Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (KNX)
SIC breadcrumb: Transportation, Communications, Electric, Gas, And Sanitary Services > Motor Freight Transportation And Warehousing > SIC 4213 Trucking (No Local)
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=1492691. Latest filing source: 0001492691-26-000016.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read KNX's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read KNX's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Peer comparisons including KNX
- Trucking and truckload logistics: peer review · market-risk page
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 7,469,689,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-19 |
| Net income | 65,946,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-19 |
| Assets | 11,955,436,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-02-19 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-02-19. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001492691.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 1,118,034,000 | 2,425,453,000 | 5,344,066,000 | 4,843,950,000 | 4,673,863,000 | 5,998,019,000 | 7,428,582,000 | 7,141,766,000 | 7,410,078,000 | 7,469,689,000 | |
| Net income | 93,863,000 | 484,292,000 | 419,264,000 | 309,206,000 | 410,002,000 | 743,388,000 | 771,325,000 | 217,149,000 | 117,626,000 | 65,946,000 | |
| Operating income | 148,479,000 | 200,630,000 | 569,043,000 | 427,438,000 | 564,438,000 | 965,697,000 | 1,091,828,000 | 338,153,000 | 243,388,000 | 216,062,000 | |
| Diluted EPS | 1.16 | 4.34 | 2.36 | 1.80 | 2.40 | 4.45 | 4.73 | 1.34 | 0.73 | 0.41 | |
| Operating cash flow | 243,776,000 | 322,590,000 | 881,977,000 | 839,594,000 | 919,645,000 | 1,190,153,000 | 1,435,853,000 | 1,161,676,000 | 799,063,000 | 1,266,647,000 | |
| Dividends paid | 19,597,000 | 25,454,000 | 42,770,000 | 41,425,000 | 54,620,000 | 63,535,000 | 78,304,000 | 91,149,000 | 104,153,000 | 117,435,000 | |
| Share buybacks | 45,345,000 | 39,873,000 | 0.00 | 179,318,000 | 86,892,000 | 179,585,000 | 57,175,000 | 299,941,000 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
| Assets | 1,078,525,000 | 7,683,442,000 | 7,911,885,000 | 8,281,732,000 | 8,468,002,000 | 10,655,500,000 | 10,951,666,000 | 12,870,765,000 | 12,698,532,000 | 11,955,436,000 | |
| Liabilities | 289,794,000 | 2,443,072,000 | 2,449,166,000 | 2,613,429,000 | 2,595,962,000 | 4,112,050,000 | 3,996,385,000 | 5,766,684,000 | 5,581,727,000 | 4,863,570,000 | |
| Stockholders' equity | 786,473,000 | 5,237,732,000 | 5,460,949,000 | 5,666,215,000 | 5,869,848,000 | 6,533,152,000 | 6,945,004,000 | 7,087,390,000 | 7,108,967,000 | 7,082,454,000 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 8,021,000 | 76,649,000 | 82,486,000 | 159,722,000 | 156,699,000 | 261,001,000 | 196,770,000 | 168,545,000 | 218,261,000 | 220,420,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 8.40% | 19.97% | 7.85% | 6.38% | 8.77% | 12.39% | 10.38% | 3.04% | 1.59% | 0.88% | |
| Operating margin | 13.28% | 8.27% | 10.65% | 8.82% | 12.08% | 16.10% | 14.70% | 4.73% | 3.28% | 2.89% | |
| Return on equity | 11.93% | 9.25% | 7.68% | 5.46% | 6.98% | 11.38% | 11.11% | 3.06% | 1.65% | 0.93% | |
| Return on assets | 8.70% | 6.30% | 5.30% | 3.73% | 4.84% | 6.98% | 7.04% | 1.69% | 0.93% | 0.55% | |
| Liabilities / equity | 0.37 | 0.47 | 0.45 | 0.46 | 0.44 | 0.63 | 0.58 | 0.81 | 0.79 | 0.69 | |
| Current ratio | 2.42 | 1.51 | 1.48 | 0.90 | 1.10 | 1.32 | 1.67 | 0.94 | 0.85 | 0.86 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
Operating margin peer context
ROE peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001492691-26-000016; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: Revenues. Source concepts: us-gaap:Revenues.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001492691-26-000016; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001492691-26-000016; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: OperatingIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001492691-26-000016; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001492691-26-000016; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001492691-26-000016; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: PaymentsOfDividends. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsOfDividends.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2024 ended 2024-12-31; accession 0001492691-25-000013; filed 2025-02-20. Concept: PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001492691-26-000016; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001492691-26-000016; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: Liabilities. Source concepts: us-gaap:Liabilities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001492691-26-000016; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001492691-26-000016; filed 2026-02-19. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-04-29. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0001492691.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-06-30 | 1.35 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | 1.21 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 | 0.64 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | 1,552,979,000 | 63,326,000 | 0.39 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 2,019,936,000 | 60,194,000 | 0.37 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 1,931,919,000 | -10,655,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 1,822,467,000 | -2,635,000 | -0.02 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 1,846,654,000 | 20,300,000 | 0.13 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 1,876,676,000 | 30,464,000 | 0.19 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | 1,864,281,000 | 69,497,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 1,824,362,000 | 30,639,000 | 0.19 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 1,861,940,000 | 34,243,000 | 0.21 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 1,927,057,000 | 7,861,000 | 0.05 | reported discrete quarter |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 1,856,330,000 | -6,797,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 1,850,223,000 | -1,317,000 | -0.01 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001492691-26-000038; filed 2026-04-29. Concept: Revenues. Source concepts: us-gaap:Revenues.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001492691-26-000038; filed 2026-04-29. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001492691-26-000038; filed 2026-04-29. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001492691-26-000038.
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Quarterly Report contains certain statements that may be considered "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical or current fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including without limitation:
•any projections of or guidance regarding earnings, earnings per share, revenues, cash flows, dividends, capital expenditures, or other financial items,
•any statement of plans, strategies, and objectives of management for future operations,
•any statements concerning proposed acquisition plans, new services, or developments,
•any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, and
•any statements of belief and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing.
In this Quarterly Report, forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements we make concerning:
•our ability to gain market share and adapt to market conditions, the ability of our infrastructure to support future growth, future market position, and the ability, desire, and effects of expanding our service offerings (including expansion of our LTL network), whether we grow organically or through potential acquisitions,
•our ability to recruit and retain qualified driving associates,
•future safety performance,
•future performance of our segments or businesses,
•future capital expenditures, equipment prices (including used equipment) and availability, our equipment purchasing or leasing plans, and mix of our owned versus leased revenue equipment, and our equipment turnover,
•the impact of pending legal proceedings,
•future insurance claims, coverage, coverage limits, premiums, and self-insured retention limits, including the potential impact of adverse developments in our prior period claims,
•the expected freight environment, including freight demand, capacity, seasonality, and volumes,
•economic conditions and growth, including future inflation, consumer spending, supply chain conditions, inventory levels or management, labor supply and relations, and trade policy,
•expected liquidity and methods for achieving sufficient liquidity, including our expected need or desire to incur indebtedness and our ability to comply with debt covenants,
•future fuel prices and availability and the expected impact of fuel efficiency initiatives,
•future expenses, including depreciation and amortization, purchased transportation, impairments, interest rates, cost structure, and our ability to control costs,
•future rates, operating profitability and margin, load count, asset utilization, and return on capital,
•future third-party service provider relationships and availability, including pricing terms,
•future contracted pay rates with independent contractors, ability to lease equipment to independent contractors, and compensation arrangements with driving associates,
•future capital allocation, capital structure, capital requirements, and growth strategies and opportunities,
•future share repurchases and dividends,
•future tax rates,
•expected tractor and trailer fleet age, fleet size, and demand for trailer fleet,
•future investment in and deployment of new or updated technology or services,
22
Table of Contents Glossary of Terms
KNIGHT-SWIFT TRANSPORTATION HOLDINGS INC.
MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS — CONTINUED
•future classification of our independent contractors, including the impact of new laws and regulations regarding classification,
•political conditions and regulations, including conflicts, trade regulation, quotas, duties, or tariffs, and any future changes to the foregoing,
•integration efforts related to prior acquisitions and any future effects of such acquisitions, and
•others.
