Dive Brief:
- P.A.M. Transportation Services posted an operating loss of $700,000 in Q1 as a challenging market persisted and weather disrupted operations for fleets.
- The company’s TL operating ratio, excluding fuel surcharges, increased from 103.7% in Q4 to 104.2% in Q1. That’s also up from a year ago when its quarterly operating ratio was 99.3%.
- The TL market was “characterized by shippers’ continued success in leveraging an overcapacity market to their advantage to attain rates at or below cost,” President Joe Vitiritto said in a news release.
Dive Insight:
P.A.M.’s logistics unit helped soften the hit to the company’s revenue for the quarter, bringing its overall operating ratio to 100.4%.
Its logistics unit’s operating revenue also improved slightly from Q4 to Q1, rising from less than $53 million to nearly $58.8 million.
The carrier was hit with challenges last year with the United Auto Workers strikes affecting manufacturers and suppliers.
As freight rates refused to rise, extreme winter weather in January posed another significant challenge to carriers. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings noted how subsequent gains were unable to offset losses from significantly impacted LTL volumes.
In contrast, the company’s Q1 2023 operating revenue was just under $8.5 million.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services also had a major hit in Q1, reporting that its quarterly operating income for its truckload unit dropped 75% year over year to $1.2 million.
“Spot rates have and continue to be under a lot of pressure,” said Brad Hicks, J.B. Hunt’s EVP of people and president of highway services, on an earnings call. “While some of the weather-driven tightness in January pressured gross margins, looser capacity in February and March helped recover, to some degree.”
