Landstar System Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
October 29, 2024

There are 14 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good afternoon, and welcome to Landstar Systems Incorporated Third Quarter Earnings Release Conference Call. All lines will be in a listen only mode until the formal question and answer session. Today's call is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time. Joining us today from Landstar are Frank Lenegro, President and CEO Jim Todd, Vice President and CFO Joe Beacom, Vice President and Chief Safety and Operations Officer Jim Applegate, Vice President and Chief Corporate Sales Strategy and Specialized Freight Officer and Matt Doniger, Vice President and Chief Field Sales Officer.

Operator

Now, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Franco Negro. Sir, you may begin.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Bill. Good afternoon, and welcome to Landstar's 2024 Q3 earnings conference call. Before we begin, let me read the following statement. The following is a Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements made during this conference call that are not based on historical facts are forward looking statements.

Speaker 1

During this conference call, we may make statements that contain forward looking information that relates to Landstar's business objectives, plans, strategies and expectations. Such information is by nature subject to uncertainties and risks, including, but not limited to, the operational, financial and legal risks detailed in Landstar's Form 10 ks from the 2023 fiscal year described in the section Risk Factors and other SEC filings from time to time. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results or events to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated. Investors should not place undue reliance on such forward looking information and Landstar undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking information. I'll now pass it to Lance our CEO, Frank Linegrove for his opening remarks.

Speaker 2

Thanks, J. T, and good afternoon, everyone. First, I want to thank our BCOs and agents and the Landstar employees who support them every day. It is unbelievably energizing to engage with our network of entrepreneurial agents and capacity providers as we work together to align Landstar for future growth and continued success. As I've traveled the country meeting with agents this year, I've been thoroughly impressed with the capability, the uniqueness and the resiliency of each agency as well as their collective commitment to Landstar's success.

Speaker 2

In the Q3, I also had the opportunity to meet with 100 of BCOs at our July All Star event and September Appreciation Days where we celebrate the accomplishments and professionalism of our BCOs. They are the best in the industry and help drive the success of Landstar's business model. As we move towards the end of the 2024 fiscal year, we continue to be laser focused on accelerating our business model and executing on our strategic initiatives. We want to be in the best position possible to leverage the freight environment when it turns our way. We are also focused on our commitments to continuous improvement in the level of service and support we provide to our customers, agents, BCOs and carriers each and every day.

Speaker 2

Turning to slide 5, the freight environment in the 2024 Q3 continued to be characterized by soft demand and readily available truck capacity. Accumulated inflation on goods continued to impact the amount of truckload freight generated in relation to consumer spending. Industrial output was soft throughout the quarter as evidenced by year over year declines in manufacturing with ISM fluctuating in the mid-40s. Truck capacity continued to be readily available with only small pockets of supply demand equilibrium and market conditions continued to favor the shipper. With that backdrop, Landstar performed admirably in the 2024 Q3, delivering top and bottom line results within our guidance range.

Speaker 2

Our 3rd quarter guidance issued in conjunction with our 2024 Q2 earnings release, call for the number of loads hauled via truck to be 6% to 10% below the 2023 Q3 and overall revenue per truckload to be flat to 4% above the 2023 Q3. The actual number of loads hauled via truck in the 2024 Q3 was 7.7% below the 2023 Q3, slightly above the midpoint of our guidance. Actual revenue per truckload in the 2024 Q3 was 0.7% above the prior year quarter within the lower half of the guidance range. Our balance sheet continues to be very strong and our capital allocation priorities are unchanged. I'm a strong believer in the company's stock buyback program and I'm committed to patiently and opportunistically executing on our existing authority to benefit our long term stockholders.

Speaker 2

As noted in the release, we deployed over $22,000,000 of capital toward buybacks and repurchased approximately 121,000 shares of common stock during the 2024 Q3. We continue to invest through the cycle in leading technology solutions for our network of independent business owners and have allocated a significant amount of capital this year towards refreshing our fleet of traveling equipment. Turning to slide 6 and looking at our network, the scale, systems and support inherent in the Landstar model helped to drive the operating results generated during the 2024 Q3. JT will get into the details on revenue loadings and rate per load in a few minutes. As noted during previous earnings calls, I've been in the transportation sector for most of my career and realize how important Landstar's safety culture is to our continued success.

Speaker 2

Our safety performance is a direct result of the professionalism of the thousands of Landstar BCOs operating safely every day and the agents and employees who work to reinforce the critical importance of safety at Landstar. I'm proud to report an accident DOT reportable accidents per 1,000,000 miles during the 1st 9 months of 2024, an improvement of approximately 10% as compared to the corresponding period of 2023. This is an impressive operating metric that speaks to the strength, skill, talent and dedication of our BCOs and provides a point of differentiation our agents are able to highlight in discussions with our freight customers. Turning to Slide 7 in the capacity side, BCO truck count decreased sequentially in the 3rd quarter from the 2nd quarter by 153 trucks, consistent with our expectations of BCO declines slowing in Q3 relative to Q2. On a year over year basis, BCO truck count has decreased approximately 12% since the end of the 2023 Q3.

Speaker 2

It is typical to incur turnover in BCO truck count in a low rate environment. BCO turnover continues to be influenced by the significant increase in the cost of repairs and the often lengthy period of time trucks are out of service awaiting repairs. We would expect BCO count to continue to decline in the 4th quarter given the challenging operating environment faced by many owner operators at a pace somewhat similar to the pace experienced during the Q3. I will now pass the call back to JT to walk through the 2024 Q3 financials in more detail.

Speaker 1

Thanks, Frank. Turning to Slide 9. As Frank mentioned earlier, overall truck revenue per load increased 0.7% in the 2024 Q3 compared to the 2023 Q3. In terms of the breakdown between van and unsided, revenue per load on loads hauled by unsided platform equipment increased 4% year over year, whereas revenue per load on loads hauled by van equipment decreased 2% year over year. In comparison to overall truck revenue per load, we consider revenue per mile on loads hauled by BCO trucks a more pure pricing number as it excludes fuel surcharges billed to customers that are paid 100 percent to the BCO.

Speaker 1

In the 2024 Q3, revenue per mile on unsighted platform equipment hauled by BCOs was 1% above the 2023 Q3, while revenue per mile on van equipment hauled by BCOs was 3% below the 2023 Q3. Although revenue per mile on BCO van loads softened a bit from a year ago, Landstar's revenue per mile on this service offering remains well above the pre pandemic 2019 3rd quarter by approximately 19%. We believe that revenue per mile on van loads will stay relatively higher than pre pandemic levels given the significant amount of incremental cost to operate a truck today, including the cost of insurance for both large and small fleets as compared to 5 years ago. On a sequential basis, truck revenue per load increased 3.2% in the Q3 versus the Q2. The sequential improvement was negatively impacted by a 4.3% decline in average diesel prices in the 3rd quarter compared to the 2024 Q2.

