Watch Now


SAIA reports decrease in revenue during second quarter

Trucking company CEO said after a dramatic drop in shipment volume in mid-March, trends improved in May and June.

Saia Inc. returned furloughed staff back to full-time hours and awarded a bonus of $250 to some employees during the second quarter. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Saia Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA) said second-quarter revenue was $418 million, down $46 million, or 9.9% from last year, according to financial results released on Wednesday.

The less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier also reported the revenue decline was driven by a 9.7% decline in shipment volume compared to the prior year.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruption and uncertainty for our business and our customers over the last few months,” said Fritz Holzgrefe, Saia president and chief executive officer, during the company’s second quarter earnings call on July 29.

Holzgrefe added, “though the outlook remains uncertain, we have demonstrated our ability to pivot and adapt to this increased volatility.”


Headquartered in the Atlanta suburb of Johns Creek, Georgia, Saia LTL Freight operates 169 terminals across 44 states.  

During the second quarter, the company reported:

  • Net income was $28.5 million, a 23% decrease compared to the same period in 2019 
  • Operating ratio of 91.5 compared to 89
  • LTL shipments per workday decreased 9.7%
  • LTL tonnage per workday decreased by 8.9%
  • LTL revenue per hundredweight decreased 0.6%
  • LTL revenue per shipment rose 0.3% to $235.08

The company had quarterly earnings of $1.07 per share, compared to earnings of $1.40 per share a year ago. However, the $1.07 per share beat consensus estimates of $0.89 per share for the quarter.

“Driven by our actions around COVID-19, including furloughs, these cost savings were somewhat offset by our 2019 July wage increase of approximately 3.5% and the employee growth related to the nine terminals we’ve added since the beginning of the second quarter last year,” said Douglas Col, Saia’s executive vice president and chief financial officer.


In April, Saia “temporarily re-aligned some sales functions, which included a furloughing of a small number of sales personnel,” according to Holzgrefe.

“As volumes improved through the quarter we were able to begin returning furloughed staff back to full-time hours and we were also able to award a special one-time bonus of $250 per employee to those employees who worked through the difficult conditions created by the pandemic,” Holzgrefe said.

Saia Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA) Q2 earnings and revenues

Click for more FreightWaves articles by Noi Mahoney.

More articles

Hurricane Hanna disrupts freight lanes in South Texas

Protesters end blockade at Pharr port of entry  

Chinese truck maker making big moves in Mexico


Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact [email protected]