An efficiency metric involving Heartland Express acquisitions suffered during the 2023 peak season, signaling continued challenges amid sluggish demand plaguing the trucking industry.
The carrier’s operating ratio for CFI and Smith Transport settled in at 103.8% for the year. In the first nine months of 2023, that operating ratio was 101.6%.
The results reflected a “continued weak freight environment combined with excess industry capacity throughout the year,” CEO Mike Gerdin said in an earnings release, noting how those two acquisitions from 2022 “have pressured our financial results to a level below our historical results and management expectations.”
The carrier sees long-term potential, though, and is using the additions to scale operations and reached an all-time record of annual revenue of $1.2 billion in 2023.
“We project we can improve our consolidated operating results, within three to four years following the 2022 acquisitions to align with our historical operational results,” Gerdin said in the earnings release.
Heartland has said previously it aims to reduce its operating ratio to the low 80s within three years after the 2022 acquisitions. Its overall operating ratio was 96.5% for the year.
