Marten Transport’s operating ratio improved to 96.7% in Q4 from 97.9% in the previous quarter, the carrier reported in an earnings presentation last week, despite a painful nosedive in full-year earnings.

Operating income was $4.3 million in Q3 and $6.7 million in Q4, both year-over-year declines for those quarters. Overall, operating income for the year was $33.2 million, a 63% decrease YoY.

The sequential improvement came as the company works to minimize sluggish freight market impacts and looks toward the next freight cycle.

“We are encouraged by this quarter being the first quarter with sequential improvement in each of our net income, operating income and operating ratio, net of fuel surcharges, since the second quarter of 2022,” Executive Chairman Randolph Marten said in an earnings release.

The freight recession has tanked profits for carriers following pandemic-induced highs. That’s crashed profits for carriers such as Marten, whose annual operating incomes from 2010 through 2023 were all higher than what it posted for 2024.

“We continue to focus on minimizing the freight market’s impact on our operations while investing in and positioning our operations to capitalize on profitable organic growth opportunities, with fair compensation for our premium services,” Marten said.

The carrier is seeing increased interest from customers to secure dedicated capacity, an earnings presentation said, but the company didn’t immediately return a message seeking further comment.