Dive Brief:
- ArcBest boosted its demand pipeline by 35% since the start of the year as it posted a net loss in Q1, Chairman, President and CEO Judy McReynolds said on an earnings call last week.
- The Fort Smith, Arkansas-based freight and logistics company focused its sales teams on existing customers’ additional LTL, truckload and managed transportation opportunities, McReynolds said.
- “When we're doing business with our regular customers, that is more predictable and it allows better planning, labor planning, and it also enhances our ability to be productive,” which improves service, McReynolds said.
Dive Insight:
Accelerating growth is a pillar of ArcBest’s three-point corporate strategy, which also includes increasing efficiency and driving innovation.
Winning more business only becomes more important for trucking companies with every additional day the current freight trough lasts.
ArcBest reported a $2.9 million net loss from continuing operations in Q1, compared to an $18.8 million profit in Q1 2023, according to an earnings report. The loss included a $21.6 million after-tax, noncash impairment charge related to its equity investment in Phantom Auto, which ceased operations during the first quarter of 2024.
ArcBest saw its operating income fall 17% year over year to $43 million in a soft Q1, CFO Matt Beasley said on the call. Tonnage per day also decreased by 17% and daily shipments dropped by 6% YoY.
“However, our core LTL shipments and tonnage continued to grow,” Beasley said.
The company isn’t chasing freight, and Beasley described its pricing as disciplined. ArcBest recorded an average price increase of 5.3% on customer contract renewals in Q1, albeit a lower rate than the high single digits XPO reported in the quarter.
“As our core business is growing, we're making room for that business by raising prices on our transactional” business, which comes from ArcBest’s website or a customer’s TMS platform, VP of Yield Strategy and Management Christopher Adkins said.