Such statements may be identified by their use of terms or phrases such as "believe," "may," "could," "will," "would," "should," "expects," "estimates," "designed," "likely," "foresee," "goals," "seek," "target," "forecast," "projects," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "hopes," "strategy," "potential," "objective," "pursue," "address," "mission," "maintain," "ongoing," "predicts," "budgets," "remains," "continue," "outlook," "confident," "feel," and similar terms and phrases. Forward-looking statements are based on currently available operating, financial, and competitive information. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, which could cause future events and actual results to materially differ from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in Part I, Item 1A "Risk Factors" in our 2025 Annual Report, and various disclosures in our press releases, stockholder reports, and other filings with the SEC.
All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Quarterly Report. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein, to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto, or any change in the events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Reference to Glossary of Terms
Certain acronyms and terms used throughout this Quarterly Report are specific to our company, commonly used in our industry, or are otherwise frequently used throughout our document. Definitions for these acronyms and terms are provided in the "Glossary of Terms," available in the front of this document.
Reference to Annual Report
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements (unaudited) and footnotes included in this Quarterly Report, as well as the consolidated financial statements and footnotes included in our 2025 Annual Report.
23
Table of Contents Glossary of Terms
KNIGHT-SWIFT TRANSPORTATION HOLDINGS INC.
MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS — CONTINUED
Executive Summary
Company Overview
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. is one of North America's largest and most diversified freight transportation companies, providing multiple full truckload, LTL, intermodal, and other complementary services. Our objective is to operate our business with industry-leading margins, continue organic growth, and continue growth through acquisitions while providing safe, high-quality, cost-effective solutions for our customers. Knight-Swift uses a nationwide network of business units and terminals in the US and Mexico to serve customers throughout North America. In addition to operating one of the country's largest truckload fleets, Knight-Swift also contracts with third-party equipment providers to provide a broad range of transportation services to our customers while creating quality driving jobs for our driving associates and successful business opportunities for independent contractors. Our four reportable segments are Truckload, LTL, Logistics, and Intermodal. Additionally, we have various other operating segments, included within our All Other Segments.
Key Financial Highlights — Year-to-Date March 31, 2026
Consolidated operating income decreased 57.1% to $28.6 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2026, as compared to the same period last year. Net (loss) income attributable to Knight-Swift decreased 104.3% to a $1.3 million loss.
•Truckload — 96.9% operating ratio during the quarter ended March 31, 2026. The Adjusted Operating Ratio1 was 96.3%, with a 0.3% year-over-year decrease in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions.
•LTL — 101.0% operating ratio during the quarter ended March 31, 2026. The Adjusted Operating Ratio1 deteriorated 540 basis points year-over-year to 99.6%, primarily due to $18.0 million of expense for adverse claims development in our LTL segment, primarily related to an adverse arbitration ruling on a 2022 claim.
•Logistics — 97.2% operating ratio during the quarter ended March 31, 2026. The Adjusted Operating Ratio1 was 96.2% with a gross margin of 16.6%. Revenue decreased 9.9% year-over-year driven by an 18.9% decline in load count, partially offset by a 10.4% increase in revenue per load.
•Intermodal — 101.5% operating ratio during the quarter ended March 31, 2026, as year-over-year load count and revenue per load increased 1.2% and 1.6%, respectively.
•All Other Segments — Operating loss was $7.1 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2026 compared to operating income of $6.0 million during the comparable period of 2025, largely as a result of inclusion of $5.2 million of costs for the accounts receivable securitization program during the first quarter of 2026 that were previously reported in interest expense under the prior arrangement during the first quarter of 2025 and due to startup costs on new contract awards for which revenue is expected to ramp in the coming months.
•Liquidity and Capital — During the quarter ended March 31, 2026, we generated $142.5 million in operating cash flows and Free Cash Flow1 of $56.9 million. We paid down $33.3 million in finance lease liabilities, $41.4 million in operating lease liabilities, and had $32.0 million of net borrowings on our 2025 Revolver during the year-to-date period ended March 31, 2026. As of March 31, 2026, we had a balance of $222.8 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, $2.1 billion face value outstanding debt, net of unrestricted cash, and $7.1 billion of stockholders' equity. We do not foresee material liquidity constraints or any issues with our ongoing ability to meet our debt covenants. See discussion under "Liquidity and Capital Resources" for additional information.
________
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
24
Table of Contents Glossary of Terms
KNIGHT-SWIFT TRANSPORTATION HOLDINGS INC.
MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS — CONTINUED
Key Financial Data and Operating Metrics
| Quarter Ended March 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2025 | |||||||||
| GAAP financial data: | (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,850,223 | $ | 1,824,362 | ||||||
| Revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | $ | 1,638,032 | $ | 1,632,963 | ||||||
| Net (loss) income attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | (1,317) | $ | 30,639 | ||||||
| (Loss) earnings per diluted share | $ | (0.01) | $ | 0.19 | ||||||
| Operating ratio | 98.5 | % | 96.3 | % | ||||||
| Non-GAAP financial data: | ||||||||||
| Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift 1 | $ | 14,262 | $ | 45,372 | ||||||
| Adjusted EPS 1 | $ | 0.09 | $ | 0.28 | ||||||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 | 97.0 | % | 94.7 | % | ||||||
| Revenue equipment statistics by segment: | ||||||||||
| Truckload | ||||||||||
| Average tractors 2 | 21,027 | 21,909 | ||||||||
| Average trailers 3 | 82,288 | 85,928 | ||||||||
| LTL | ||||||||||
| Average tractors 4 | 4,239 | 4,023 | ||||||||
| Average trailers 5 | 11,281 | 10,976 | ||||||||
| Intermodal | ||||||||||
| Average tractors | 595 | 622 | ||||||||
| Average containers | 12,511 | 12,546 |
1Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, and Adjusted
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Certain acronyms and terms used throughout this Annual Report are specific to our company, commonly used in our industry, or are otherwise frequently used throughout our document. Definitions for these acronyms and terms are provided in the "Glossary of Terms," available in the front of this document.
Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations should be read together with "Business" in Part I, Item 1 of this Annual Report, as well as the consolidated financial statements and accompanying footnotes in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report. This discussion contains forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A. "Risk Factors" and Part I "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements" of this Annual Report, and elsewhere in this report. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed.
Executive Summary
Company Overview
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. is one of North America's largest and most diversified freight transportation companies, providing multiple full truckload, LTL, intermodal, and other complementary services. Our objective is to operate our business with industry-leading margins, continued organic growth, and growth through acquisitions while providing safe, high-quality, and cost-effective solutions for our customers. Knight-Swift uses a nationwide network of business units and terminals in the US and Mexico to serve customers throughout North America. In addition to operating one of the country's largest truckload fleets, Knight-Swift also contracts with third-party carriers to provide a broad range of transportation services to our customers while creating quality driving jobs for our driving associates and successful business opportunities for independent contractors. Our four reportable segments are Truckload, LTL, Logistics, and Intermodal. Additionally, we have various other operating segments, included within our All Other Segments.
Key Financial Highlights
During 2025, consolidated total revenue was $7.5 billion, which is a 0.8% increase over 2024. Consolidated operating income was $216.1 million in 2025, reflecting a decrease of 11.2% from 2024. Consolidated net income attributable to Knight-Swift decreased by 43.9% from 2024 to $65.9 million.
•Truckload — 97.0% operating ratio during 2025, with a 2.8% decrease in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, compared to 2024.
•LTL — 97.4% operating ratio during 2025 with a 20.6% increase in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge.
•Logistics — 96.0% operating ratio during 2025. Revenue per load increased by 4.7%, leading to a 0.1% increase in revenue, excluding intersegment transactions.
•Intermodal — 102.1% operating ratio during 2025. Load count decreased 6.7%, partially offset by a 1.0% improvement in revenue per load resulting in a 19.2% decrease in operating loss.
•All Other Segments — Operating income was $14.4 million during 2025 as compared an operating loss of $26.2 million in 2024, which was largely as a result of winding down our third-party insurance program, ultimately ceasing operations at the end of the first quarter of 2024.
