19 hours ago
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Todd Maiden
Wed, June 3, 2026 astatine 9:34 AM CDT 3 min read
Old Dominion Freight Line saw further betterment successful its operating metrics during May, arsenic the less-than-truckload manufacture is present seeing a request bump from the concern economy.
The Thomasville, North Carolina-based institution reported a 12.3% year-over-year summation successful gross per time during the month. The effect outpaced a antecedently reported 7.6% gross summation successful April. May tonnage was down conscionable 3.8% y/y (down 6.1% successful April), with output expanding astir 16% during the month.
Through the archetypal 2 months of the quarter, Old Dominion’s output accrued 15.6% y/y inclusive of substance surcharges (up 5.4% excluding fuel).
The revenue-based metrics are being positively influenced by a runup successful diesel substance prices. Less-than-truckload substance surcharge programs see a measurement relation arsenic diesel prices rise, typically resulting successful borderline accretion.
On a two-year-stacked comparison, Old Dominion’s (NASDAQ: ODFL) tonnage was disconnected 12% successful May, which was an betterment from a 15% diminution successful April. The carrier’s per-day tonnage appears to person troughed successful the archetypal quarter.
“Old Dominion produced coagulated gross maturation for the archetypal 2 months of the 2nd quarter,” said President and CEO Marty Freeman successful a quality release. “While our LTL tons per time declined connected a year-over-year ground successful some April and May, request has continued to amended arsenic the 4th has progressed.”
Manufacturing information released Monday showed concern enactment was affirmative for a 5th consecutive period successful May. The Purchasing Managers’ Index registered a 54 speechmaking for the month, which was 130 ground points higher than April. (A speechmaking supra 50 signals expansion, portion 1 beneath 50 indicates contraction.) The May speechmaking was the highest for the dataset successful 4 years.
The caller orders subindex—an indicator of aboriginal activity—came successful astatine 56.8, 270 bps higher sequentially. (Inflections successful PMI information usually pb LTL volumes by a fewer months.)
Old Dominion’s shipment weights are up astir 1.5% y/y truthful acold successful the quarter. Heavier shipments are a motion that the marketplace is turning and often pb to borderline improvement.
The bearer antecedently guided to 300 to 350 bps of sequential operating borderline betterment successful the 2nd quarter, which is successful enactment with its humanities borderline progression. The forecast implies a 73% operating ratio (inverse of operating margin) astatine the midpoint of the range, which would beryllium 160 bps amended y/y and the archetypal meaningful y/y betterment since 2022.
“We stay assured successful our quality to triumph marketplace stock and thrust profitable gross maturation implicit the semipermanent arsenic we proceed to execute connected the cardinal elements of our strategical plan,” Freeman said.
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