

The German company posts record first-quarter profits and substantially raises full-year earnings and cash flow targets.

Maersk reveals more details on its shift toward long-term contracts at the expense of spot exposure.

Cargojet wants a bigger slice of the U.S. e-commerce and heavy air cargo market. It’s looking for an investment opportunity and has identified new trends in e-commerce that will keep volumes high in North America.

The first-ever deal with Apple is part of $4 billion in logistics contracts for XPO since the year began.

Lyft reported a narrower loss in its Q1 earnings as riders began returning to the platform.

Engine maker Cummins absorbed $105 million in freight costs to get microchips needed for engines during the trucking boom.

Despite a tough comparison with a year ago, Meritor saw sales and earnings increase in its Q2 fiscal quarter.

ArcBest points to the current “robust demand” environment as supportive of raising equipment spending in 2022.

In the prepared statement released with earnings, CEO Musser says the current market has no precedents.

Logistics provider ArcBest Corp. posted first-quarter results well ahead of analysts’ expectations Tuesday.

Diesel sales at the company showed a slight decline from the fourth quarter but were significantly higher than Q1 2020.

Company boosts its full-year EBITDA range, and discloses 11-year, $1.8 billion logistics contract with unidentified customer.

Executives with parent company Berkshire Hathaway expect BNSF to take steps to protect the railroad’s franchise as the merger between Kansas City Southern and one of the Canadian railways makes its way through regulatory review.

Chinese container production still trails torrid demand. Ever Given accident was ‘icing on the cake’ — making box shortfall worse.

Universal Logistics Holdings reported $415.2 million in operating revenue during the first quarter.

Forward Air provided some clarity on longer-term margin expectations during a Friday conference call with analysts. The company beat first-quarter expectations and its new guidance came in much better than expected.

Olsavsky says the one-day delivery service needs to get on top of burgeoning demand and warehouse space shortages.

Forward Air reported first-quarter earnings results and issued second-quarter guidance that were both ahead of expectations.

Provider of fuel payment processing for fleets reported 5% revenue decline in first quarter

The truckload carrier’s OR went from in excess of 100% to 95.8%.

Schneider National sees several favorable catalysts through the remainder of 2021 that are supportive of its guidance raise. Finding equipment and drivers will be the challenge.

Schneider National’s first quarter comes in ahead of analysts’ expectations and the company raises its full-year outlook by 8% at the midpoint of the range.

Werner Enterprises reported a first-quarter record for operating income Wednesday after the close. Revenue-per-mile guidance in its one-way segment moved higher.

Waggoner delivered record EPS in a difficult environment.

In what is expected to be its final earnings report as a stand-alone company, Grubhub reported 52% growth in revenue, but said restaurant fee caps hurt its bottom line, resulting in a quarterly loss.

Norfolk Southern aims to add longer trains, improve car velocity and provide more technological tools for customers and for safety inspections, with an eye toward future competition with autonomous trucks.

Ryder is a major supplier of used trucks to the market, and its numbers showed a healthy second sales demand in the quarter.

Despite supply chain constraints, Tier 1 driveline supplier Dana beat analyst expectations for Q1 and raised full-year estimates.

The CEO of TFI International suggests the Canadian firm is looking to grow its relationship with UPS beyond its $800 million acquisition of UPS Freight.

Less-than-truckload carrier Saia reported first-quarter earnings ahead of expectations and guided for second-quarter results to outpace normal seasonality.

The CEO of Covenant, while reviewing a strong quarter for the truckload carrier, gives his perspective on the labor market the company faces.

First-quarter operating ratio was 61.5%, compared with an adjusted operating ratio of 63.7% in the first quarter of 2020.

Less-than-truckload carrier Saia reports a big year-over-year increase in earnings during the first quarter even as weather negatively impacted one-third of its network.

West Coast congestion could last into the fall as retailers face stockouts on essential goods, says ocean carrier Matson.

Robinson highlighted improving productivity metrics.

TFI International reports a 17% increase in operating income during the first quarter as the Canadian trucking and logistics firm gets a strong start to 2021.

PACCAR puts up strong Q1 numbers, including record parts sales that suggest the new truck backlog is boosting aftermarket sales.

The move comes as the company reports terrific first-quarter results and its shares soar.

CN outlined some scenarios in which a merged railway can compete with long-haul trucking.

DSV Panalpina announced Tuesday it plans to acquire the logistics arm of Agility Public Warehousing for $4.1 billion. The deal is expected to turn the transportation and logistics company into a top 3 forwarder globally.

Revenue jumps by double digits across the board; pension gains account for about half of EPS increase.

First-quarter earnings reports from truckload carriers highlight a booming freight market. A strong consumer, tight truck capacity and elevated rates appear the likely dynamics for the remainder of the year.

Tesla is focusing on making more cars, securing battery cells and finishing gigafactories in Texas and Germany. The Semi is again in the background.

Covenant’s overall OR improved by 620 bps from the first quarter of 2020, a significant gain.

Canadian railway CN reported net profit of CA$974 million in the first quarter of 2021, a 3.7% decline from the first quarter of 2020.

Daimler Truck AG, soon to be a stand-alone business, showed a modest recovery from the pandemic-impacted year-ago first quarter.

Variant is a company within a company that is being touted as the future of U.S. Xpress.

The company’s revenue rose but operating margins are higher; Variant targets are being met and revenue is 11.8% of total truckload.

The CEO of one of Canada’s largest trucking companies, Mullen Group, says the country’s freight market will bounce back after COVID-19 is under control.

The Surface Transportation Board will need to scrutinize a proposed merger between Kansas City Southern and either Canadian Pacific or CN to ensure it doesn’t hurt the operations of competing railroads, Union Pacific’s head said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call.

Old Dominion Freight Line set a first-quarter record even with adverse weather conditions. The second quarter is shaping up to produce a new all-time company record.

Aaron Graft has been assuring users HubTran’s open loop system will not be giving Triumph’s factoring business an unfair advantage

Sweden’s Volvo AB reported a record operating margin in Q1 following a warning of up to a month of downtime due to microchip shortages.

A 4% drop in operating revenue contributed to a 9% decline in net income for Union Pacific’s first quarter.

Old Dominion Freight Line announced its best first-quarter result in company history on Thursday. Improved density and yields led to a 76.1% operating ratio, 530 basis points better year-over-year.

For now, Canadian Pacific is not planning to take part in a bidding war with rival CN to acquire Kansas City Southern, saying that its offer is more likely to meet regulators’ litmus test for mergers.

P.A.M. Transportation Services posted a profit in the first quarter of 2021. The bulk of the improvement came on the nonoperating line.

Truck repairs and parts sales covered all the cost of running Rush Enterprises’ dealership network in Q1 as year-over-year profits doubled.