Speaker 1

We believe the impact of lower diesel prices particularly with respect to rates paid to truck brokerage carriers muted some of the seasonal rate strength we experienced in the quarter. Solely when looking at loads hauled by BCOs, revenue per load improved 5.7% in the 2024 Q3 from the 2024 Q2 on a 4.1% increase in revenue per mile and a 1.5% increase in the average length of haul. Delving further into these seasonal trends, revenue per mile and van equipment hauled by BCOs increased 1% from June to July, was flat July to August and remained flat from August to September. The August to September month to month change underperformed pre pandemic typical seasonal patterns, whereas June to July July to August outperformed. As to lows hauled by BCOs on unsighted platform equipment, revenue per mile increased 10% from June to July, decreased 3% from July to August off a more challenging starting point and increased 2% from August to September.

Speaker 1

The month to month seasonal trends on unsighted platform equipment are generally less predictable compared to that of van equipment. This relative volatility is often due to the mix between heavy specialized loads and standard flatbed volume. Heavy haul revenue, one of our areas of increased strategic focus was down approximately 5% year over year in the 3rd quarter slightly outperforming core truckload revenue. Heavy haul loadings were essentially flat year over year, while revenue per heavy haul load declined 5% year over year. Nontruck transportation service revenue in the 2024 Q3 was 9% or $8,000,000 above the 2023 Q3.

Speaker 1

The increase in non truck transportation revenue was mostly due to a 28% increase in ocean revenue per shipment. Turning to Slide 10, we've provided revenue share by commodity and year over year change in revenue by commodity. Transportation Logistics segment revenue was down 6% year over year, a 7% decrease in loadings, partially offset by a 2% increase in revenue per load as compared to the 2023 Q3. Within our largest commodity category consumer durables, revenue declined 3% year over year on an 8% decline in volumes, partially offset by a 5% increase in revenue per load. Aggregate revenue across our top 5 commodity categories, which collectively make up about 69% of our transportation revenue, was down 7% compared to the 2023 Q3.

Speaker 1

While Slide 10 displays revenue share by commodity, we thought it would also be helpful to include some color on volume performance within our top 5 commodity categories. From the 2023 Q3 to the 2024 Q3, total loadings of machinery decreased 9%, automotive equipment and parts decreased 9%, building products increased 3% and hazardous materials decreased 13%. Additionally, substitute line haul loadings, one of the strongest performers for us during the pandemic and one which varies significantly based on consumer demand decreased 36% from the 2023 Q3. Also Landstar is a truck capacity provider to other trucking companies, 3PLs and truck brokers. During periods of tight truck capacity, those other freight transportation providers reach out to Landstar to provide truck capacity more often than during times of more readily available truck capacity.

Speaker 1

The amount of freight hauled by Landstar on behalf of other transportation companies is reflected in almost all of our commodity groupings including our substitute line haul service offering. Overall, revenue hauled on behalf of other truck transportation companies in the 2024 Q3 was 21% below the 2023 Q3, a clear indicator that capacity is readily accessible in the marketplace. Revenue hauled on behalf of other truck transportation companies was 12% 15% of transportation revenue in the 2024 and 2023 3rd quarters respectively. Even with the ups and downs in various customer categories, our business remains highly diversified with over 25,000 customers, none of which contributed over 6% of our revenue in the 1st 39 weeks of 2024. Turning to Slide 11.

Speaker 1

In the 2024 Q3, gross profit was $112,700,000 compared to gross profit of $128,100,000 in the 2023 Q3. Gross profit margin was 9.3% of revenue in the 2024 Q3 as compared to gross profit margin of 9.9% in the corresponding period of 2023. In the 2024 Q3, variable contribution was $171,400,000 compared to $187,400,000 in the 2023 Q3. Variable contribution margin was 14.1 percent of revenue in the 2024 Q3 compared to 14.5% in the same period last year. The decrease in variable contribution margin compared to the 2023 Q3 was primarily attributable to a mix headwind and a decreased variable contribution margin on revenue generated by truck brokerage carriers as the rate paid to truck brokerage carriers in the 2024 Q3 was 145 basis points higher than the rate paid in the 2023 Q3.

Speaker 1

Turning to Slide 12, operating income declined as a percentage of both gross profit and variable contribution, primarily due to the impact of the company's fixed cost infrastructure, principally certain components of selling, general and administrative costs in comparison to smaller gross profit and variable contribution basis. Other operating costs were $15,100,000 in the 2024 Q3 compared to $15,200,000 in 2023. This modest decrease was primarily due to decreased trailing equipment maintenance costs almost entirely offset by an increased provision for contractor bad debt. Insurance and claims costs were $30,400,000 in the 2024 Q3 compared to $29,500,000 in 2023. Total insurance and claims costs were 6.7% of BCO revenue in the 2024 Q3 as compared to 5.8% in the 2023 Q3.

Speaker 1

The increase in insurance and claims costs as compared to 2023 was primarily attributable to increased net unfavorable development of prior year claim estimates, partially offset by decreased BCO miles traveled during the 2024 period and decreased accident frequency of current year trucking claims during the 2024 period. During the 2024 and 2023 3rd quarters, insurance and claims costs included $4,600,000 $2,300,000 of net unfavorable adjustment to prior year claim estimates respectively. Selling, general and administrative costs were $51,300,000 in the 2024 Q3 compared to $51,000,000 in the 2023 Q3. The slight increase in selling, general and administrative costs was primarily attributable to increased wages and employee benefit costs almost entirely offset by decreased provisions for compensation under our variable compensation programs. The provision for compensation under variable programs that is stock based compensation and incentive compensation was $700,000 during the 2024 Q3 as compared to $1,300,000 during the 2023 period.

Speaker 1

Depreciation and amortization was $15,400,000 in the 20 24 Q3 compared to $14,400,000 in 2023. This increase was primarily due to increased depreciation on software applications resulting from continued investment in new and upgraded tools for use by agents and third party capacity providers, partially offset by decreased depreciation on the company's trailer fleet. The effective income tax rate was 22.2% in the 2024 Q3 compared to an effective income tax rate of 24.3% in the 2023 Q3. The decrease in the effective income tax rate was due to the impact of federal tax credits resulting in a one time adjustment to the federal tax provision during the 2024 period. Turning to Slide 13 and looking at our balance sheet.

