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First look: ArcBest’s Q2 misses consensus

LTL unit records 89.8% adjusted operating ratio

ArcBest will host a conference call at 9:30 a.m. EDT on Friday to discuss second-quarter results. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Click for full report – “ArcBest’s Q2 results muted by headwinds in asset-light unit”

ArcBest reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.98, 8 cents below the consensus estimate but 44 cents higher year over year. The result excluded items considered nonrecurring like costs tied to technology pilots and acquisition-related expenses.

ArcBest’s (NASDAQ: ARCB) asset-based segment, which includes results from its less-than-truckload subsidiary ABF Freight, reported revenue of $713 million, a 2% y/y decline on a per-day comparison. Tonnage per day was down 20% but revenue per hundredweight, or yield, increased 23%. The tonnage decline was the combination of a 5% decline in daily shipments and a 16% decline in weight per shipment.

The company is in the process of swapping transactional freight that carries a lower margin profile with shipments from its core customers, which carry higher yields. Shipments from core accounts increased 14% y/y (tonnage was 11% higher).

The unit recorded an 89.8% adjusted operating ratio, 300 basis points better y/y.


Asset-based revenue per day was up 1% y/y in July as tonnage fell 13% and yield improved 16%.

The asset-light unit, which includes truck brokerage, reported a $2.5 million adjusted operating loss in the period. Revenue was down 3% y/y to $396 million. Shipments per day increased 13%, with revenue per shipment down by a mid-teen percentage. A mix shift toward managed transportation and a weak overall truckload market are weighing on yields. The y/y declines in revenue per shipment narrowed as the quarter progressed and into July, which was down 10% y/y.

The company expects to book a similar operating loss in the unit during the third quarter.

ArcBest will host a conference call at 9:30 a.m. EDT on Friday to discuss second-quarter results. Stay tuned to FreightWaves for continuing coverage of ArcBest’s earnings report.


Click for full report – “ArcBest’s Q2 results muted by headwinds in asset-light unit”

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden

Todd Maiden

Based in Richmond, VA, Todd is the finance editor at FreightWaves. Prior to joining FreightWaves, he covered the TLs, LTLs, railroads and brokers for RBC Capital Markets and BB&T Capital Markets. Todd began his career in banking and finance before moving over to transportation equity research where he provided stock recommendations for publicly traded transportation companies.