Expeditors’ Fourth-Quarter Profit Declines

Logistics firm Expeditors International of Washington said Tuesday its fourth-quarter profit fell from a year ago on a decline in volume.

Net income decreased to $84.2 million, or 40 cents a share, from $93 million, or 43 cents, a year ago.

Revenue rose 2% to $1.53 billion. Year-over-year airfreight volume rose 5% and ocean freight volume fell 6%.

Its full-year net earnings fell 14% to $333 million, and revenue fell 4% to $1.82 billion, according to the logistics firm. Earnings per share fell to $1.57 from $1.79.

“The market has been challenged throughout the year by air carriers reducing capacity to optimize their pricing and load factors as market volumes declined, primarily in the high-tech and computer industry, traditionally among the prime users of airfreight space,” CEO Peter Rose said in a statement.

Seattle-based Expeditors International of Washington is ranked No. 14 on the Transport Topics Logistics 50 listing of North American logistics companies.