Saia's Third-Quarter Net Income, Revenue Decline
Declining tonnage and rising wage bills led regional less-than-truckload carrier Saia Inc. to a third quarter of diminished profitability and revenue.
The Johns Creek, Georgia, LTL carrier earned $11.78 million, or 46 cents a share, on quarterly revenue of $317.2 million. During the three months ended Sept. 30, 2014, the company earned $16.28 million, or 64 cents, on revenue of $332.5 million.
"Our disappointing third-quarter results were primarily the result of declining tonnage trends during the quarter, which made it difficult to offset higher investments in driver wages,” CEO Rick O’Dell said in the company’s Oct. 28 earnings statement.
“Additionally, we incurred increased expenses associated with self-insurance claims. In this type of volume environment, we will more aggressively manage costs and maintain a constant focus on mix management to ensure that proper compensatory pricing is in place," O'Dell added.
Quarterly operating ratio deteriorated to 93.7 from 91.8. OR measures expenses as a percentage of revenue and, like a golf score, lower is better.
LTL revenue per hundredweight, a measure of yield, increased to $15.51 from $15.17 in last year’s corresponding quarter.
LTL revenue per shipment dipped by 0.5% to $175.77, whereas truckload revenue per shipment lost 1.4% to $820.
Both LTL and truckload shipment weights dipped year-over-year, but average length of haul increased to 773 miles from 766.
