FedEx Freight Reports $153 Million Loss

William B. Cassidy | Jun 16, 2010 4:27PM GMT
The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story
LTL| Trucking| United States


Shipping volume increases, but price discounting cuts into earnings
FedEx Freight's losses more than tripled in the fiscal year ending May 31, as steep price discounting in 2009 cut deeply into its earnings, despite market share gains.

The less-than-truckload carrier reported a $153 million loss on $4.3 billion in revenue for its fiscal year, compared with a $44 million loss on $4.4 billion in sales the previous year.

The company did narrow its losses in the fourth quarter, as LTL carriers called a truce in their price war and began trying to prune unprofitable freight from their books.

FedEx Freight lost $36 million on $1.23 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter, compared with a $106 million loss a year ago, when sales totaled $948 million.

Over the past year, FedEx Freight became the largest stand-alone LTL carrier in the nation, passing YRC Worldwide's nationwide LTL subsidiary YRC in sales.

Its shipment volume increased 11 percent for the full year, rising from 74,400 shipments to 82,300 shipments per day. LTL yield, however, dropped 10 percent for the year.

In the February-to-June quarter, daily LTL shipments increased 34 percent at FedEx Freight. The company's LTL yield declined, but at a lower rate than in the third quarter.

Revenue per hundredweight fell 6 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with 8 percent in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, FedEx Freight handled 91,500 shipments a day.