•Liquidity and Capital — During 2025, we generated $1.3 billion in operating cash flows. Our Free Cash Flow1 was $763.2 million. Note that operating cash flows for 2025 were increased by $478.2 million in sales proceeds funded under the new accounts receivable securitization program upon its closing on December 31, 2025, as further discussed below. From a financing perspective, during 2025 we paid down $380 million of outstanding term loan balances, $147.5 million in finance lease liabilities, and $161.6 million on operating lease liabilities. Additionally, we had $65.2 million of net borrowings on our 2025 Revolver and prior accounts receivable securitization after giving effect for the $478.2 million payoff and termination of the prior accounts receivable securitization agreement on December 31, 2025, as discussed below.
________
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
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On December 31, 2025, the Company entered into a new $575 million accounts receivable securitization facility via the Receivables Purchase Agreement (the "2025 RPA"), replacing the Company's previous $575 million securitization facility first entered into in 2013, as amended and restated through October 2025 (the "2025 RSA"). Replacing the 2025 RSA, which was treated as a financing secured by receivables, with the 2025 RPA, which is treated as a sale of receivables, has the effect of removing the subject receivables and the former secured borrowing from the Company's balance sheet beginning December 31, 2025 and is expected to reduce expenses on a go-forward basis. Note that the payoff and termination of the prior debt facility with the sales proceeds under the new sales arrangement on December 31, 2025 had the effect of increasing operating cash flow for 2025 by the amount of the $478.2 million proceeds at closing, while the payoff of the prior debt facility is a cash outflow for financing activities and reduces the net borrowings from working capital facilities for 2025 by the same amount. Going forward, we would expect less pronounced impacts to the cash flow statement from this program as ongoing changes in the size of the pool of receivables in the ordinary course of business are expected to be less than the initial proceeds funded at closing for the outstanding pool of receivables.
We ended 2025 with $1.1 billion in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and available liquidity and $7.1 billion of stockholders' equity. The face value of our debt, net of unrestricted cash ("Net Debt") was $2.1 billion at the end of 2025. We do not foresee material liquidity constraints or any issues with our ongoing ability to meet our debt covenants. See discussion under "Liquidity and Capital Resources" for additional information.
Key Financial Data and Operating Metrics
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP financial data: | (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,469,689 | $ | 7,410,078 | ||
| Revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | $ | 6,692,075 | $ | 6,611,957 | ||
| Net income attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 65,946 | $ | 117,626 | ||
| Earnings per diluted share | $ | 0.41 | $ | 0.73 | ||
| Operating ratio | 97.1 | % | 96.7 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP financial data: | ||||||
| Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift 1 | $ | 204,738 | $ | 172,085 | ||
| Adjusted EPS 1 | $ | 1.26 | $ | 1.06 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 | 94.1 | % | 94.7 | % | ||
| Revenue equipment statistics by segment: | ||||||
| Truckload | ||||||
| Average tractors 2 | 21,428 | 22,791 | ||||
| Average trailers 3 | 84,851 | 89,487 | ||||
| LTL | ||||||
| Average tractors 4 | 4,164 | 3,569 | ||||
| Average trailers 5 | 11,057 | 9,564 | ||||
| Intermodal | ||||||
| Average tractors | 595 | 615 | ||||
| Average containers | 12,539 | 12,572 |
1Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, and Adjusted Operating Ratio are non-GAAP financial measures and should not be considered alternatives, or superior to, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. However, management believes that presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors regarding the Company's results of operations. Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, and Adjusted Operating Ratio are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures," below.
2Our tractor fleet within the Truckload segment had a weighted average age of 2.7 years and 2.6 years as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
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3Note that average trailers includes 9,671 and 8,769 trailers within our All Other Segment as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Our trailer fleet within the Truckload segment had a weighted average age of 9.7 years and 9.4 years as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Starting with the fourth quarter of 2025, the Company is excluding its chassis trailers from its average trailer calculation. Prior period information has been recast for comparability.
4Our LTL tractor fleet had a weighted average age of 3.8 years and 4.2 years as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and includes 663 and 619 tractors from ACT's dedicated and other businesses for 2025 and 2024, respectively.
5Our LTL trailer fleet had a weighted average age of 8.2 years and 8.4 years as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and includes 1,129 and 876 trailers from ACT's dedicated and other businesses for 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Results of Operations — Summary
Notes regarding presentation: A discussion of changes in our results of operations from 2023 to 2024 has been omitted from this Annual Report, but may be found in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of our 2024 Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 20, 2025.
In accordance with accounting treatment applicable to each of our recent acquisitions, Knight-Swift's reported results do not include the operating results of the acquired entities prior to the respective acquisition dates. Accordingly, comparisons between the Company's 2025 results and prior periods may not be meaningful. Refer to Note 1 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for a list of our recent acquisitions.
Operating Results: 2025 Compared to 2024 — The $51.7 million decrease in net income attributable to Knight-Swift to $65.9 million in 2025 from $117.6 million in 2024, includes the following:
•Contributor — $21.1 million decrease in operating income within our Truckload segment, primarily due to $52.9 million in non-cash impairments of goodwill and intangible assets associated with Abilene as a result of the decision to cease its separate operations and combine it into our Swift business and certain revenue equipment as well as owned and lease real property. This was partially offset by a 3.3% increase in our average revenue per tractor.
•Contributor — $48.4 million decrease in operating income from our LTL segment is primarily due to a $28.8 million non-cash impairments of tradenames associated with the decision to rebrand the MME and DHE brands of our LTL businesses under the AAA Cooper brand, increased costs related to expanding our LTL service area, and a 1.2% decrease in weight per shipment.
•Contributor — $30.1 million decrease in "Other income (expenses), net," primarily driven by a mark-to-market adjustment in 2024 related to certain purchase price obligations associated with the acquisition of U.S. Xpress.
•Contributor — $0.3 million decrease in operating income within our Logistics segment driven by a 4.6% decrease in load count, partially offset by a 4.7% increase in revenue per load.
•Offset — $40.6 million increase in operating income within our All Other Segments, largely as a result of exiting the third-party insurance business at the end of the first quarter of 2024.
•Offset — $3.7 million decrease in net interest expense primarily due to a decrease in interest rates, partially offset by higher average borrowings.
•Offset — $3.2 million decrease in consolidated income tax expense, primarily due to a decrease in income before income taxes. This resulted in a 2025 effective tax rate of 31.2% and a 2024 effective tax rate of 22.1%.
•Offset — $1.8 million decrease in operating loss within our Intermodal segment driven by a 1.0% increase in revenue per load.
See additional discussion of our operating results within "Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses" below.
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Results of Operations — Segment Review
The Company has four reportable segments: Truckload, LTL, Logistics, and Intermodal, as well as certain other operating segments included within our All Other Segments. Refer to Note 23 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for descriptions of our segments. Refer to Part I, Item 1, "Business – Our Mission and Company Strategy" of this Annual Report for discussion related to our segment operating strategies.
Consolidating Tables for Total Revenue and Operating Income
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue: | (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Truckload | $ | 4,865,034 | 65.1 | % | $ | 5,034,941 | 67.9 | % | |||||
| LTL | $ | 1,478,508 | 19.8 | % | $ | 1,235,547 | 16.7 | % | |||||
| Logistics | $ | 570,294 | 7.6 | % | $ | 570,001 | 7.7 | % | |||||
| Intermodal | $ | 364,914 | 4.9 | % | $ | 387,232 | 5.2 | % | |||||
| Subtotal | $ | 7,278,750 | 97.4 | % | $ | 7,227,721 | 97.5 | % | |||||
| All Other Segments | $ | 287,470 | 3.8 | % | $ | 266,496 | 3.6 | % | |||||
| Intersegment eliminations | $ | (96,531) | (1.2 | %) | $ | (84,139) | (1.1 | %) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,469,689 | 100.0 | % | $ | 7,410,078 | 100.0 | % |
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating income (loss): | (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Truckload | $ | 147,232 | 68.1 | % | $ | 168,345 | 69.2 | % | |||||
| LTL | $ | 38,994 | 18.0 | % | $ | 87,390 | 35.9 | % | |||||
| Logistics | $ | 23,059 | 10.7 | % | $ | 23,312 | 9.6 | % | |||||
| Intermodal | $ | (7,640) | (3.5 | %) | $ | (9,458) | (3.9 | %) | |||||
| Subtotal | $ | 201,645 | 93.3 | % | $ | 269,589 | 110.8 | % | |||||
| All Other Segments | $ | 14,417 | 6.7 | % | $ | (26,201) | (10.8 | %) | |||||
| Operating income | $ | 216,062 | 100.0 | % | $ | 243,388 | 100.0 | % |
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Revenue
•Our truckload services include irregular route and dedicated, refrigerated, expedited, flatbed, and cross-border transportation of various products, goods, and materials for our diverse customer base with approximately 15,500 irregular route and 6,000 dedicated tractors.
