Old Dominion Freight Line issues November operating metrics update

Thomasville, N.C.-based national less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) recently provided guidance for key November operating metrics.

ODFL reported that November revenue per day fell 4.4% annually, related to a 10.0% decrease in LTL tons per day, which it said was partially offset by an increase in LTL revenue per hundredweight. The company said that the decline in LTL tons per day was due to a 9.4% decrease in LTL shipments per day and a 0.6% decrease in weight per shipment, excluding fuel surcharges. LTL revenue per hundredweight and LTL revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharges, rose 5.9% and 5.2%, respectively, on an annual basis.   

“Old Dominion’s revenue results for November reflect ongoing softness in the domestic economy, which contributed to a decrease in our volumes,” said Marty Freeman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Old Dominion. “We continued to deliver best-in-class service, which supports our yield management initiatives and ability to increase our LTL revenue per hundredweight. Our team will continue to focus on these core elements of our long-term strategic plan, which we believe has produced a strong track record of financial performance. This plan has also helped us create an unmatched value proposition that we believe will support our ability to win market share and increase shareholder value over the long-term.”

In its third quarter earnings release, ODFL reported that revenue was down 4.3% annually, at $1.41 billion, with LTL revenue, at $1.395 billion, also down 4.3% annually. LTL tonnage per day was down 9.0% annually, with shipments per day and weight per shipment down 7.9% and 1.2%, respectively.

This release comes at a time when LTL carriers continue to deal with things like low, or reduced, demand, tariff- and trade-driven uncertainty, inflation, the employment outlook, and an ongoing manufacturing slump.

An LTL industry stakeholder recently told LM that market trends are getting worse and carriers have freight recession malaise, and chinks in their pricing armor, with carriers trying to protect their turf, and with some carriers desperate for more freight to fill networks.

On a more positive note, the stakeholder added that pricing is still strong but not as strong as it has been in the past.

“Potential positive trends for 2026 include: durable goods inventories are low and need restocking and can serve as an LTL growth catalyst, as well as more domestic industrial capacity coming online—driven by pandemic—can help drive volumes more than import growth, maybe on the truckload side, too,” he noted.