Speaker 1

We ended the quarter with cash and short term investments of 531,000,000 dollars Cash flow from operations for the 1st 39 weeks of 2024 was $225,000,000 and cash capital expenditures were $24,000,000 The company continues to return significant amounts of capital back to stockholders with $108,000,000 of dividends paid and $79,000,000 of share repurchases during the 1st 39 weeks of 2024. The strength of our balance sheet is a testament to the cash generating capabilities of the Landstar model. Back to you, Frank.

Speaker 2

Thanks, J. T. As we progress through the Q4, year over year comparisons should begin to ease slightly. Looking at historical seasonality from Q3 to Q4, pre pandemic patterns would normally yield a 1% improvement in both truck revenue per load and in the number of loads hauled via truck, yielding a slightly higher top line sequentially. In 2024, as we moved from September into the 1st few weeks of October, our truck volumes trended reasonably in line with normal sequential month to month patterns based on pre pandemic seasonal performance trends.

Speaker 2

However, we do not anticipate our typical seasonal improvement into November December based on the expectation of a reasonably muted peak season as compared to historical 4th quarters. On the rate side, truck revenue per load has trended slightly below these pre pandemic patterns. Turning to Slide 15, our year over year expectations for the 2024 Q4 are that truckload volumes will be in a range of 4% below to 1% above the 2023 Q4 and truck revenue per load will be in a range of flat to 4% above the 2023 Q4. On a sequential basis, our guidance for the Q4 implies a 3% decline to a 3% increase in truckload volumes and a truck revenue per load ranging from down 2% to up 1% versus the 2024 Q3. We also expect revenue for our non truck modes to be somewhat similar to what we experienced in the 2024 Q3.

Speaker 2

Based on these assumptions, we expect revenue in the 2024 Q4 to be in a range of $1,150,000,000 to $1,250,000,000 and earnings to be in the range of $1.25 per share to $1.45 per share. The 2024 Q4 guidance incorporates a variable contribution margin range of 13.9% to 14.2% and insurance and claim costs of approximately 6.0% of estimated BCO revenue. One last point before we take your questions. The 2024 Q3 included a $0.04 tax benefit as a result of the one time impact of certain federal tax credits on our federal tax provision. We do not expect similar tax benefits to occur in the 2024 Q4.

Speaker 2

The normalized tax rate reflected in our 4th quarter guidance accounts for most of the difference between the $1.35 midpoint of our 4th quarter EPS range and the $1.41 of EPS we achieved in the 3rd quarter. With that, Bill, we'd like to open the line for questions.

Operator

Thank you very much, sir. At this time, we will begin the question and answer We have the first question coming from the line of Brian Ossenbeck of JPMorgan. Your line is now open.

Speaker 3

Hey guys, good afternoon. Thanks for taking the questions. So I wanted to see, firstly, if you could just talk a little bit about the BCO accounts. You say it's trending down or at least the decrease is decelerating a little bit. So do you have any visibility to when and where that might bottom out?

Speaker 3

If rates were to pop up 5% tomorrow, just hypothetically, do you think you'd get them to come back pretty quickly? Or at this point, do you feel like maybe some of those folks have moved on to other things?

Speaker 2

Hey, Brian, good to hear from you. I'll certainly give a start and then turn it over to Joe. One of the reasons that Q4 is going to be similar to Q3 is just the time of year. When you're coming into the holidays and Q1 is also usually a slow add period for us. So I think the trend we've seen over the last 3 or 4 quarters where the declines have begun to moderate, I mean that is still the general schematic.

Speaker 2

If we get a 5% bump in rates, are we going to see folks come back? Heck yes, we are. Assuming it's stable and sustainable. I mean, that's the one thing that we have seen throughout this year and even in this quarter on a month to month basis, you get a couple of good weeks and then a couple of tough weeks. So, sustainability in that rate environment is going to be really important.

Speaker 2

And when the freight recession turns, I mean, similar to prior instances where we've had downturns and then upturns, the BCOs come back. I mean we offer a tremendous opportunity for folks to leverage the percentage pay that we offer and certainly all the benefits that we provide more broadly. But let me turn it over to Joe and let him add some color.

Speaker 4

Yes. Thanks, Frank. Yes, I would echo that. I think the duration of this downturn has really been the unique part of it. I think we've Frank mentioned our appreciation events that we had.

Speaker 4

We had one in September and we had hundreds of BCOs there and they all had great attitudes. They all were appreciative of Landstar, making good money and yet in the quarter we lose 153 trucks. And I think it's because a lot of them were experienced. They have a low cost to operate and they're doing fine. They can weather the storm.

Speaker 4

They've seen it before, but that is not everybody. And I think what's happened over time over these couple of years is that we've seen kind of an exodus of those that are less tolerant of a little higher cost to operate. So with the rate increase, obviously, that benefits them. And I think we would see a pretty decent turnaround much like we did when we added over 900 trucks in 2018, 750 in 2020. So I think the model proves that we can add capacity at a pretty rapid clip.

Speaker 4

But I do think something that's sustainable that really wets the appetite to get back in. We've had a couple of false starts. And I think anything that could be sustainable and moving in that direction that would be attractive, I think you'd see people come off the sidelines.

Speaker 3

Okay. Thanks for that. And just a follow-up. Frank, you can talk a little bit about the cross border business. It seemed like it was

Speaker 5

a little bit softer than

Speaker 3

you thought in the last quarter, but where does that stand now? Obviously, there's a bunch of noise on both sides of the border with elections and tariffs and other things like that. So anything you're seeing here in the near term? And how does that business look in terms of the strategic directions once we get past the next month or so here? Thanks.

Speaker 2

Great question. And a lot of the points that you raised are obviously the ones that are the key drivers there. Look, on a long term basis, we continue to see that near shoring phenomenon being the right thing for us to invest in and continue to drive growth from. There are a fair amount of uncertainties that exist right there right now given whether it's U. S.

Speaker 2

Politics or Mexican politics. So the uncertainties around what is trade policy going to be is certainly an overhang. Just earlier today was looking at foreign direct investment by month. And when you look at that over the last 12 months, it has ticked down meaningfully. And I think it is a bit of a wait and see approach for many businesses who are thinking about deploying capital on the nearshore side.

Speaker 2

So all of that translates into some softer play on a year over year basis. But the long term trajectory for that business continues to be very positive. And maybe Jim and Joe, I'll let you guys chime in a

Speaker 4

little bit on this one. Yes. I would just say, Frank, we're kind of seeing what we saw in Q2. We've got a small handful of large accounts there that do a lot of cross border for us, mostly in the consumer durables area that are just slow. I mean, we're getting some assurances that we haven't lost the accounts or the business that's just a lot of indecision there.

