Company Earnings

Receipts from the June IPO allowed a significant reduction in debt while other initiatives cut its OR to the lowest level in years.

Schneider National became the latest carrier to announce that it has benefited financially from the strong pricing and capacity squeeze when it announced its second-quarter operating revenues were up 15% year-over-year.

Hub Group’s earnings per share at $0.66 beat Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $0.50, but executives said that the third and fourth quarters will be even stronger, and margins will grow even against tough comps.

ArcBest Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCB) recently finalized a new 5-year contract with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The new contract brought “major gains” for members, including vacation restoration, wage increases and health benefit preservation.

All of the metrics were strongly positive, but the CEO expressed disappointment with two of its main activities, automotive and dedicated

The U.S. truckload operations of TFI are mostly at CFI and Truckload America, and both had stronger quarters.

USA Truck had an aggressive plan to add trucks to its fleet, but delays at the OEMs are falling short of the targets.

It’s the first time LTL carrier Old Dominion has ever posted an OR under 80, even as it added more than 900 new employees.

The asset light logistics provider had financial records across the board and in a driver squeeze, added capacity.

The asset-light expedited LTL carrier posted strong volume and yield growth, and is tacking on intermodal businesses by M&A, but playing catch up with its truckload brokerage.

The 3PL company saw its revenue climb in both its key units, with its services in demand in a tight market.

Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (NYSE: KNX) reported revenue growth and rising income across much of the company, with the notable exception of Swift’s refrigerated segment, during its second quarter 2018 earnings call.

Rush Enterprises posted an increase in second-quarter revenue buoyed by strong used-truck sales and significant growth in its aftermarket business, which accounts for 64.8% of the company’s gross profits.

UPS reported strong revenue supported by pricing and targeted growth initiatives during its second quarter earnings call Wednesday. Adjusted earnings per share climbed 23 percent to $1.94, and total revenue was up nearly 10 percent.

Growth in its dedicated and ChoiceLease programs drove a strong second quarter for Ryder System (NYSE: R), helping the leasing and rental giant surpass earnings expectations for the second straight quarter.

The truckload carrier is relatively small, but it had a tremendous second quarter.

The improved Operating Ratio posted by Norfolk Southern wasn’t enough to stop analysts from asking about its comparison to that of CSX.

CN had a strong quarter as it comes out of system problems that stretch back into 2017.

There is a fear on the part of some investors in the trucking space that a peak may have been reached.

Werner Enterprises had a strong second quarter, trouncing analyst consensus on its expected performance. Here are some of the highlights from its earnings release.

Amazon (AMZN: NYSE) is a power player in the online grocery scene, with sales growing at a rate of 40 percent year-over-year.

Analysts have issues with the operating rate, and price increases that seem small compared to the transport sector as a whole.

CSX hit records on operating ratio while improving train speed and dwell time, but says intermodal still needs a “ton” of work and pricing will reflect CSX’s “superior product.”

In spite of fuel surcharge adjustments, Marten today reported a 49.9% improvement in net income to $13.7 million, or 25 cents per diluted share, for Q2 that ended June 30, 2018, from $9.1 million, or 17 cents per diluted share, for Q2 of 2017.

A revenue increase boosted earnings for J.B. Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ: JBHT), as the carrier reported second-quarter net earnings of $151.7 million, or $1.37 per share, versus second-quarter 2017 net earnings of $97.9 million, or 88 cents per share.

The company will look at its capital structure, may raise more funding, and has a strong forecast to 2020.

Intermodal is clearly benefiting from price comparisons between rails and trucks, but it’s mostly macroeconomics that fueled the Deutsche report.

A $200 million injection of new capital at Celadon is withdrawn because of a DOJ investigation, but the operating numbers are looking up.

In the one question from the earnings call, an analyst asked Roadrunner executives about the goodwill-heavy balance sheet.

Shrugging off any potential disruption due to trade war, FedEx Corp. executives were upbeat about the outlook for 2019 for both the general economy and FedEx’s operating units during its fiscal 2018 fourth-quarter and year-end earnings call on Tuesday.

Large food shippers are citing rapidly inflating freight costs as headwinds to their earnings, including Smuckers, Kraft Heinz, Tyson, Hershey, and General Mills. We round up the impacts to their businesses here, based on earnings call transcripts.

Navistar has rolled out a series of new products in the last few years and the strong overall economy is helping the once-beleaguered truck maker rebound with another strong performance in its second-quarter earnings, beating Wall Street estimates.

Much of the focus is on its financials rather than any significant shift in operations.

Maersk grew its revenues by acquiring Hamburg Süd and selling off Maersk Oil, but reported negative earnings on increased fuel prices and low spot rates.

On Tuesday, German logistics and postal provider DHL posted disappointing earnings for the 1st quarter of 2018, with headwinds from currency and the sale of one of its supply chain subsidiaries leading to a decline in revenue to 14.75 billion euros

ts best performance in year-over-year increases in revenue per hundredweight (excluding fuel surcharge) in years was not enough to turn a first quarter profit for YRC Worldwide.

USA Truck posts a strong first quarter earnings continuing its torrid turnaround pace.

NS had weak operating metrics in the first quarter, but strong performance. Hub sees a strong pricing environment for the rails.

Even with a higher cost burden, it still managed an improvement in its operating ratio.

Echol Global Logistics a 3PL based in Chicago busts through earnings estimates in the first quarter. A combination of market conditions and productivity improvements paved the way.

The year 2018 is shaping up as one  not seen in trucking in more than a decade, explained Chris Lofgren, CEO of Schneider National, on the company’s earnings call on Thursday morning.

The company is moving fast in an effort to stay on top of trends, to see industry changes as opportunities, and to continue to act offensively.

Knight-Swift’s revenues stabilized despite fewer trucks and shorter length of haul, and the two brands managed to increase their efficiency and improve operating ratios.

Covenant Transportation Group saw revenue and earnings increase and predicted that the second quarter presents an even bigger opportunity for the carrier.

Prices for used vehicles are expected by the company to stay flat for the remainder of the year.

The company takes in less revenue, makes more profits and is off a federal watch list. 

The first major transportation provider out of the box with first-quarter earnings has posted a better-than-expected result in revenues with J.B. Hunt Transport Services topped revenue estimates for the quarter.

Truck sales, indices, stock price projections: all are looking bullish

New management addresses analysts with a pile of back earnings.

FreightWaves adds stock tickers for publicly traded stocks in the freight space

General Mills is citing higher freight costs as a reason for lower than expected earning. This is not an uncommon issue in today’s marketplace. There could be solutions coming in the future. 

Strong revenue and profit numbers, but margins are challenged from a few years ago.