The parent to less-than-truckload carrier ABF Freight and other trucking and logistics operations reported that its fourth quarter net income fell in both the final quarter of 2016 and all of last year.
ArcBest Corp. said on Wednesday that its fourth quarter 2016 net income totaled $1.6 million, or 6 cent per share, compared to fourth quarter 2015 net income of $5 million, or 19 per share. In contrast, revenue increased 6.2% to $688.2 million.
The company said its bottom line during the quarter was affected by a $10.3 million reorganization charge for impairment of software, contract and lease terminations and severance associated with its new corporate structure that was implemented beginning this year.
For all of 2016, ArcBest reported net income fell to $18.7 million, down from $44.9 million in 2015, as revenue increased slightly to $2.7 billion from $2.67 billion.
In the company's asset based operations, which includes ABF Freight, 2016 fourth quarter revenue of $482.1 million compared to $461 million, a per-day increase of 5.4%.
Tonnage per day increased 0.9% during the quarter while shipments per day increased 6.1%. Total billed revenue per hundredweight increased by 3.6%
ArcBest's asset-based services experienced higher average daily revenue resulting from increased revenue per hundredweight, according to a statement from the company.
“In the midst of a competitive but rational industry yield environment, ArcBest's asset-based pricing remained disciplined. In fourth quarter 2016, freight shipments grew at a faster rate than freight tonnage,” ArcBest said. “Thus, the average weight, and resulting revenue, of each shipment was below that of fourth quarter 2015. The shipment growth contributed to increased freight handling labor and purchased transportation costs."
The company's asset-light segment, which incudes its ABF Logistics, Panther, ABF Moving and FleetNet, reported revenue of $211.2 million in the fourth quarter compared to $191.5 million during the 2015 fourth quarter. Despite the increase,