ArcBest Posts Record Revenue, Profits
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ArcBest Corp. capitalized on tight capacity in the freight market to post large second-quarter gains in profit and revenue.
The Fort Smith, Ark.-based logistics company said Q2 net income rose 284% to $61 million from $15.9 million in the same period a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share rose to $2.27 from 61 cents, and the motor carrier’s operating income soared 264% to $74.3 million from $20.4 million.
Revenue rose 51% to $949 million from $627.4 million a year earlier.
Press Release: ArcBest Announces Second Quarter 2021 Results https://t.co/lP1iym3OoY pic.twitter.com/Sc2o9ohtjS — ArcBest (@ArcBestCorp) August 2, 2021
“Our strong results for the first half of 2021 reflect our tireless execution in a period of extremely tight capacity and high demand. We’re seeing our approach pay off,” ArcBest CEO Judy McReynolds said in an Aug. 2 statement.
The company said Q2 was the second consecutive quarter in which it posted record revenue and profits. But it also noted that comparisons to Q2 2020 were wide-reaching because of the slumping economy a year ago.
Nonetheless, ArcBest benefited from “the strength of business from core customers, along with unseasonable demand for household goods moving services, which was earlier in the year than normal,” the company said.
Its asset-based business segment saw Q2 revenue rise to $652.8 million compared with $460.1 million a year earlier. That represented a per-day increase of 41.9%. Total tonnage per day increased 22.7%, the company said.
Total shipments per day rose 13.5%, while total billed revenue per hundredweight increased 15.4% and was positively impacted by higher fuel surcharges.
Operating income for the segment rose to $63.9 million compared with $21 million. The operating ratio — the percentage expenses represent of revenue — improved to 90.2 from 95.4.
The company’s asset-light business segment saw Q2 revenue rise to $330.3 million from $197.9 million, a per-day increase of 66.9%. It posted operating income of $16.3 million compared to $2.1 million in the same period a year earlier. The operating income included a $6.9 million gain on the sale of the labor services portion of the Asset-Light moving business.
“We are experiencing a strong start to 2021,” McReynolds said.
ArcBest ranks No. 15 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
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