Knight-Swift eyes more than $525 million in capex

North America’s largest truckload transportation company posted a second-quarter net income of $91.6 million.    Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc., North America’s largest truckload transportation company, posted a net income of $91.6 million for the second quarter of 2018 on total revenues of $1.3 billion, up from a net income of $18.3 million and total revenues of $247 million for last year’s second quarter.
   However, due to the accounting requirements associated with the merger transaction between Knight and Swift, the 2017 figures represent only Knight Transportation’s historically reported results, Knight-Swift Transportation Chief Financial Officer Adam Miller said on the earnings call Wednesday.
   The two Phoenix-based trucking giants announced their merger plans in April 2017, and the deal was finalized in September 2017.
   Total revenues for this year’s second quarter, when compared with the combination of what each entity separately reported in the second quarter of 2017, were only up 5.2 percent, Miller explained.
   Knight-Swift expects net capital expenditures for 2018 will range between $525 million and $575 million, primarily representing replacements of existing tractors and trailers.
   Knight-Swift operates with a fleet of roughly 23,000 tractors and 77,000 trailers and employs about 28,000 people, providing truckload and logistics services throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada.
   Despite the acquisition of Abilene Motor Express in the first quarter of this year, Knight-Swift continued to deleverage its balance sheet, with its net debt decreasing to $743.7 million, down by $151.2 million since Dec. 31.