Dive Brief:
- P.A.M. Transport’s parent company recorded operating income of $2.3 million in Q3, its first profitable quarter in a year.
- Although the measure was down 74% from Q3 2023, the reversal from hemorrhaging wiped away its operating losses in Q1 and Q2, making the first nine months no longer in the red.
- “We continue to see signs that the market is improving, and I am confident that we are moving closer to a more normal truckload market,” P.A.M. Transportation Services President Joe Vitiritto said in a news release.
Dive Insight:
P.A.M.’s truckload operating ratio in Q3 was 100.5%, a level that’s remained in unsustainable territory for four consecutive quarters.
The carrier has faced downward rate pressure and overcapacity, following winter storms and United Auto Workers strikes. In the most recent quarter, challenges continued with Hurricane Helene affecting volumes.
Other carriers, such as Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings and Old Dominion Freight Line, noted market disruptions in Q3 due to Helene and Hurricane Milton in the southeastern U.S.
P.A.M. also suffered from big customers delaying business due to extended down time. Vitiritto described the slowdown as planned, but he provided no other details, and the company didn’t immediately return a message from Trucking Dive. General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are among the carrier’s top customers.
“Inflationary operating costs continue to materialize, but we are determined to minimize the impact to our business and focus on factors that we can control,” Vitiritto said.
