Forward Air says tonnage has moved further into positive territory during the fourth quarter.
The company’s expedited segment, which includes less-than-truckload operations, saw a 5.5% year-over-year (y/y) increase in tons per day during the first two months of the fourth quarter, Forward Air said in an update issued Wednesday after the market closed. The result follows a slight decline in the third quarter.
Weight per shipment jumped 11% y/y and revenue per shipment was 2.6% higher in the October-November period. The company did face an easy tonnage comparison to the same period last year (down 11.9%).
On its third-quarter call at the end of October, Forward said tonnage first turned positive in September and was up roughly 6% y/y in October.
“We continue to grow our LTL tonnage, and focus on high quality freight, as reflected in the increased weight per shipment,” said Forward Chairman, President and CEO Tom Schmitt. “At the same time, we are making sure we are getting paid more per shipment. This all reflects our Grow Forward strategy of focusing our best-in-class service on high value freight, operating in a cleansed network, and pricing appropriately.”
Schmitt said revenue per ton mile was up 1.8% y/y excluding fuel surcharges so far in the quarter.
Forward (NASDAQ: FWRD) previously said it had seen a small benefit from Yellow’s closure. Forward primarily serves customers with time-definite shipment needs unlike Yellow did. However, it has seen an increase in long-haul demand and events-related shipments through 3PLs since Yellow’s exit.
Forward remains in a legal dispute over a controversial merger attempt with freight forwarder Omni Logistics.
Forward alleges Omni has failed to meet certain pre-closing conditions and that Omni’s inaccurate financial projections have resulted in an inadequate financing structure for the transaction. Omni maintains it hasn’t misrepresented anything and that it has complied with all pre-closing requirements. A Delaware court is expected to hold a hearing on the matter on Jan. 19.
Shares of FWRD were up 1.7% in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The stock is off more than 40% since the merger was announced in August.
More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden
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