ArcBest reveals decrease in shipping and freight rates in early 2025
ArcBest has reported a continuation of the manufacturing sector’s weakness and a recession in nationwide freight pricing from 2024 into 2025. The Fort Smith-based shipping and logistics company disclosed a decrease in fourth-quarter net income, dropping by 40.5% to $29.035 million from the previous year’s $48.79 million. Quarterly revenue also fell to $1.001 billion, below 2023’s $1.089 billion and the estimated $1.01 billion.
In the full year of 2024, ArcBest’s net income declined by 11% to $173.961 million from $195.433 million in 2023. Total revenue for the year dropped to $4.179 billion from $4.427 billion. The company noted a 1% decrease in revenue per shipment and a 14.3% decrease in tonnage shipped for 2024. As a response to weakening economic conditions, ArcBest eliminated “less than 30” corporate jobs in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provide details on January and February shipping and revenue comparisons to the same period in 2024. Billed revenue per day at ABF Freight, the company’s less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier, saw a 2.9% decrease in January and a 2% drop in February year-over-year. Total billed revenue per shipment also fell by 1.2% in January and 2% in February.
ArcBest highlighted key trends for the first quarter of 2025, showcasing a decline in daily tonnage and shipment levels in the Asset-Based segment compared to the same period last year. Factors such as the manufacturing economy’s continued softness and low truckload prices led to reduced heavier weight LTL shipments and fewer household goods moves. However, the company saw higher revenue per hundredweight, with lower fuel prices offsetting the increase. Excluding fuel surcharges, revenue per hundredweight grew in the mid-single digits.
Billed revenue per hundredweight rose by 7% in January and remained stable in February compared to the same months in 2024. On the asset-light logistics side, daily revenue experienced a 7.1% decline in January and a 7% decrease in February. Revenue per shipment was also down by 3.6% in January and 6% in February.
The company acknowledged the impact of winter weather and a strategic reduction in less profitable truckload volumes on revenue per day in the Asset-Light segment for the first quarter of 2025. Despite challenging market conditions, ArcBest remains committed to infrastructure investments, recently acquiring former Yellow Freight terminals in Kent, Wash., and Aurora, Colo., for $11.5 million, as reported by Trucking Dive.
ArcBest’s shares (NASDAQ: ARCB) closed at $74.19 on Monday, reflecting the recent filing on shipping and pricing trends for January and February. Despite ongoing economic challenges, the company continues to navigate market conditions strategically while focusing on its long-term growth and sustainability.