Speaker 4

But on the flip side, as we've put salespeople in the interior, we're getting traction on new accounts and new geographies. It's just hard to overcome some of the larger declines with those counts that are kind of flat in the quarter. But overall, I think to Frank's point, our value proposition there and our capabilities there and the just kind of what we've proven to be able to do in the cross border space will serve us well going forward.

Speaker 5

Yes. And just to touch on that

Speaker 6

as well too. From a customer standpoint, the interest is definitely there. That pipeline is very strong. We're recruiting more agents into that market. I think everybody sees the long term potential.

Speaker 6

And I it's going to be something that can be a growth area for Linestar for years to come.

Speaker 3

Okay. Thanks very much for the time.

Speaker 4

Thanks, John.

Operator

Thank you. We'll move now to the next question coming from the line of Tom Wadewitz of UBS. Your line is now open.

Speaker 7

Yes, great. Good afternoon. Wanted to see if you could offer thoughts on any changes in the pace of attrition. It seems like the market's been just trading at a slow pace with some volatility here and there, maybe bump in rates recently from hurricanes. But how do you think about the kind of pace of attrition in the markets you're seeing and whether that's enough to be optimistic about some improvement in first half next year in the truckload market or if it's just kind of tough to see when that supply demand balance is more?

Speaker 2

Yes. Hey, Tom. So I think a couple of things are happening. When the hurricanes came through, we did see some regional tightness, which tells you that you got to be getting close in order to generate that level of tightness. That's a little bit of a maybe a green shoot to think through.

Speaker 2

But at the same time, the hurricanes, at least the ones that came through the middle of the country, I mean, those are ones where demolition is going to happen before reconstruction, just given the magnitude of the damage there. That's one that I think ultimately will help us longer term. But in terms of the pace of declines, I mean, we're continuing to track that on a weekly basis. Our attrition has slowed. We thought it would slow.

Speaker 2

It did slow. Now we're in kind of the shorter part of the year. So I think you're going to see exits outpace additions just given where we are in the calendar. But one of the things we're really working on is how do we accelerate our recruiting efforts to make sure that we have the counts that we need and have the capability that we need when the environment turns. But I think it's going to continue to bleed out over the next few quarters before that cross mine happens and we had to get a

Speaker 6

little bit of boost

Speaker 2

in rates. Joe, anything you'd add to that one?

Speaker 4

No, I agree. I do think there has to be some sort of a catalyst, right? And right now, it's just hard to see exactly what that catalyst is going to be. Yes.

Speaker 2

I think there's a lot of sidelines on this one, Tom, as I mentioned, trade policy a little while ago. I mean, tax policy is up in the air depending on the election. Are we going to have an orderly transition of power? What's the Fed going to do? Like those are all unknowns, but likely have near term visibility if we can all just hang on for the next 3 or 4 months, I think we're going to have a lot of clarity on what 2025 looks like.

Speaker 7

Right. Okay. That makes sense. And then for the follow-up, in terms of the earnings guide, is there it sounds like maybe kind of similar on revenues 4Q versus 3Q, but the guide is midpoint is a little bit below where you reported earnings for 3Q. Are there particular items that are kind of explained that or cost headwinds or is it kind of noise below the line or what drives some of the difference in terms of lower 4Q earnings versus 3Q?

Speaker 1

Hey, Tom. The big one is the kind of $0.04 tax item we called out. So really you're kind of at the midpoint, you're trying to square the circle $135,000,000 to $137,000,000 It is slightly lower revs than a typical 3Q to 4Q walk, but we've got that mitigated a little bit by the fact that we typically compress about 25 basis points on variable contribution margin based on what we saw in the Q3. We don't anticipate that same degree of compression. And then the only other item I'd call out Tom that was worth about $0.01 3Q to 4Q is the 50 basis point Federal Reserve cut impact on our excess cash balance walk in 3Q to 4Q.

Speaker 1

Those are the biggies.

Speaker 7

Okay. You think you got some room for rates to move up and benefit you? Is that like you're maybe not assuming improvement in rates?

Speaker 2

Yes, Tom. So it's interesting to watch this on honestly a daily and weekly basis. JT can give you some more color in terms of the trends within October. The 1st couple of weeks of October were soft and it came off of a soft September. I mean September was the counterbalance to July.

Speaker 2

If you think about the Q3, we had a really good July and a really soft September. And then October comes in, the 1st part of October was soft and last 6 or 8 days have been pretty good. So it's really where do you snap the line from. And we're not obviously expecting a strong peak. So if we get some rate and some peak then we're probably in the upper part of the range.

Speaker 2

J. T? T.

Speaker 1

Moriarty:] Yes. No, I would echo that. The rate strength that we saw in the Q3, Tom, is primarily front loaded in July. We saw kind of a normal seasonal downtick into August and then September seasonally underperformed. When we walk September to October, we typically see about a 50 basis point good guy on truck revenue per load.

Speaker 1

Based on the information we've got today, it's looking like it's going to be flat to just slightly down. So with that set of circumstances, our opening revenue per load for the Q4 in October is probably about $40 below July, which was the opening month for 3Q. So we would need a pretty good rest of the way in.

Speaker 7

Yes. Okay. Thanks for all the perspective. Appreciate it.

Speaker 8

For sure.

Operator

Thank you. We'll move now to the next question coming from the line of Jordan Alexander of Goldman Sachs. Your line is now open.

Speaker 3

Hi. Thinking about the businesses, the dry van and then the flatbed or on-site. Can you maybe talk a little bit about the what you're seeing if the differences between the 2, I mean, especially given manufacturing has been kind of sluggish. So I'm just curious about the flatbed side of the equation specifically, I guess.

Speaker 2

Yes. Let me open it up and then JT can certainly chime in. We continue to be bullish on our unsighted platform business. I mean, I think we have a real competitive advantage in that space and you're going to continue to see us focus there broadly and then certainly in the heavy haul part of the equation. What's interesting about the van side, if you go back to one of the slides that JT talked about, the consumer durables business actually performed better than the company average, which it's been a while since I could say that or any of us here in the room could say that.

Speaker 2

So that's actually a bit of a bright spot. Obviously, the rate question immediately comes to mind if it's moving at an appropriate rate and that's a good sign for the future. But back to the platform piece and the platform business continues to perform well relative to van, but J. P. Give a little color?

Speaker 1

Yes, certainly on the pricing, right. So if we just walk 2Q to 3Q sequential, we saw 4% good guy on unsided, which outpaced the 2% on van. What was interesting to Frank's comment, the van loadings held up better, Jordan walking 2Q to 3Q only dipping 4%, whereas the platform loadings 2Q to 3Q dipped 7%. And I think that's we were pleased with what we were seeing in the 2nd quarter. We saw the kind of manufacturing backdrops started to weaken a little bit in the Q2 and our numbers held up pretty good.

