Landstar System Posts Another Record Quarter
Landstar System reported a big bump in business, posting record earnings and revenue in the third quarter.
The Jacksonville, Fla.-based trucking company said it earned $66.9 million, or $1.63 a share, in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with $42.4 million, or $1.01, in the same period a year ago. Revenue jumped 27% to $1.2 billion from $943 million last year.
“Demand for our services continued to be strong in the 2018 third quarter,” CEO Jim Gattoni said in a statement Oct. 24. “I am extremely pleased with Landstar’s financial performance.”
Gattoni said the company hauled a record number of loads by truck in the latest quarter and the number of trucks provided by independent owner-operators also set a record of 10,443.
Volume increased across the board with truckload van shipments increasing 7% to 353,456 loads, flatbed shipments increasing 5% to 133,425 loads and less-than-truckload shipments also gaining 5% to 35,969 loads. Rail intermodal shipments grew 21.1% to 13,420 loads and shipments moving via air and ocean carriers increased 32.4% to 8,220 loads.
Tight capacity in the market is allowing freight carriers to raise prices and Landstar said its revenue per load for truck transportation jumped 19.4% to $2,139 in the third quarter of 2018 from $1,791 a year ago.
Likewise, rail intermodal revenue per load increased 17.4% to $2,566 in 2018 from $2,185 in 2017.
Gattoni said he expects rate increases to moderate in the weeks ahead with gains in truck revenue per load in the fourth quarter “in the upper single-digit percentage range.”
The company also is projecting an increase in the number of loads hauled by truck in the fourth quarter in the range of 8% to 10% and revenue to be between $1.18 billion and $1.23 billion, which would be another record.
Landstar ranks No. 10 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 42 on the TT Top 50 list of largest logistics companies in North America.