•Our LTL business, which was initially established in 2021 through the ACT Acquisition and later the MME and DHE acquisitions, provides our customers with LTL transportation service through our growing network of approximately 180 facilities and a door count of approximately 6,690. Our LTL segment operates approximately 4,200 tractors and approximately 11,100 trailers, including equipment used for ACT's dedicated and other businesses. The LTL segment also provides national coverage to our customers by utilizing partner carriers for areas outside of our direct network.
•Our Logistics and Intermodal segments provide a multitude of shipping solutions, including additional sources of truckload capacity and alternative transportation modes, by utilizing our vast network of third-party capacity providers and rail providers, as well as certain logistics and freight management services. We continue to offer power-only services through our Logistics segment by leveraging our fleet of approximately 85,000 trailers as of December 31, 2025.
•All Other Segments include support services provided to our customers and third-party carriers including equipment maintenance, equipment leasing, warehousing, trailer parts manufacturing, warranty services, and insurance for independent contractors, as well as insurance for affiliated carriers through the first quarter of 2024. All Other Segments also include certain corporate expenses (such as legal settlements and accruals, certain impairments, and amortization of intangibles related to the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions).
•In addition to the revenues earned from our customers for the trucking and non-trucking services discussed above, we also earn fuel surcharge revenue from our customers through our fuel surcharge programs, which serve to recover a majority of our fuel costs. This generally applies only to loaded miles for our Truckload and LTL segments and typically does not offset non-paid empty miles, idle time, nor out-of-route miles driven. Fuel surcharge programs involve a computation based on the change in national or regional fuel prices. These programs may update as often as weekly, but typically require a specified minimum change in fuel cost to prompt a change in fuel surcharge revenue. Therefore, many of these programs have a time lag between when fuel costs change and when the change is reflected in fuel surcharge revenue for our Truckload and LTL segments.
Expenses
Our most significant expenses typically vary with miles traveled and include fuel, driving associate-related expenses (such as wages and benefits), and services purchased from third-party service providers (including other trucking companies, railroad and drayage providers, and independent contractors). Maintenance and tire expenses, as well as the cost of insurance and claims generally vary with the miles we travel but also have a controllable component based on safety performance, fleet age, operating efficiency, and other factors. Our primary fixed costs are depreciation and lease expense for revenue equipment and terminals, non-driver employee compensation, amortization of intangible assets, and interest expenses.
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Operating Statistics
We measure our consolidated and segment results through the operating statistics listed in the table below. Our chief operating decision makers monitor the GAAP results of our reportable segments, supplemented by certain non-GAAP information. Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for more details. Additionally, we use a number of primary indicators to monitor our revenue and expense performance and efficiency.
| Operating Statistic | Relevant Segment(s) | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Revenue per Tractor | Truckload | Measures productivity and represents revenue (excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions) divided by average tractor count | ||
| Total Miles per Tractor | Truckload | Total miles (including loaded and empty miles) divided by average tractor count | ||
| Average Length of Haul | Truckload, LTL | For our Truckload segment this is calculated as average miles traveled with loaded trailer cargo per order. For our LTL segment this is calculated as average miles traveled from the origin service center to the destination service center. | ||
| Non-paid Empty Miles Percentage | Truckload | Percentage of miles without trailer cargo | ||
| Shipments per Day | LTL | Average number of shipments completed each business day | ||
| Weight per Shipment | LTL | Total weight (in pounds) divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue per shipment | LTL | Total revenue divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue xFSC per shipment | LTL | Total revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue per hundredweight | LTL | Measures yield and is calculated as total revenue divided by total weight (in pounds) times 100 | ||
| Revenue xFSC per hundredweight | LTL | Total revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, divided by total weight (in pounds) times 100 | ||
| Average Tractors | Truckload, LTL, Intermodal | Average tractors in operation during the period, including company tractors and tractors provided by independent contractors | ||
| Average Trailers | Truckload, LTL | Average trailers in operation during the period | ||
| Average Revenue per Load | Logistics, Intermodal | Total revenue (excluding intersegment transactions) divided by load count | ||
| Gross Margin Percentage | Logistics | Logistics gross margin (revenue, excluding intersegment transactions, less purchased transportation expense, excluding intersegment transactions) as a percentage of logistics revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | ||
| Average Containers | Intermodal | Average containers in operation during the period | ||
| GAAP Operating Ratio | Truckload, LTL, Logistics, Intermodal | Measures operating efficiency and is widely used in our industry as an assessment of management's effectiveness in controlling all categories of operating expenses. Calculated as operating expenses as a percentage of total revenue, or the inverse of operating margin | ||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio | Truckload, LTL, Logistics, Intermodal | Measures operating efficiency and is widely used in our industry as an assessment of management's effectiveness in controlling all categories of operating expenses. Consolidated and segment Adjusted Operating Ratios are reconciled to their corresponding GAAP operating ratios under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures," below |
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Segment Review
Truckload Segment
We generate revenue in the Truckload segment primarily through irregular route, dedicated, refrigerated, flatbed, expedited, and cross-border service offerings, with approximately 15,500 irregular route tractors and approximately 6,000 dedicated route tractors in use during 2025. Generally, we are paid a predetermined rate per mile or per load for our truckload services. Additional revenues are generated by charging for tractor and trailer detention, loading and unloading activities, dedicated services, other specialized services, and through the collection of fuel surcharge revenue to mitigate the impact of increases in the cost of fuel. The main factors that affect the revenue generated by our Truckload segment are rate per mile from our customers, the percentage of miles for which we are compensated, and the number of loaded miles we generate with our equipment.
The most significant expenses in the Truckload segment are primarily variable and include fuel and fuel taxes, driving associate-related expenses (such as wages, benefits, training, and recruitment), and costs associated with independent contractors primarily included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Maintenance expense (which includes costs for replacement tires for our revenue equipment) and insurance and claims expenses have both fixed and variable components. These expenses generally vary with the miles we travel, but also have a controllable component based on safety, fleet age, efficiency, and other factors. The main fixed costs in the Truckload segment are depreciation and rent expenses from tractors, trailers, and terminals, as well as compensating our non-driver employees.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per tractor data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 4,865,034 | $ | 5,034,941 | (3.4 | %) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions | $ | 4,283,398 | $ | 4,408,612 | (2.8 | %) | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 147,232 | $ | 168,345 | (12.5 | %) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 | $ | 222,855 | $ | 194,744 | 14.4 | % | ||||
| Average revenue per tractor 2 | $ | 199,897 | $ | 193,436 | 3.3 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 97.0 | % | 96.7 | % | 30 | bps | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 94.8 | % | 95.6 | % | (80 | bps) | ||||
| Non-paid empty miles percentage 2 | 13.9 | % | 14.0 | % | (10 | bps) | ||||
| Average length of haul (miles) 2 | 368 | 383 | (3.9 | %) | ||||||
| Total miles per tractor 2 | 83,650 | 81,563 | 2.6 | % | ||||||
| Average tractors 2 3 | 21,428 | 22,791 | (6.0 | %) | ||||||
| Average trailers 2 4 | 84,851 | 89,487 | (5.2 | %) |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined within "Operating Statistics" above.
3Includes 19,395 and 20,644 company-owned tractors for 2025 and 2024, respectively.
4Average trailers includes 9,671 and 8,769 trailers from our All Other Segments for 2025 and 2024, respectively. Starting with the fourth quarter of 2025, the Company is excluding its chassis trailers from its average trailer calculation. Prior period information has been recast for comparability.