Speaker 1

We started to see a little bit of weakness machinery. Heavy haul has been a tailwind for us, Jordan, in the unsighted platform category. That strength took a little bit of a step back. So it was interesting to see van loadings hold up a little bit better. Good performance in consumer durables that Frank talked about and then building products as well.

Speaker 1

We had the 3 largest customers for us in building products had triple digit revenue growth and some of that stuff was on van equipment.

Speaker 3

Any sense from your manufacturing oriented customers about a bottom on that side of the market? I mean, what's sort of the I guess the hold up? Is it political uncertainty or if you have any color around that would be helpful?

Speaker 2

Politics, trade policy, Fed policy, tax policy. I mean, if you're in the manufacturing business today or anything industrial and you're thinking about deploying capital either to build inventories or to build a new plant, you probably just wait 3 or 4 months until the dust settles and you have much more clarity around things. And then obviously we're back to deploying capital more broadly in the industrial space. I just so late in the year, the election is a week away, the inauguration in January, these have so much uncertainty there that's actually going to get cleared up. And I just don't think folks are leaning into deploying capital right now because of that uncertainty.

Speaker 3

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. We'll move now to the next question coming from the line of Jon Chappell of Evercore ISI. Your line is now open.

Speaker 5

Thank you and good evening. Jim, maybe this is for you. We think about the eventual stabilization and inflection. Do you feel the model has the same operating leverage that it will in the next cycle given that some of these line items on the cost side like other and insurance and SG and A etcetera as a percentage of revenue are just so much greater than they were in 2019 or any kind of prior downturn?

Speaker 1

John, it's a good question. Frank and I are still big believers in our ability to push through 70% of the incremental variable contribution down to operating income. Now I will call out, John, next year given the incentive comp and stock comp baseline in 2024, we're going to be facing about a $13,000,000 headwind year over year on those lines, 25 versus 24. The insurance has been tough. You've heard me say before, an overall trend has not been the friend on insurance.

Speaker 1

Frank called out the 10% decline in the DOT accident frequency, the more severe accidents, our overall accident frequency, the 1st 39 weeks of 2024 down 3%. Unfortunately, we've got that claim cost severity factor, John, it's still high single digits and our BCO revenue per load is down 1.1 year over year. So we've seen some stabilization in the premium side of the house, but we're going to have to get some help on yield, which you know is a lot easier to push down to operating income than on the volume side.

Speaker 5

Okay. That's helpful. And then just a follow-up, I know it's kind of pulled the string a bit here on the rest of the Q4, but a little bit noticeable that maybe some others had a lot more optimism and maybe that's just the way that others operate in the kind of the seasonality in the Q4 and the bridge where you guys have said you don't anticipate November December to follow the seasonal trends. Do you think that's just conservatism around what you've seen in the 1st few weeks of October? Or is there something maybe a little bit more that you're seeing from the breadth of your customer base that just makes you think that there's a greater pause in the demand side post some of these issues that may provide a little bit more certainty in the next couple of weeks?

Speaker 4

Yes, Tom, let me give

Operator

it a

Speaker 2

start and then Matt maybe have you chime in a little bit on peak. To your point, we have a very diversified revenue portfolio. I think it's going to be dependent on what people do toward the end of the year either on the industrial side. I mentioned the uncertainties in answer to a prior question. So I think that's going to be muted.

Speaker 2

And then more on the holiday and the peak and the consumer, we're still seeing goods and services in the split there in the GDP numbers. And we've pulled agents and customers, etcetera. Obviously, you all have listened to the UPS call and have a good view of how they feel about the peak. We feel like we are certainly holding our own in peak in terms of share of volume, but nobody's really leaned into from our customer side has leaned into a broad peak. It's going to be shorter in terms of duration just given the timing of the holidays, but nobody is really saying it's going to be a robust peak.

Speaker 2

If it turns out we get a little bit of lift of rate, we get a little better peak season, then obviously we'll be turning toward the upside of that the upper half of that guidance. But right now, like leaning in has not been a great strategy over the last couple of years. Go ahead, Matt.

Speaker 9

Yes. I'll just on top of that, at the end of every quarter, we sit down and we pull our top 50, 60 agents and they really have a pulse on their customers. They're dealing with their customers on a daily basis, trying to see what's in the pipeline, how they can serve them better, if we need to get trailing equipment in, whatever the case may be. So really, we're just echoing the agent base in what we hear going through the Q4 here. On the peak side, as Frank said, we're not expecting a huge peak this year.

Speaker 9

I think as the year has gone by with the shortened cycle and there may be more folks going towards the brick and mortar, within that shortened cycle, it's kind of muted a little bit. We talk to our and it's just a handful of customers really for us on the sub line haul side that really drive the peak for us. And about starting June, we start talking to them monthly almost to make sure that we've got expectations in line on trailing equipment and drivers in place. And I think we're based on their projections and what the agents are telling us that we should be really comparable to what we saw last year in peak, which is quite a bit downfall of what we used to see in those pandemic years 2020, 2021, 2022.

Speaker 5

That's super insightful. Thanks to all of you.

Operator

Thank you. We'll move now to the next question coming from the line of Scott Group of Wolfe Research. Your line is now open.

Speaker 10

Hey, thanks. Good afternoon, guys. So just one more on Q4. Frank, you talked about regional tightness, some of the national spot data looks like it's gotten better in October. I guess, help us understand the disconnect maybe if there is one of you guys saying the data has gotten a little bit worse and underperformed seasonality in October just given some of the spot data looks like it's gotten better.

Speaker 10

And then can you just clarify, do we get a hurricane impact or benefit anymore? I don't think we have the direct FEMA contract, but I still thought there was maybe some hurricane volume opportunity

Speaker 11

with you guys.

Speaker 2

Yes. Hey, Scott. I think on Q4, I think what we're trying to say is that Q4 relative to Q3 is going to be essentially kind of in line from a revenue perspective. We've got a question mark around peak that you heard Matt talk about. The hurricane piece is demolition before reconstruction.

Speaker 2

So I doubt we're going to see anything near term. Matt, you've had some conversations with some agents and some customers, a little bit of food and water coming in, a little bit of pre positioning of building products, but nothing that's a needle mover in the grand scheme of things. J. T? Yes.

Speaker 2

No, nothing to add,

Speaker 5

Frank. I think

Speaker 6

to add on the hurricane and I think a lot of the expectations around the hurricane that the whole process of selecting carriers around the hurricane has changed quite a bit over the last 10 years. It used to be a handful of asset based carriers that would kind of benefit from these storms. Now you have hundreds of carriers along with brokers that are bidding on a lot of the government type business. So you're going to see that spread out across our broader base of carriers, and you're going to see

Speaker 2

the rates a little bit

Speaker 6

more suppressed than what they've been in the past. But to Frank's point, really, the real prize is kind the rebuilding efforts, and I think you see that later on in the cycle.

