Marten Transport Profit Fell as Dedicated Margins Weakened
Second-quarter operating revenue declined 2.8% to $223.5 million.
Marten Transport (MRTN), the trucking company, reported a 25.7% drop in second-quarter net income to $5.3 million as weakness in its dedicated business outweighed improving truckload productivity. Diluted earnings fell to $0.07 a share from $0.09.
Profit improved sharply from the first quarter, with net income rising 286.3% from $1.4 million. Its retained truckload, dedicated and brokerage businesses each posted sequential profitability gains as tighter freight capacity helped it secure higher customer pricing.
The revenue comparison reflected the September 2023 sale of Marten's intermodal operations, which contributed $11.7 million a year earlier. Revenue excluding fuel surcharges fell 9.1% to $185.2 million, while higher fuel-surcharge revenue partly offset that decline.
Truckload revenue rose 9.2% to $116.3 million, though revenue excluding fuel surcharges edged up just 0.3%. The business generated more revenue from a smaller fleet: weekly revenue excluding fuel surcharges per tractor increased 9.1% as average tractors declined 8.1%.
Dedicated was the main drag. Revenue fell 6.4% to $67.3 million, and operating income dropped 55.1% to $2.4 million. Its operating ratio deteriorated to 96.4% from 92.4% as average tractors fell 16.6%.
Brokerage revenue was nearly flat even as loads increased 2.1%, while operating income declined 23.6% and the operating ratio worsened to 94.8%.
Companywide operating income fell 29.0% to $6.9 million, a steeper decline than revenue, and the consolidated operating ratio deteriorated 1.1 percentage points to 96.9%.
Marten ended the quarter with a tractor fleet 13.8% smaller than a year earlier, while the average tractor age rose to 2.5 years. The intermodal exit removed a business that had produced a $735,000 operating loss in the year-earlier quarter, leaving the pace of improvement dependent on the profitability of Marten's three retained operations.