Watch Now


Pam Transportation’s Q1 earnings fall by half

Revenue per truck per week down 15%

Earnings reports from truckload carriers continue to show a market that is searching for the bottom. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Pam Transportation Services announced Monday after the market close that first-quarter earnings were roughly half the prior-year result.

The Tontitown, Arkansas-based truckload carrier reported adjusted net income of $12.7 million, or 57 cents per share. That compared to one analyst’s estimate of 42 cents per share and $1.18 a year ago. The adjusted number excluded $10 million, or 34 cents, in loss estimates for claims that are expected to settle above insurance policy limits.

Pam’s (NASDAQ: PTSI) consolidated revenue was down 1% year over year (y/y) excluding fuel surcharges, to $194 million.

Table: Pam Transportation’s key performance indicators

As the truckload market loosened and rates declined, so did the carrier’s TL metrics. Total TL revenue was 4% higher y/y, but average trucks in service increased by 18% primarily due to the June acquisition of Metropolitan Trucking.


Loaded miles were up 19%, but revenue per loaded mile (excluding fuel) was off 16% to $2.56.

The TL segment recorded a 99.3% operating ratio (the inverse of operating margin) and 92.8% excluding the $10 million loss, 1,140 basis points worse y/y. On a consolidated basis, salaries, wages and benefits, operating supplies, and insurance and claims expenses were up roughly 400 bps as a percentage of revenue.

The company’s logistics unit, which includes brokerage, reported a 4% decline in revenue to $68 million. The OR was basically flat y/y at 88.8%.

Pam ended the quarter with $194 million in cash, equity securities and availability on its revolver compared to outstanding debt of $251 million, a $13 million reduction since the close of 2022.


Chart: (SONAR: OTRI.USA). A proxy for truck capacity, the Outbound Tender Reject Index, shows the number of loads being rejected by carriers. The index has fallen to below 3% compared to a little more than a year ago when fleets were rejecting more than 20% of loads under contract. To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.

More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden

Reefer rejection rates rebound, but remain low at 3.4%

Todd Maiden

Based in Richmond, VA, Todd is the finance editor at FreightWaves. Prior to joining FreightWaves, he covered the TLs, LTLs, railroads and brokers for RBC Capital Markets and BB&T Capital Markets. Todd began his career in banking and finance before moving over to transportation equity research where he provided stock recommendations for publicly traded transportation companies.