Speaker 2

Yes. One thing on the spot rates, I think, is worth just clarifying. What you're looking at it from DAT and Truckstop and things like that are posted rates. That doesn't necessarily mean the traffic moved at the posted rate. A lot of times there's it's going to get posted and then it's going to get discussed and it's ultimately going to move at a little bit of a different rate.

Speaker 2

Our freight moves at a little different price point. As I think I've mentioned before, we don't necessarily play at the bottom rung of the spot market. What we haul is generally a little higher quality freight and obviously we've got the platform business as well which transacts at a higher rate there. So we have seen throughout the month rates have gone down, rates have come back up. So there's a lot of volatility around the trend line and that's something that has made it more and more difficult last couple of quarters to predict what the quarter is going to look like.

Speaker 2

July, for example, was a really strong July. August was fine and then September was soft. And 1st couple of weeks of October, soft. Last 8 or 10 days have been pretty good. So it's really hard to again pick the point on which to snap the line.

Speaker 2

Jeff?

Speaker 4

Yes. I'm just going to say around the FEMA, the old national contract, yes, those days are gone. And now that's all kind of run state by state. And with the lead time you have on some of these hurricanes, there's a lot of pre positioning of a lot of things that didn't used to occur. So I think the opportunity around some of these storms is not what it used to be in years past as the states get a little bit better in pre positioning and trying to put themselves in a position to get people back to normal life and with power and so forth a lot quicker than they were in the heydays of FEMA contract for Landstar.

Speaker 4

Yes.

Speaker 10

Okay. That's helpful. And then just one more follow-up on the BCO count. And I totally understand and see the cyclicality of the BCO count, but it's at a pretty little I think we're at like the lowest level in like a decade. And so I'm wondering, I guess, how do you think this plays out in the next cycle in terms of like how much of this can you add back?

Speaker 10

Can you get it all back in a cycle? Or does it take more? And is there any thought that maybe you need to like change some of the splits to encourage better BCO retention? I don't think so, but I'm just curious if you contemplated something like that at all.

Speaker 2

Yes. I think on the compensation, this has worked really, really well for us for a long time. But obviously academically, I see your point. The BCO count, remember, it's a combination of what we've added and what comes out. We continue to have 100, if not 1000 of additions every year.

Speaker 2

The challenge is that we're seeing a significant set of departures for any number of reasons Joe can go into. What will happen when the rate cycle turns is the additions will go up and the departures will decline and therefore you're going to get a net add basis which is obviously a good guide for us and certainly something that the model has produced in the past and we would expect it will continue to produce in the future. Joe?

Speaker 4

Yes, I would say as we mentioned earlier Scott that the number of terminations and those that are leaving has trended downward. I mean, our retention has actually improved a bit. Where I think we're at now is there are it's a little bit more difficult to get a truck. The lease purchase owner operator volume is down. A lot of interest from guys who don't have a truck, but you need a truck.

Speaker 4

The asset based carriers don't have the owner operators in the lease purchase programs at the levels that they have historically had. You can still you can access used trucks now, but the costs are a little bit elevated for the environment that we're in. So I think just the appeal of the spot market is a little bit hazy. And so you don't see people willing to make the investment. If we get the rate upturn and the demand starts to improve, I think there's a lot of potential BCOs on the side line.

Speaker 4

I just think that right now, if you don't have that low cost to operate that I was mentioning earlier and you have to go out and have a truck payment that's at all elevated, given the rate levels that we have today and the inflation around maintaining the truck. I saw a report just this week in the Commercial Carrier Journal that since last September cost to operator up 4%, rates aren't up 4%. So do you really want to make the investment to come in at this time? I think when that door opens and when the opportunity is there, I think we'll appeal and attract owner operators as we have in the past. I think there to your earlier, we considered there isn't too many things we haven't considered as to how to do this.

Speaker 4

But again, I think it's an economic phenomena that we're trying to address from trying to recruit better clearly using some social media differently and working with our agents in different ways to try to promote growth and that kind of thing. The margins, the spreads on brokerage have been pretty elevated. And I think some of the volume that may have gone BCOs probably went brokerage for that reason. As those spreads tighten, which they have done over time and continue to do, I think the decision maker in our model, which is the agent, has the potential to change. And I think that changes the outcome for BCO count.

Speaker 10

Thank you, guys. Appreciate the time.

Speaker 4

Thanks, Scott. Thanks, Scott.

Operator

Thank you. We'll move now to the next question coming from the line of Daniel Imbro of Stephens. Your line is now open.

Speaker 8

Yes. Hey, good evening guys. Thanks for taking our questions. I want to start on the demand side, Frank. I want to ask the automotive specifically.

Speaker 8

That's been a weak category, but it still feels like it's declining. It's about 10% of your revenue now. I guess, how are you viewing that automotive landscape into the Q4 given the production reductions that we're hearing about from the large domestic OEMs? And when would you expect that market to begin actually growing again?

Speaker 2

Yes. I think the automotive business, I mean, it's something that we're really good at. It's obviously got an expedited component to it When truck capacity is readily available and the demand is not as robust on the OEM side, then you don't need as much expedited capacity. So there's that element to it. Back to the uncertainty on rates, if you're in the new car market today as a consumer and you could wait 4 months to get it for 150 basis points lower in terms of your loan, you're probably going to wait.

Speaker 2

So I think what we're seeing is that combination of things at the same time, I think we to your point, we're a little surprised that the auto numbers in the quarter and some of that revenue softness that you're looking at on a sequential basis from us has got a little bit of that in there. JT?

Speaker 1

No. Nothing to add, Frank.

Speaker 6

Yes. Just to add as well too, just over on the expedite side, if you're really looking at what happened in the industry right after COVID, I mean, a lot of supply disruption that was going on in that industry. If you look back Q3, Q4 last year, there were a lot of actually likes going on, a pretty healthy spot market. You fast forward to today and to a lot of reasons like Frankfurt, interest rates and getting their inventory stabilized, it's just a more stable supply and demand market where a lot of that spot market business isn't there like it was the last half of last year.

Speaker 8

Understood. And if we could follow-up on a previous question on the cost side. I know it's early, but I think you talked about next year incentive comp $13,000,000 headwind, insurance probably remains tough. I guess, are there levers you can pull to actually offset some of this inflation? And would you expect overall cost to begin growing again next year?

Speaker 11

Just trying

Speaker 8

to think about what the cost base does if this macro remains challenging kind of into 2025? Thanks.