2025 Compared to 2024 — Our Truckload segment revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, decreased 2.8% year-over-year, driven by a 3.4% decrease in loaded miles. Revenue per loaded mile, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, improved 0.7% year-over-year. The 2025 Adjusted Operating Ratio improved 80 basis points year-over-year to 94.8%. We are encouraged with the progress at U.S. Xpress, as this business continues to close the gap on margin performance with our legacy brands. We believe U.S. Xpress is positioned to make further progress in an improving market.
During the fourth quarter, we made the decision to combine the Abilene trucking operations into our Swift business to improve efficiency and enhance productivity. We continue to make tangible progress improving our cost structure and implementing technology-driven initiatives to offset inflationary pressures and which we believe will position our business to generate meaningful returns as market conditions recover.
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LTL Segment
Our LTL segment provides regional direct service and serves our customers' national transportation needs by utilizing key partner carriers for coverage areas outside of our network. We primarily generate revenue by transporting freight for our customers through our core LTL services.
Our revenues are impacted by shipment volume and tonnage levels that flow through our network. Additional revenues are generated through fuel surcharges and accessorial services provided during transit from shipment origin to destination. We focus on the following multiple revenue generation factors when reviewing revenue yield: revenue per hundredweight, revenue per shipment, weight per shipment, and length of haul. Fluctuations within each of these metrics are analyzed when determining the revenue quality of our customers' shipment density.
Our most significant expenses are related to direct costs associated with the transportation of our freight moves including direct salary, wage and benefit costs, fuel expense, and depreciation expense associated with revenue equipment costs. Other expenses associated with revenue generation that can fluctuate and impact operating results are insurance and claims expense, as well as maintenance costs of our revenue equipment. These expenses can be influenced by multiple factors including our safety performance, equipment age, and other factors. A key component to lowering our operating costs is labor efficiency within our network. We continue to focus on technological advances to improve the customer experience and reduce our operating costs.
During 2025, we decided to adopt the strong and historically significant AAA Cooper brand across our entire LTL business, effective as of January 1, 2026. The consolidated branding recognizes that we are already one business, operating seamlessly on one system through one network to present a cohesive solution to our customers, while simplifying administration and communication.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per shipment and per hundredweight data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,478,508 | $ | 1,235,547 | 19.7 | % | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge | $ | 1,281,975 | $ | 1,063,165 | 20.6 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 38,994 | $ | 87,390 | (55.4) | % | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 | $ | 87,620 | $ | 105,511 | (17.0) | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 97.4 | % | 92.9 | % | 450 | bps | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 93.2 | % | 90.1 | % | 310 | bps | ||||
| LTL shipments per day 2 | 23,923 | 20,756 | 15.3 | % | ||||||
| LTL weight per shipment 2 | 993 | 1,005 | (1.2) | % | ||||||
| LTL average length of haul (miles) 2 | 665 | 589 | 12.9 | % | ||||||
| LTL revenue per shipment 2 | $ | 213.61 | $ | 202.67 | 5.4 | % | ||||
| LTL revenue xFSC per shipment 2 | $ | 184.83 | $ | 174.10 | 6.2 | % | ||||
| LTL revenue per hundredweight 2 | $ | 21.52 | $ | 20.17 | 6.7 | % | ||||
| LTL revenue xFSC per hundredweight 2 | $ | 18.62 | $ | 17.33 | 7.4 | % | ||||
| LTL average tractors 2 3 | 4,164 | 3,569 | 16.7 | % | ||||||
| LTL average trailers 2 4 | 11,057 | 9,564 | 15.6 | % |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined under "Operating Statistics," above.
3Includes 663 and 619 tractors from ACT's dedicated and other businesses for 2025 and 2024, respectively.
4Includes 1,129 and 876 trailers from ACT's dedicated and other businesses for 2025 and 2024, respectively.
2025 Compared to 2024 — Our LTL segment grew revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, 20.6% as shipments per day increased 15.3% year-over-year, which includes the acquisition of DHE on July 30, 2024. Revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharge, increased 7.4%, revenue per shipment, excluding fuel surcharge, increased by 6.2%, and weight per shipment decreased 1.2%. This segment produced a 93.2% Adjusted Operating Ratio in 2025, and Adjusted Operating Income decreased 17.0% year-over-year primarily due to start-up costs and early-stage operations at our recently opened facilities and costs related to the system integration of DHE.
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During 2025, we opened 16 new service centers, four of which replaced larger sites, bringing our year-over-year growth in door count to 10.0% for 2025. As previously noted, we expect our pace of facility expansion will be slower in the near term and believe ongoing bid events with new and existing customers will provide further opportunities to grow shipment volume and improve efficiencies. Our near-term focus is to drive both revenue and margin expansion in the business through strong service, disciplined pricing, and cost efficiency. We continue to look for both organic and inorganic opportunities to geographically expand our footprint within the LTL market.
Logistics Segment
The Logistics segment is less asset-intensive than the Truckload and LTL segments and is dependent upon capable non-driver employees, modern and effective information technology, and third-party capacity providers. Logistics revenue is primarily generated by its brokerage operations. We generate additional revenue by offering specialized logistics solutions (including, but not limited to, trailing equipment, origin management, surge volume, disaster relief, special projects, and other logistics needs). Logistics revenue is mainly affected by the rates we obtain from customers, the freight volumes we ship through third-party capacity providers, and our ability to secure third-party capacity providers to transport customer freight.
The most significant expense in the Logistics segment is purchased transportation that we pay to third-party capacity providers, which is primarily a variable cost, and is included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Variability in this expense depends on truckload capacity, availability of third-party capacity providers, rates charged to customers, current freight demand, and customer shipping needs. Fixed Logistics operating expenses primarily include non-driver employee compensation and benefits recorded in "Salaries, wages, and benefits," as well as depreciation and amortization expense recorded in "Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per load data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 570,294 | $ | 570,001 | 0.1 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 23,059 | $ | 23,312 | (1.1 | %) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 2 | $ | 27,715 | $ | 27,968 | (0.9 | %) | ||||
| Revenue per load – Brokerage only 2 | $ | 1,983 | $ | 1,894 | 4.7 | % | ||||
| Gross margin percentage – Brokerage only 2 | 17.5 | % | 17.5 | % | — | bps | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 96.0 | % | 95.9 | % | 10 | bps | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 95.1 | % | 95.1 | % | — | bps |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined under "Operating Statistics" above.
2025 Compared to 2024 — Logistics Adjusted Operating Ratio was 95.1%, with gross margin remaining flat at 17.5% in 2025, compared to 2024. Revenue increased 0.1% year-over-year, driven by a 4.7% increase in revenue per load and partially offset by a 4.6% decrease in load count.
We remain disciplined on price and diligent in carrier qualification to provide value to customers while maintaining profitability. We continue to leverage our power-only capabilities to complement our asset business, build a broader and more diversified freight portfolio, and to enhance the returns on our capital assets.
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Intermodal Segment
The Intermodal segment complements our regional operating model, while also allowing us to better serve customers in longer haul lanes, and reduces our investment in fixed assets. Through the Intermodal segment, we generate revenue by moving freight over the rail in our containers and other trailing equipment, combined with revenue for drayage to transport loads between railheads and customer locations. The most significant expense in the Intermodal segment is the cost of purchased transportation that we pay to third-party capacity providers (including rail providers), which is primarily variable and included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. While rail pricing is primarily determined on an annual basis, purchased transportation varies as it relates to rail capacity, freight demand, and customer shipping needs. The main fixed costs in the Intermodal segment are depreciation of our company tractors related to drayage, containers, and chassis, as well as non-driver employee compensation and benefits.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per load data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 364,914 | $ | 387,232 | (5.8 | %) | ||||
| GAAP: Operating loss | $ | (7,640) | $ | (9,458) | 19.2 | % | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Loss 1 2 | $ | (5,186) | $ | (9,458) | 45.2 | % | ||||
| Average revenue per load 1 | $ | 2,615 | $ | 2,590 | 1.0 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 1 | 102.1 | % | 102.4 | % | (30 | bps) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 101.4 | % | 102.4 | % | (100 | bps) | ||||
| Load count | 139,553 | 149,512 | (6.7 | %) | ||||||
| Average tractors 1 2 | 595 | 615 | (3.3 | %) | ||||||
| Average containers 1 | 12,539 | 12,572 | (0.3 | %) |
1Defined within "Operating Statistics" above.
