Forward Air says tonnage has moved further into positive territory through the fourth quarter.
The corporate’s expedited segment, which incorporates less-than-truckload operations, saw a 5.5% year-over-year (y/y) increase in tons per day through the first two months of the fourth quarter, Forward Air said in an update issued Wednesday after the market closed. The result follows a slight decline within the third quarter.
Weight per shipment jumped 11% y/y and revenue per shipment was 2.6% higher within the October-November period. The corporate did face a straightforward tonnage comparison to the identical period last 12 months (down 11.9%).
On its third-quarter call at the tip of October, Forward said tonnage first turned positive in September and was up roughly 6% y/y in October.
“We proceed to grow our LTL tonnage, and give attention to top quality freight, as reflected within the increased weight per shipment,” said Forward Chairman, President and CEO Tom Schmitt. “At the identical time, we’re ensuring we’re getting paid more per shipment. This all reflects our Grow Forward strategy of focusing our best-in-class service on high value freight, operating in a cleansed network, and pricing appropriately.”
Schmitt said revenue per ton mile was up 1.8% y/y excluding fuel surcharges thus far within the quarter.
![](https://www.freightwaves.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/06/LTL-table.jpg)
Forward (NASDAQ: FWRD) previously said it had seen a small profit from Yellow’s closure. Forward primarily serves customers with time-definite shipment needs unlike Yellow did. Nevertheless, it has seen a rise in long-haul demand and events-related shipments through 3PLs since Yellow’s exit.
Forward stays in a legal dispute over a controversial merger attempt with freight forwarder Omni Logistics.
Forward alleges Omni has failed to satisfy certain pre-closing conditions and that Omni’s inaccurate financial projections have resulted in an inadequate financing structure for the transaction. Omni maintains it hasn’t misrepresented anything and that it has complied with all pre-closing requirements. A Delaware court is anticipated to carry a hearing on the matter on Jan. 19.
Shares of FWRD were up 1.7% in after-hours trading on Wednesday. The stock is off greater than 40% because the merger was announced in August.
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