Speaker 1

Daniel, happy to walk the line. So other operating costs, you've heard me talk for a couple of years now with this elongated freight recession. Our contractor bad debt numbers are running at close to 2x kind of historical norm. So could you say there's a if we return to a more balanced market and the truck turnover rate, which to Joe's point has dropped from 41% to 37%, does that mean reverts closer to our 28%, 29% there's a couple of million you could probably ring out in other operating costs on contractor bad debt. We have been shrinking the size of the trailer fleet plus we're bringing in some new trailers.

Speaker 1

So that should result in reduced maintenance and tires expense that I talked about that we saw in the quarter in the prepared remarks. Insurance, we continue to focus on the quasi controllables, right? So we've got a mutual understanding of Safety Together program with customers, Lance, our Safety Officer with our agents. Clearly, all the Safety Thursday calls and truck giveaways with the BCOs, we like the trends that we're seeing on the accident frequency side. When you get in an accident in a bad venue, this is not Lance our specific, the numbers get larger.

Speaker 1

G and A, we've been we've reduced headcount by probably 40 folks or so, Daniel, through attrition. We've got 13 35 folks supporting 1100 agents, 9,000 BCOs pushing through 2,000,000 freight bills annually in the network. So we're being real cautious on headcount. And then finally, the last one is depreciation. We've got prior largest IT project in company history becomes fully depreciated here in the Q4 of 2024.

Speaker 1

So some of the pressure on that's one project, but some of the pressure on depreciation side from tech will slow. The flip to that is we are taking delivery of a lot of new trailers. We've 23, we weren't refreshing a bunch of trailers. 24, we're playing catch up. So a chunk of that IT depreciation tailwind is going to get eaten up in the form of new trailers.

Speaker 1

So that's kind of high level how I think about the cost structure going into 2025, Daniel.

Speaker 8

Understood. Thanks for all the color.

Operator

Thank you. We'll move now to the next question coming from the line of Elliot Alperol with TD Cowen. Your line is now open.

Speaker 11

Great. Thank you. Yes, this is Elliot on for Jason Seidl. You guys in the past have had a good view into fleet sizes that are exiting the business. Can you speak to maybe the overall capacity landscape in that sense?

Speaker 11

Are you still seeing larger fleets shut tractors?

Speaker 2

Yes. I mean, I think we have a view that there is capacity that's parked against the fence, so to speak. We probably have a better view of the onesie twosie owner operators, which is obviously the majority of our BCOs have a single truck or say less than 5 trucks. So we think we are certainly in as good

Speaker 6

a shape, if not a little

Speaker 2

bit better in terms of those counts. We watch the net ads from the FMCSA database pretty much every week. So we've got a good view of how that is. I think there's capacity out there. I think the combination of the asset heavy folks as well as some of the private fleets, there is likely some capacity out there that's sitting on the sidelines.

Speaker 2

At the same time, I think the value that we provide like the safety numbers that you heard JT and I speak about, I mean that's a real differentiator when it comes to doing business with customers who have high value goods that they want to make sure get the destination safely and securely. Joe?

Speaker 4

Yes, I would echo that. And also, if you look at the small carrier participation in our brokerage volumes, it was 58% of our volume moved on carriers with less than 10 trucks in the Q3 of 2023 versus only 53% this year. Tends to be going to carriers with a few more trucks. And there is a little bit of a lack of visibility in some of that because the carriers only are required to update their fleet size every couple of years. So you got to believe there could be carriers out there that you think have 10 trucks and they actually have 5 or they showed that 50 and they only got 20.

Speaker 4

So there is some shrinking that's kind of hard to put your hand around. But just by their participation in our mix, it certainly would support the idea that they're a little bit smaller than maybe they appear to be in the FMCSA database.

Speaker 11

That makes sense. Thanks. And then you spoke about the longer term support as the rebuild begins. I guess what could that look like? Is this something you're starting to plan for now?

Speaker 11

Will that skew towards some of the platform business? I guess any other color or magnitude on the timeline or is it just too soon to tell?

Speaker 2

It's probably too soon to tell in terms of both timing and magnitude. I mean, I'll let Matt chime in, in a second. I mean, we have a hurricane playbook. I mean, this is not the first hurricane that Landstar has been involved with. So we have a good playbook in terms of what we do with agents and customers and just making sure people are familiar with us and obviously are willing to give us a try if we've not done business with them or some of the customers that we have already, just making sure that they know we're here and ready to help them.

Speaker 9

Matt? Yes. That's something we started on early once everything started roaring through is getting out in front of the customers that we know participate in the rebuild, food, water and getting in front of them. We've had some success with that. We've got a couple dozen customers now that as Frank alluded to, we're doing the food, the water, placing some equipment, some machinery.

Speaker 9

But the building products, the folks we're talking to on that, they're not really moving heavy in that sector yet. So the timing on that, I think we're still a little bit early to put a number on that. Hopefully sooner than later, we could use it here in the Q4. I just don't think we have a good handle just yet when they're going to start rolling that out. But we're certainly in front of them and talking to them and trying to be if they're ready when they do start rolling those out.

Speaker 2

Yes. I think in the Florida storm, you're probably a little sooner on the rebuilding because it's roofs and things like that. I think in the path of Helene, I think there's a fair amount of demolition in Holloway that's got to happen before we participate. And as you guys know, we don't do sort of open hopper demolition and Holloway work, but we'll be there and ready when the reconstruction commences.

Speaker 11

Thank you, guys.

Operator

Thank you. We'll move now to the next question coming from the line of Stephanie Moore of Jefferies. Your line is now open.

Speaker 12

Hi, good afternoon. Thank you. I maybe wanted to touch a little bit on capital allocation, capital priorities here. First, just buyback slowed a little bit in the 3rd quarter despite what remains a really solid net cash position. But then also maybe from a more strategic lens, just would love to gauge maybe any updated thoughts on potential M and A.

Speaker 12

I think we're all aware there's a lot of kind of PE backs and other assets that might be coming up for market here looking for an exit. So given where we are in the cycle, your positioning and the likes, any thoughts on potentially doing any M and A as well as your more historical capital allocation priorities? Thanks.

Speaker 2

No, good question, Stephanie. We certainly heard JT talk about CapEx and we're going to continue to invest in the core business. That's an important thing for us on both the technology as well as the trailing equipment side. Obviously, the less trailing equipment purchases in 2025 based on what we're currently thinking the environment is going to yield. Buybacks, we restarted the program a quarter ago and obviously continued that this quarter.