2Includes 548 and 561 company-owned tractors for 2025 and 2024, respectively.
2025 Compared to 2024 — Intermodal operated with a 101.4% Adjusted Operating Ratio, while total revenue decreased 5.8% to $364.9 million. The drop in revenue was driven by the 6.7% decrease in load count partially offset by a 1.0% increase in revenue per load.
We remain focused on delivering excellent service and driving appropriate returns through cost control, network balance, equipment utilization, and growing our load count with disciplined pricing.
All Other Segments
Our All Other Segments include support services provided to our customers and third-party carriers including equipment maintenance, equipment leasing, warehousing, trailer parts manufacturing, warranty services, and insurance for independent contractors, as well as insurance for affiliated carriers through the first quarter of 2024. Our All Other Segments also include certain corporate expenses (such as legal settlements and accruals, certain impairments, and $46.6 million in annual amortization of intangibles related to the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions).
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 287,470 | $ | 266,496 | 7.9 | % | ||||
| Operating income (loss) | $ | 14,417 | $ | (26,201) | 155.0 | % |
2025 Compared to 2024 — Revenue increased 7.9% and operating income increased $40.6 million primarily driven by our warehousing business and leasing businesses and reflects improvement from the prior year, which had included a $18.0 million operating loss for the third-party insurance business.
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Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses
Consolidated Operating Expenses
The following tables present certain operating expenses from our consolidated statements of comprehensive income, including each operating expense as a percentage of total revenue and as a percentage of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge. Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge revenue can be volatile and is primarily dependent upon the cost of fuel, rather than operating expenses unrelated to fuel. Therefore, we believe that revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge is a better measure for analyzing many of our expenses and operating metrics.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Salaries, wages, and benefits | $ | 2,955,901 | $ | 2,821,987 | 4.7 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 39.6 | % | 38.1 | % | 150 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 44.2 | % | 42.7 | % | 150 | bps |
Salaries, wages, and benefits expense is primarily affected by the total number of miles driven by and rates we pay to our company driving associates, and employee benefits including healthcare, workers' compensation, and other benefits. To a lesser extent, non-driver employee headcount, compensation, and benefits affect this expense. Driving associate wages represent the largest component of salaries, wages, and benefits expense.
Several ongoing market factors have reduced the pool of available driving associates, contributing to a challenging driver sourcing market, which we believe will continue. Having a sufficient number of qualified driving associates is a significant headwind, although we continue to seek ways to attract and retain qualified driving associates, including heavily investing in our recruiting efforts, our driving academies, technology, equipment, and terminals that improve the experience of driving associates. We expect labor costs (related to both driving associates and non-driver employees) to remain inflationary, which we expect will result in additional increases in pay and benefits expenses in the future, thereby increasing our salaries, wages, and benefits expense.
2025 Compared to 2024 — The increase in consolidated salaries, wages, and benefits is primarily due to a $129.5 million increase in LTL wages as a result of service center expansion, the DHE Acquisition, and labor to support increased shipment count from expansion efforts.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Fuel | $ | 838,806 | $ | 871,146 | (3.7 | %) | ||||
| % of total revenue | 11.2 | % | 11.8 | % | (60 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 12.5 | % | 13.2 | % | (70 | bps) |
Fuel expense consists primarily of diesel fuel expense for our company-owned tractors. The primary factors affecting our fuel expense are the cost of diesel fuel, the fuel economy of our equipment, and the miles driven by company driving associates.
Our fuel surcharge programs help to offset increases in fuel prices, but generally apply only to loaded miles for our Truckload and LTL segments and typically do not offset non-paid empty miles, idle time, or out-of-route miles driven. Typical fuel surcharge programs involve a computation based on the change in national or regional fuel prices. These programs may update as often as weekly, but typically require a specified minimum change in fuel cost to prompt a change in fuel surcharge revenue for our Truckload and LTL segments. Therefore, many of these programs have a time lag between when fuel costs change and when the change is reflected in fuel surcharge revenue. Due to this time lag, our fuel expense, net of fuel surcharge, negatively impacts our operating income during periods of sharply rising fuel costs and positively impacts our operating income during periods of falling fuel costs. We continue to utilize our fuel efficiency initiatives such as trailer blades, idle-control, management of tractor speeds, fleet updates for more fuel-efficient engines, management of fuel procurement, and driving associate training programs that we believe contribute to controlling our fuel expense.
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2025 Compared to 2024 — The decrease in consolidated fuel expense was primarily due to lower average weekly DOE fuel prices of $3.66 per gallon in 2025 compared to $3.76 per gallon in 2024, and a 3.2% decrease in total miles driven by truckload company drivers, partially offset by a 23.2% increase in LTL miles.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Operations and maintenance | $ | 548,373 | $ | 546,883 | 0.3 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 7.3 | % | 7.4 | % | (10 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 8.2 | % | 8.3 | % | (10 | bps) |
Operations and maintenance expense consists of direct operating expenses, such as driving associate hiring and recruiting expenses, equipment maintenance, and tire expense. Operations and maintenance expenses are typically affected by the age of our company-owned fleet of tractors and trailers and the miles driven. We expect the driver market to remain competitive throughout 2026, which could increase future driving associate development and recruiting costs and negatively affect our operations and maintenance expense. We expect to continue refreshing our tractor fleet in the coming quarters, subject to availability of new revenue equipment, to maintain the average age of our equipment.
Operations and maintenance expense remained relatively flat for 2025, as compared to 2024.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Insurance and claims | $ | 385,108 | $ | 415,652 | (7.3 | %) | ||||
| % of total revenue | 5.2 | % | 5.6 | % | (40 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 5.8 | % | 6.3 | % | (50 | bps) |
Insurance and claims expense consists of premiums for liability, physical damage, and cargo, and will vary based upon the frequency and severity of claims, our level of self-insurance, and premium expense. In recent years, insurance carriers have raised premiums for transportation companies based upon significant verdicts and settlements against transportation companies. As a result, our insurance and claims expense could increase in the future, or we could raise our self-insured retention limits or reduce excess coverage limits when our policies are renewed or replaced. Insurance and claims expense also varies based on the number of miles driven by company driving associates and independent contractors, the frequency and severity of accidents, trends in development factors used in actuarial accruals, and developments in prior-year claims. In future periods, our higher self-insured retention limits and lower excess coverage limits may cause increased volatility in our consolidated insurance and claims expense.
In the first quarter of 2024, we exited our third-party insurance business, which offered insurance products to third-party carriers, earning premium revenues, which were partially offset by increased insurance reserves, and which exposed us to claims and inability to collect premiums.
2025 Compared to 2024 — Consolidated insurance and claims expense decreased primarily due to the Company exiting the third-party insurance business at the end of the first quarter of 2024. Additionally, the decrease was due to a 1.0% decrease in total miles driven year-over-year, improvements within our current year experience as a result of lower frequency and severity of claims, and positive development within certain prior year losses.
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| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Operating taxes and licenses | $ | 135,064 | $ | 127,505 | 5.9 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 1.8 | % | 1.7 | % | 10 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 2.0 | % | 1.9 | % | 10 | bps |
Operating taxes and licenses include state franchise taxes, state and federal highway use taxes, property taxes, vehicle license and registration fees, and fuel and mileage taxes, among others. The expense is impacted by changes in the tax rates and registration fees associated with our tractor fleet and regional operating facilities.
2025 Compared to 2024 — Operating taxes and licenses expenses increased by $7.6 million for 2025, as compared to the same periods last year, primarily as a result of expanding our LTL network.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Communications | $ | 29,326 | $ | 31,152 | (5.9 | %) | ||||
| % of total revenue | 0.4 | % | 0.4 | % | — | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 0.4 | % | 0.5 | % | (10 | bps) |
Communications expense is comprised of costs associated with our tractor and trailer tracking systems, information technology systems, and phone systems.
