ArcBest details early 2025 declines in shipping, freight rates

The manufacturing sector weakness and nationwide freight recession pricing that hampered ArcBest’s financials in 2024 are continuing into 2025, according to the Fort Smith-based shipping and logistics company.

ArcBest on Jan. 31 reported fourth quarter net income of $29.03 million, down 40.5% compared with $48.79 million in the same quarter of 2023. Revenue in the quarter was $1 billion, below $1.08 billion in the 2023 quarter and below the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion.

For the year, ArcBest had net income of $173.96 million, down 11% compared with $195.43 million in 2023. Revenue for the year was $4.17 billion, down from $4.42 billion in 2023. Revenue per shipment fell 1% in 2024, and tonnage shipped was down 14.3%. The company said it cut “less than 30” corporate jobs in the fourth quarter of 2024 in response to weaker economic conditions.

The company provided Monday (March 10) in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) details on January and February shipping and revenue compared with the same period in 2024.

The company said billed revenue per day at ABF Freight, its less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier, was down 2.9% in January and down 2% in February compared with the same months in 2024. Total billed revenue per shipment was down 1.2% in January and down 2% in February.

“For first quarter-to-date 2025, the Asset-Based segment experienced a decline in daily tonnage and shipment levels compared to the same period last year,” the company noted in the SEC filing. “The ongoing softness in the manufacturing economy and low truckload prices have led to a reduction in heavier-weight LTL shipments and fewer household goods moves. This has resulted in a lower weight per shipment but higher revenue per hundredweight. However, lower fuel prices are offsetting this increase. Excluding fuel surcharges, revenue per hundredweight increased in the mid-single digits.”

Billed revenue per hundredweight, a key metric in the trucking sector, was up 7% in January and unchanged in February compared with the same months in 2024.

On the logistics — asset-light — side, the company reported revenue per day was down 7.1% in January and down 7% in February. Revenue per shipment was down 3.6% in January and down 6% in February.

“For first quarter-to-date 2025, the asset-light segment saw a year-over-year decrease in daily revenue, primarily due to lower shipments per day from winter weather and a strategic reduction in less profitable truckload volumes, that is offsetting the continued strength in managed (business),” the company noted. “The reduction in revenue per shipment was from soft freight market conditions and a higher proportion of managed business, which typically involves smaller shipment sizes and lower revenue per shipment.”

The weaker economic conditions are not stopping ArcBest from investing in infrastructure. The company paid $11.5 million to buy former Yellow Freight terminals in Kent, Wash., and Aurora, Colo., according to a March 7 report from Trucking Dive.

ArcBest shares (NASDAQ: ARCB) closed Monday at $74.19, down $1.06. The filing noting January and February shipping and pricing trends was posted after the markets closed. During the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged between $71.57 and $153.60.