Major publicly traded U.S. trucking carriers reported improved second-quarter earnings, with executives pointing to a supply-driven market shift after several difficult years. Schneider National raised its full-year earnings guidance following a quarter in which adjusted income from operations climbed 29% to $73 million. Werner Enterprises posted a 24% jump in revenue to $934 million, citing its strongest revenue-per-truck growth in a decade, while Knight-Swift Transportation grew revenue 12.6% to $2.1 billion as truckload segment operating income nearly doubled.
Werner CEO Derek Leathers attributed tightening capacity to intensifying regulatory enforcement around non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses, English language proficiency requirements, and cabotage rules, along with a wave of electronic logging device providers losing certification or exiting the market. Executives at Knight-Swift and Schneider said the resulting reduction in what they described as irrational capacity is still in its early stages.
Other carriers reported similar gains. Landstar System's quarterly revenue rose 18% year over year, with load volume outperforming seasonal norms for the first time in five years. On the less-than-truckload side, Old Dominion Freight Line and Saia both posted double-digit revenue growth, with Saia setting a company revenue record.
Alongside the improved results, fleet leaders flagged a renewed shortage of qualified drivers. J.B. Hunt Transport Services said driver availability in some markets is as tight as it has ever been, prompting added sign-on bonuses and wage increases. Schneider said the national longhaul driver population remains well below long-term averages. Werner Enterprises said it is using artificial intelligence tools to match drivers with regional demand and recently pledged to hire 1,400 military veterans over the next year.
Source: Truck News -- https://www.trucknews.com/transportation/fleet-results-on-the-upswing-in-q2-as-are-concerns-about-drivers/1003219312/