P.A.M. profit, revenue rise in second quarter

Tontitown-based carrier P.A.M. Transportation Services Inc. posted double-digit increases in revenue and earnings as it navigated disruptions and grew organically in the second quarter.

After the markets closed Thursday (July 28), P.A.M. reported second-quarter earnings rose by 57.9% to $24.18 million, or $1.08 per share, from $15.31 million, or 67 cents per share, in the same period last year. Revenue rose by 47.1% to $237.16 million, from $161.26 million.

In the first half of the year, earnings increased by 76.5% to $48.12 million, or $2.14 per share, from $27.26 million, or $1.19 per share, in the same period last year. Revenue rose by 47.2% to $456.61 million, from $310.12 million.

In the second quarter, logistics operations revenue rose by 44.4% to $68.04 million, from $47.13 million. In the first half, the revenue rose by 51.4% to $139.15 million, from $91.91 million in the same period last year.

“There continued to be significant disruptions in the quarter from customer downtime, supplier parts/labor challenges and the well-publicized changes to the overall trucking freight market,” said President Joe Vitiritto. “Even with those challenges, our people did a solid job of navigating through the quarter. We continue to demonstrate the resiliency of our model while growing the business organically.

“We are also excited by our first acquisition in almost two decades,” he added. “We are looking forward to working with the high-quality team at Met Express and watching that team exceed expectations.”

On June 14, the P.A.M. subsidiary completed the purchase of family-owned carrier Metropolitan Trucking Inc. of Saddle Brook, N.J., for about $79.8 million, including debt. In a 12-month period ending March 31, the nearly 320-truck dry van truckload carrier generated about $83.3 million in revenue and an operating income of $13.5 million.

P.A.M. had 1,847 company trucks at the end of the second quarter, up from 1,602 at the same time in 2021. Over the same period, the number of owner-operator trucks rose by 10 to 381. Average truck and trailer age increased to 2.1 and 6.2 years, at the end of the second quarter, from 1.8 years and 5.5 years, respectively, at the end of 2021.

Following are other second-quarter numbers compared to the same period in 2021:

• Total loads rose to 94,870, from 89,840
• Revenue per mile increased to $2.72, from $2.11

Shares of P.A.M. (NASDAQ: PTSI) closed Thursday at $32.82, up $1.16 or 3.66%. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has ranged between $15.41 and $40.88.

BROADER TRENDS
Truckload freight volumes remained strong in June while spot market pricing was impacted by rising capacity levels, according to DAT Freight & Analytics.

The U.S. average price to move dry van freight on the spot market fell by 1 cent to $2.68 per mile in June, from May. Meanwhile, the U.S. average price to move dry van freight under contract increased by 1 cent to $3.29 per mile.

“Downward pressure on spot rates in June was driven by a combination of high fuel prices and a record number of trucks available for work,” said Ken Adamo, chief of analytics for DAT. “While small trucking companies and independent operators are exiting the market, it’s not for a lack of freight. Overall truckload volumes were strong in June as they were throughout the second quarter and now in the first half of July.”