Speaker 2

I'd say the volatility in the stock price this quarter was probably a little less than it was in the prior quarter as you know and I'm a strong believer in being both patient and opportunistic on the buyback program. We just didn't have that many opportunities to jump in and what we thought were kind of favorable to market type of opportunities. In terms of M and A, good question. Gosh, I've been in the company 9 months or so and it's certainly something that we've talked a little bit about. With the uniqueness of our model, The number of companies that are out there that would provide us an opportunity to seamlessly integrate is smaller than your typical transportation and logistics provider.

Speaker 2

But it is something that we've begun to talk about internally and more to come, but there's something that comes along that fits us really well. And again, that's a fairly narrow set of targets. We'd certainly be open to that conversation.

Speaker 12

Great. Well, I will leave it at that. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Thanks a lot.

Operator

Thank you. We have the last person to ask a question coming from the line of David Hicks of Raymond James Financial. Your line is now open.

Speaker 13

Hi, guys. Thanks for taking the questions. Can you guys just maybe talk about the recent tech investments that you've been making and resulting impacts to productivity of your workforce, agents and BTOs that kind of try to offset these cost inflation headwinds that have been persistent kind of as we look into 2025?

Speaker 4

Yes. So we'll probably ring around

Speaker 2

the table on this one a little bit. So we have been investing, gosh, over the last decade or so in tech investments. I would say the lion's share of that investment over the last decade has been on behalf of agents and VCOs. We're going to continue to invest there, but I'd say a lot of the heavy lifting has been done in those spaces, which allows us then the ability to turn the IT lens inside the building. So we have some pretty neat service center technologies that we're working on here that certainly will give us the ability to provide better service for our agents and our BCOs.

Speaker 2

And could they unlock some efficiency? Sure. But those are things that are really important to us on a going forward basis. And again, if we can do a great job of serving our customers, our agents and our BCOs well, they then have the ability to go out and sell more. They have the ability to handle things on a more productive basis.

Speaker 2

And so if we're successful at doing that and we're able to hold the line internally, then I think we'll be in really good shape. So Jim Applegate has been maybe the tip of the spear in some respects on the technology side, the business side of technology for a while. So maybe let me hand it over to you, Jim.

Speaker 11

Yes, great. Thanks, Frank.

Speaker 2

Yes, from

Speaker 6

a technology standpoint, really our whole playbook has been around making sure that our agents and our BCOs have better technology so they can be more efficient. And it's about giving agents more ability to handle more revenue. And if you see with the tools that we've rolled out, we've actually documented it. We've significantly improved their ability to handle revenue with single employees, single agencies. So they don't have to go out, add new employees to go ahead and be able to take on more business.

Speaker 6

Flipside over on the BCO side, it keeps them on the road. They're not pulling over, dealing with paperwork. And we're seeing from a BCO standpoint, they're embracing the technology as well, too. So I look at it as more of a capacity to grow strategy, and the technology has really kind of allowed us to open that up for both agents and BCOs and continue to do that. But as Frank had said, we're pretty far along in our tech road map.

Speaker 6

We've got a lot of tools out there in the marketplace today. But Joe, if you want to comment?

Speaker 4

Yes. I would just add that, David, we've had a pretty robust freight matching capability here for a long time between our agents and BCOs. And we're going to be making some tweaks to that. As the profile of freight changes, I think our ability to direct that freight and market that freight between agents and BCOs needs to also change. And so we're kind of excited about some things we're going to be working on to enhance the ability to be a little bit more targeted and to allow people to make decisions more quickly.

Speaker 4

And our model success comes from both putting good information into the decision makers and that's our agents and BCOs and kind of let them do what they do. And I think we've got some good stuff on the horizon that should allow us to do that.

Speaker 13

Okay, great. And then just as a follow-up, I just wanted to dig a bit deeper into the kind of the current health of BCOs, particularly if you guys have kind of visibility around their tractor age relative to the rest of the industry, kind of the associated maintenance costs and downtime, which you kind of spoke to earlier and any impact that's having on service relative to peers? Sure.

Speaker 4

Yes. Not a lot of impact to service, David. I think the average truck in our fleet is about 10 years old. We've always operated largely in the used truck environment. And one of the reasons for that is because our BCOs tend to be pretty mechanically inclined.

Speaker 4

They do a lot of repair work on their own and it provides them a very low cost to operate. And those that are doing that, I think are the ones that are still with us and very active and very profitable. Not everybody is like that, right? And so they may challenge. But I don't think it affects our service.

Speaker 4

I think from a corporate perspective, you're required to get an inspection annually based on FMCSA. We require it every 120 days. So we don't really allow equipment to get away from us from a maintenance perspective or a safety perspective. We require them to we measure tires and do all that stuff every 120 days. So I don't think it puts them at a disadvantage.

Speaker 4

I think it actually from a cost standpoint in this kind of environment may give them an advantage over others. And then we've got a pretty good LCAP program that where we've gone out and taken the fleet of 9,000 trucks and negotiated fuel and repairs and inspections and pricing on all those very fundamental services that they need to operate. We've negotiated beneficial pricing for them. So it's quite a bit better than they might get if they were out as a 1 or 2, 3 truck fleet on their own authority. So I think those things in tandem, I think we do a pretty nice job at here.

Speaker 13

All right, great. Very helpful. Appreciate the time.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Sid. Thank

Operator

you. At this time, I show no further questions. I would like to turn back the call over to you, sir, for closing remarks.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Bill. In closing, while the freight environment remains challenging, we do see some positives in the near term. We are encouraged by the recent stabilization in freight rates after the elongated downturn experienced since the 2022 Q2. And regardless of the economic environment, the resiliency of the Landstar variable cost business model continues to generate significant free cash flow. Landstar has always been a cyclical growth company and we are well positioned to navigate these dynamic times and look forward to higher highs when the freight market turns our way.

Speaker 2

Thank you for joining us this afternoon. We look forward to speaking with you again on our 2024 Q4 earnings conference call in late January. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you for joining the conference call today. Have a good afternoon. Please disconnect your lines at this time.

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Key Takeaways

  • The 2024 Q3 freight environment remained weak, with truckload volumes down 7.7% year-over-year amid abundant capacity and soft industrial output.
  • Revenue per truckload rose just 0.7% year-over-year—within guidance—but sequential rate gains were muted by a 4.3% drop in diesel prices.
  • Landstar’s independent business owner (BCO) truck count declined about 12% from a year ago, as higher repair costs and low rates drove continued attrition into Q4.
  • Safety performance strengthened, with DOT-reportable accidents per million miles improving roughly 10% over the first nine months of 2024.
  • The balance sheet remains strong—with $531 million in cash and short-term investments—and the company repurchased $22 million of stock in Q3, while guiding Q4 revenue of $1.15–1.25 billion and EPS of $1.25–1.45.
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Earnings Conference Call
Landstar System Q3 2024
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