ODFL

Old Dominion Freight Line announces a 4.9% general rate increase after reporting market stabilization in January.

Old Dominion reported continued LTL volume weakness in July. Near-term volume relief may be hard to come by as domestic and global macroeconomic trends remain tepid.

CEO Gantt lowered capex guidance by $10 million to $480 million, likely reflecting top line headwinds, but we’re waiting to hear updated revenue guidance in the conference call.

ODFL spends money on aggressive capex building out its network of service centers and maintaining a low tractor-to-trailer ratio, as well as, increasingly, share buybacks.

LTL space in Northeast will be at premium once NEMF goes out. Here’s how everyone is adjusting to the new reality.

Old Dominion’s operating ratio (OR) improved 520 basis points in the fourth quarter, moving from 83.9 percent to 78.7 percent year-over-year. This is the third quarter in a row the company has posted an OR under 80 percent.

OD’s top line revenue grew 21.2% year over year to $1.06B and earnings per share swelled 71% to $2.12. Even more impressively, Old Dominion achieved a 78.4% operating ratio, a company (and possibly industry) record and 280 bps improvement over Q3 2017.

After strong fourth-quarter earnings results, weather and other external forces are expected to weigh on earnings reports in the first quarter, resulting in a mixed bag for public companies.