Roadrunner Earnings to Fall Short of Expectations
A total of 14 cents per share of the shortfall was tied to injury and contractor costs, with the rest tied to continuing soft demand and weak rates.
The announcement by Roadrunner, which is based in Cudahy, Wisconsin, is the fourth profit warning issued about third-quarter results, following statements from Swift Transportation, Universal Truckload Services and Ryder System.
“Our truckload, less-than-truckload and intermodal services saw continuing soft demand,” Roadrunner CEO Mark DiBlasi said. “July volumes were weaker than normal, and we did not see the typical rebound in August and September, resulting in lower volumes than anticipated.”
Roadrunner, which ranks No. 17 on the Transport Topics Top 100 For-Hire Carriers in the United States and Canada, reports results on Nov. 5.
Drought and bird flu hurt truckload results, and intermodal as well as LTL volumes were worse than expected. Rates were weak as well.
"We do not currently foresee a significant rebound in demand characteristics or pricing in the fourth quarter,” DiBlasi said, setting a fourth-quarter earnings forecast of 31 cents to 35 cents per share, which trails the average analyst estimate by at least 5 cents per share.