2025 Compared to 2024 — Communications expense as a percentage of total revenue and revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge remained relatively flat for 2025, as compared to 2024.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment | $ | 711,069 | $ | 717,522 | (0.9 | %) | ||||
| % of total revenue | 9.5 | % | 9.7 | % | (20 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 10.6 | % | 10.9 | % | (30 | bps) |
Depreciation relates primarily to our owned tractors, trailers, buildings, electronic logging devices, other communication units, and other similar assets. Changes to this fixed cost are generally attributed to increases or decreases in company-owned equipment, the relative percentage of owned versus leased equipment, and fluctuations in new equipment purchase prices. Depreciation can also be affected by the cost of used equipment that we sell or trade and the replacement of older used equipment. Management periodically reviews the condition, average age, and reasonableness of estimated useful lives and salvage values of our equipment and considers such factors in light of our experience with similar assets, used equipment market conditions, and prevailing industry practices.
2025 Compared to 2024 — The decrease in consolidated depreciation and amortization is primarily due to the decrease in tractor and trailer counts in our Truckload segment, partially offset by an increase in equipment counts for our LTL segment.
We anticipate that depreciation and amortization expense will increase, as a percentage of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge, as we intend to purchase, rather than enter into operating leases, for a majority of our revenue equipment, terminal improvements, or terminal expansions in 2026.
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| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Amortization of intangibles | $ | 76,984 | $ | 75,280 | 2.3 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 1.0 | % | 1.0 | % | — | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 1.2 | % | 1.1 | % | 10 | bps |
Amortization of intangibles relates to intangible assets identified with the 2017 Merger, ACT Acquisition, U.S. Xpress Acquisition, and other acquisitions. See Note 4 and Note 8 in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report for further details regarding the Company's intangible assets, historical amortization, and anticipated future amortization.
2025 Compared to 2024 — The increase in consolidated amortization of intangibles for 2025 is primarily attributed to the DHE acquisition. See Note 4 in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report for more details regarding our acquisitions.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Rental expense | $ | 166,833 | $ | 171,665 | (2.8 | %) | ||||
| % of total revenue | 2.2 | % | 2.3 | % | (10 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 2.5 | % | 2.6 | % | (10 | bps) |
Rental expense consists primarily of payments for revenue equipment assumed in the U.S. Xpress Acquisition, as well as our terminals and other real estate leases.
2025 Compared to 2024 — The decrease in consolidated rental expense is primarily related to U.S Xpress increasing its ratio of owned versus leased equipment. We anticipate that rental expense will decrease, as a percentage of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge, as we intend to purchase, rather than enter into operating leases, a majority of our revenue equipment, terminal improvements, or terminal expansions in 2026.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Purchased transportation | $ | 1,128,845 | $ | 1,170,806 | (3.6 | %) | ||||
| % of total revenue | 15.1 | % | 15.8 | % | (70 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 16.9 | % | 17.7 | % | (80 | bps) |
Purchased transportation expense is comprised of payments to independent contractors in our trucking operations, as well as payments to third-party capacity providers related to logistics, freight management, and non-trucking services in our logistics and intermodal businesses. Purchased transportation is generally affected by capacity in the market, as well as changes in fuel prices. As capacity tightens, our payments to third-party capacity providers and to independent contractors tend to increase. Additionally, as fuel prices increase, payments to third-party capacity providers and independent contractors increase. Purchased transportation expense may also fluctuate as a percentage of revenue based on the relative growth of our logistics and intermodal businesses as compared to our full truckload and LTL businesses.
2025 Compared to 2024 — The decrease in consolidated purchased transportation expense is primarily due to decreased load volume within our logistics and intermodal businesses as well as lower miles driven by independent contractors within our Truckload segment.
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| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Impairments | $ | 98,308 | $ | 19,012 | 417.1 | % |
2025 Compared to 2024 — In 2025, we incurred impairment charges related to goodwill and intangible assets associated with Abilene as a result of the decision to cease its operations and combine it into our Swift business, tradenames associated with the decision to rebrand the MME and DHE brands of our LTL businesses under the AAA Cooper brand (within the LTL segment), certain discontinued software projects (within the Intermodal Segment), and certain revenue equipment as well as owned and lease real property (within the Truckload Segment).
In 2024, we incurred impairment charges related to building improvements, certain revenue equipment held for sale, leases, and other equipment (within the Truckload segment and All Other Segments).
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Miscellaneous operating expenses | $ | 179,010 | $ | 198,080 | (9.6 | %) |
Miscellaneous operating expenses primarily consists of legal and professional services fees, general and administrative expenses, and other costs, net of gain on sales of equipment.
2025 Compared to 2024 — The decrease in net consolidated miscellaneous operating expenses is primarily due to a $30.8 million increase in gain on sales of operating property and equipment, partially offset by increased costs associated with bringing new service centers online within our LTL segment.
Consolidated Other Expenses, net
The following table summarizes fluctuations in certain non-operating expenses included in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income:
| 2025 | 2024 | 2025 vs. 2024 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Interest income | $ | (10,910) | $ | (16,556) | (34.1 | %) | ||||
| Interest expense | $ | 161,795 | $ | 171,158 | (5.5 | %) | ||||
| Other income, net | $ | (30,145) | $ | (60,260) | (50.0 | %) | ||||
| Income tax expense | $ | 29,768 | $ | 32,960 | (9.7 | %) |
Interest income — Interest income includes interest earned from financing revenue equipment to independent contractors, as well as interest earned from our investments.
2025 Compared to 2024 — The decrease in consolidated interest income is primarily due to the lower balances in our interest yielding cash accounts during 2025.
Interest expense — Interest expense is comprised of debt and finance lease interest expense, as well as amortization of deferred loan costs.
2025 Compared to 2024 — Consolidated interest expense decreased due to a decrease in average interest rates during 2025, partially offset by an increase in the average debt balance. Additional details regarding our debt are discussed in Note 13 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Other income, net — Other income, net is primarily comprised of (gains) and losses from our various equity investments, as well as certain other non-operating income and expense items that may arise outside of the normal course of business.
2025 Compared to 2024 — The decrease in consolidated other income, net is primarily due to the $36.6 million benefit for the mark-to-market adjustment in 2024 related to certain purchase price obligations associated with the acquisition of U.S. Xpress, partially offset by a net gain recorded within our portfolio of investments in 2025.
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See Note 4 in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report for more details regarding our purchase price obligations in connection with the U.S. Xpress Acquisition.
Income tax expense — In addition to the discussion below, Note 11 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report provides further analysis related to income taxes.
2025 Compared to 2024 — The decrease in consolidated income tax expense was primarily due to a reduction in pre-tax earnings and an increase in tax benefits from foreign currency adjustments, changes in deferred foreign income tax expense, and federal amended income tax returns. These were partially offset by higher deferred tax expense associated with the merger of certain subsidiaries, and a decrease in tax benefits from the mark-to-market adjustment, less favorable changes in state rates, and lower stock compensation deductions. As a result, the effective tax rate for 2025 was 31.2% as compared to the 2024 effective tax rate of 22.1%.
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The terms "Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift," "Adjusted EPS," "Adjusted Operating Income," "Adjusted Operating Expenses," "Adjusted Operating Ratio," and "Free Cash Flow," as we define them, are not presented in accordance with GAAP. These financial measures supplement our GAAP results in evaluating certain aspects of our business. We believe that using these measures improves comparability in analyzing our performance because they remove the impact of items from our operating results that, in our opinion, do not reflect our core operating performance. Management and the Board focus on Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Expenses and Adjusted Operating Ratio as key measures of our performance, all of which are reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measures and further discussed below. Management and the Board use Free Cash Flow as a key measure of our liquidity. Free Cash Flow does not represent residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures. We believe our presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is useful because it provides investors and securities analysts the same information that we use internally for purposes of assessing our core operating performance.
Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Expenses, Adjusted Operating Ratio, and Free Cash Flow are not substitutes for their comparable GAAP financial measures, such as net income, cash flows from operating activities, operating income, or other measures prescribed by GAAP. There are limitations to using non-GAAP financial measures. Although we believe that they improve comparability in analyzing our period to period performance, they could limit comparability to other companies in our industry if those companies define these measures differently. Because of these limitations, our non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered measures of income generated by our business or discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. Management compensates for these limitations by primarily relying on GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures on a supplemental basis.
