Finance

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

The digital freight platform has a big market share in China, is growing its revenue but remains unprofitable.

It seems that centralized buying and local product discovery are polar opposites. How can Whole Foods centralize buying and get better at the local level?

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

A commonly seen financial term — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) — and why it’s used is explained.

The best-in-class retailers navigated well, and managed to grow inventory considerably in the first months of the year.

Consumers reversion to services has not come at the detriment of durable goods spending. Over the past four weeks, the mix of durable goods-to-services spending has remained stable.

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.

FreightWaves raised $16 million to support its Carbon Intelligence platform.

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.

“First Class I railroad in North America to issue green bonds,” Norfolk Southern shares plans for environmental projects.

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.

The company says it will continue to work with shareholders as it evaluates future compensation plans.

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.

The Teamsters union is seeking executive compensation reform at XPO.

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

Analysts are looking at various explanations for why the number of drivers today is lower than it was two years ago.

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.

Nikola was early to the SPAC party. Now it is among the first to take a paper loss on stock warrants by following stricter SEC guidelines.

There is a small window for new loans to underserved communities, but after spending of about $800 billion, the cupboard is bare.

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.

Truckload shippers are accepting double-digit rate hikes in 2021 and further increases in 2022, Deutsche Bank’s lead transport analyst says.

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.

Forward Air announced it has entered an agreement to acquire expedited transportation and less-than-truckload provider J&P Hall Express.

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.

The brokerage will pour money into new tech, new modes and new people.

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.

Less-than-truckload carrier Yellow announced it is taking delivery of the next wave of equipment, which has been facilitated by the CARES Act loan it received in 2020.

As TriumphPay gets set to bring in HubTran, a business with lots of companies may become one with far fewer firms.

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.

FreightWaves introduces FreightWaves Carbon Intelligence. Learn more here!

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.