Old Dominion Profit Plummets 55 Percent

Old Dominion Freight Line earned a profit of $10.7 million in the second quarter, down 55 percent from a year ago, as tonnage declined and competitive pricing drove the operating ratio up.

Revenue for the quarter was $316.2 million compared with $417.8 million for the second quarter of 2008, down 24 percent. Old Dominion’s operating ratio was 93.2 percent for the second quarter of 2009 versus 89.7 percent a year earlier.

“The decline in our second quarter revenue was attributable to a decline in our tonnage, consistent with the overall LTL industry, and a reduction in our fuel surcharges that resulted from the decrease in the price of diesel fuel,” said Executive Chairman Earl Congdon. “Tonnage decreased 14.6 percent for the second quarter of 2009 compared to the same quarter of 2008, some of which may have resulted from pricing decisions. Despite this decrease, we have maintained our relative market share thus far in 2009.”

Despite the difficult freight environment, ODFL pushed forward in building its service center network capacity through the opening of new service centers and expansion of facilities. As a result, capital expenditures for the first half of 2009 were $130 million, more than two-thirds of planned $190 million in capital expenditures for the full year.

Contact Thomas L. Gallagher at tgallagher@joc.com.