THOMASVILLE, N.C. — Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. has announced record profits for the third quarter of 2021.
The company’s revenue growth of 32.3% included a 15.7% increase in less-then-truckload (LTL) revenue per hundredweight and a 13.7% increase in LTL tons, according to a news release.
Greg C. Gantt, Old Dominion’s president and CEO, said that the increase in quarterly revenue “reflects the strength of the domestic economy and unprecedented demand for our best-in-class service. Our superior service offering and available network capacity are fundamental qualities that differentiate Old Dominion in the marketplace and support our ongoing ability to win market share.”
The increase in LTL tons was the result of a 19.4% increase in LTL shipments that was partially offset by a 4.8% decrease in LTL weight per shipment, the news release said. The decrease in weight per shipment was primarily due to our continuing efforts to reduce the number of heavy-weighted shipments in our network to preserve capacity and improve our operating efficiency.
“These efforts, as well as the 0.8% increase in average length of haul, also had the effect of increasing our reported yield metrics,” Gantt said. “The 10.1% increase in LTL revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharges, reflects the changes in the mix of our freight as well as the success of our long-term pricing strategy that focuses on individual account profitability.”
Gantt further stated that Old Dominion’s operating ratio “improved to a company record of 72.6% for the third quarter of 2021. We improved many of our cost categories as a percent of revenue during the quarter due to the leverage created by our balanced revenue growth as well as improvements in our operating efficiency.”
Gantt added: “Our operating supplies and expenses, however, increased as a percent of revenue due primarily to the significant increase in fuel prices. We also increased our use of purchased transportation during the third quarter to supplement the capacity of our workforce. The average number of full-time employees increased 20.9% as compared to the third quarter of 2020, and we intend to continue hiring additional employees during the fourth quarter to support our volume growth and reduce our reliance on purchased transportation.”
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