Pursuant to the requirements of Regulation G, the following tables reconcile GAAP consolidated net income attributable to Knight-Swift to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted Net Income attributable to Knight-Swift, GAAP consolidated earnings per diluted share to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted EPS, GAAP consolidated operating ratio to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted Operating Ratio, GAAP reportable segment operating income to non-GAAP reportable segment Adjusted Operating Income, GAAP reportable segment operating expenses to non-GAAP segment Adjusted Operating Expenses, GAAP reportable segment operating ratio to non-GAAP reportable segment Adjusted Operating Ratio, and GAAP cash flow from operations to non-GAAP Free Cash Flow.
Note regarding presentation: A discussion of changes in our results of operations from 2023 to 2024 has been omitted from this Annual Report, but may be found in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of our 2024 Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 20, 2025.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliation:
Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||
| GAAP: Net income attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 65,946 | $ | 117,626 | ||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Income tax expense attributable to Knight-Swift | 29,768 | 32,960 | ||||
| Income before income taxes attributable to Knight-Swift | 95,714 | 150,586 | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | 78,229 | 75,945 | ||||
| Impairments 2 | 98,308 | 19,012 | ||||
| Legal accruals 3 | 1,241 | 2,560 | ||||
| Transaction fees 4 | — | 602 | ||||
| Severance expense 5 | 3,005 | 7,219 | ||||
| Change in fair value of deferred earnout 6 | — | (859) | ||||
| Loss on investment 7 | — | 12,107 | ||||
| Write-off of deferred debt issuance costs 8 | 2,860 | — | ||||
| USX mark to market adjustment 9 | — | (36,617) | ||||
| Adjusted income before income taxes | 279,357 | 230,555 | ||||
| Provision for income tax expense at effective rate 10 | (74,619) | (58,470) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 204,738 | $ | 172,085 |
Note: Since the numbers reflected in the table below are calculated on a per share basis, they may not foot due to rounding.
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP: Earnings per diluted share | $ | 0.41 | $ | 0.73 | ||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Income tax expense attributable to Knight-Swift | 0.18 | 0.20 | ||||
| Income before income taxes attributable to Knight-Swift | 0.59 | 0.93 | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | 0.48 | 0.47 | ||||
| Impairments 2 | 0.61 | 0.12 | ||||
| Legal accruals 3 | 0.01 | 0.02 | ||||
| Transaction fees 4 | — | — | ||||
| Severance expense 5 | 0.02 | 0.04 | ||||
| Change in fair value of deferred earnout 6 | — | (0.01) | ||||
| Loss on investment 7 | — | 0.07 | ||||
| Write-off of deferred debt issuance costs 8 | 0.02 | — | ||||
| USX mark to market adjustment 9 | — | (0.23) | ||||
| Adjusted income before income taxes | 1.72 | 1.42 | ||||
| Provision for income tax expense at effective rate 10 | (0.46) | (0.36) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted EPS | $ | 1.26 | $ | 1.06 |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in the 2017 Merger, the ACT Acquisition, the U.S. Xpress Acquisition, and other acquisitions, as well as the non-cash amortization expense related to the fair value of favorable leases assumed in the DHE acquisition included within "Rental expense" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
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2"Impairments" reflects the non-cash impairments:
•Fourth quarter 2025 impairments reflects the non-cash impairments of goodwill and intangible assets associated with Abilene as a result of the decision to cease its operations and combine it into our Swift business and certain revenue equipment as well as owned and lease real property (within the Truckload Segment). Third quarter 2025 impairments reflect the non-cash impairments of tradenames associated with the decision to rebrand the MME and DHE brands of our LTL businesses under the AAA Cooper brand (within the LTL segment), as well as certain discontinued software projects (within the Intermodal Segment), and certain real property leases (within the Truckload Segment). Second quarter 2025 impairments reflects non-cash impairments related to certain real property owned and leased (within the Truckload Segment). First quarter 2025 reflects non-cash impairments related to certain real property leases (within the Truckload segment).
•2024 impairments of building improvements, certain revenue equipment held for sale, leases, and other equipment (within the Truckload segment and All Other Segments).
3"Legal accruals" are included in "Miscellaneous operating expenses" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income and reflect the following:
•Fourth quarter and year-to-date 2025 legal expense reflects the net increased estimated exposure for accrued legal matters based on recent settlement agreements.
•Year-to-date 2024 legal expense reflects the increased estimated exposures for accrued legal matters based on recent settlement agreements.
4"Transaction fees" reflects certain legal and professional fees associated with the July 30, 2024 acquisition of DHE. The transaction fees are primarily included within "Miscellaneous operating expenses."
5"Severance expense" is included within "Salaries, wages, and benefits" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
6"Change in fair value of deferred earnout" reflects the benefit for the change in fair value of a deferred earnout related to various acquisitions, which is recorded in "Miscellaneous operating expenses."
7"Loss on investment" reflects the write-off of a minority investment in a transportation-adjacent technology venture which ceased operations in the third quarter of 2024 and is recorded within the All Other Segments.
8"Write-off of deferred debt issuance costs" was incurred from replacing the 2021 Debt Agreement and 2023 Debt Agreement with the 2025 Debt Agreement, as well as replacing the 2025 RSA with the 2025 RPA.
9Mark-to-market adjustment related to certain purchase price obligations associated with the acquisition of U.S. Xpress.
10For 2025, an adjusted effective tax rate of 26.7% was applied in our Adjusted EPS calculation to exclude certain discrete items.
For 2024, an adjusted effective tax rate of 25.4% was applied in our Adjusted EPS calculation to exclude certain discrete items.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Expenses, and Adjusted Operating Ratio
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,469,689 | $ | 7,410,078 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (7,253,627) | (7,166,690) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 216,062 | $ | 243,388 | ||
| Operating ratio | 97.1 | % | 96.7 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,469,689 | $ | 7,410,078 | ||
| Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | (777,614) | (798,121) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 6,692,075 | 6,611,957 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 7,253,627 | 7,166,690 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | (777,614) | (798,121) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (78,229) | (75,945) | ||||
| Impairments 2 | (98,308) | (19,012) | ||||
| Legal accruals 3 | (1,241) | (2,560) | ||||
| Transaction fees 4 | — | (602) | ||||
| Severance expense 5 | (3,005) | (7,219) | ||||
| Change in fair value of deferred earnout 6 | — | 859 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 6,295,230 | 6,264,090 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 396,845 | $ | 347,867 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 94.1 | % | 94.7 | % |
1See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 1.
2See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 2.
3See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 3.
4See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 4.
5See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 5.
6See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 6.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Reportable Segment Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Expenses, and Adjusted Operating Ratio
Truckload Segment
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 4,865,034 | $ | 5,034,941 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (4,717,802) | (4,866,596) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 147,232 | $ | 168,345 | ||
| Operating ratio | 97.0 | % | 96.7 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 4,865,034 | $ | 5,034,941 | ||
| Fuel surcharge | (581,081) | (625,739) | ||||
| Intersegment transactions | (555) | (590) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions | 4,283,398 | 4,408,612 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 4,717,802 | 4,866,596 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Fuel surcharge | (581,081) | (625,739) | ||||
| Intersegment transactions | (555) | (590) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (7,099) | (7,099) | ||||
| Impairments 2 | (67,054) | (17,132) | ||||
| Legal accruals 3 | (82) | (702) | ||||
| Severance expense 4 | (1,388) | (1,466) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 4,060,543 | 4,213,868 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 222,855 | $ | 194,744 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 94.8 | % | 95.6 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in historical Knight acquisitions and the U.S. Xpress Acquisition.
2See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 2.
3See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 3.
4See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 5.
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LTL Segment
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,478,508 | $ | 1,235,547 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (1,439,514) | (1,148,157) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 38,994 | $ | 87,390 | ||
| Operating ratio | 97.4 | % | 92.9 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,478,508 | $ | 1,235,547 | ||
| Fuel surcharge | (196,533) | (172,382) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge | 1,281,975 | 1,063,165 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 1,439,514 | 1,148,157 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Fuel surcharge | (196,533) | (172,382) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (19,826) | (17,447) | ||||
| Impairments 2 | (28,800) | (674) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 1,194,355 | 957,654 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 87,620 | $ | 105,511 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 93.2 | % | 90.1 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified with the ACT, MME, and DHE acquisitions, as well as the non-cash amortization expense related to the fair value of favorable leases assumed in the DHE Acquisition.
2See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 2.
Logistics Segment
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Revenue | $ | 570,294 | $ | 570,001 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (547,235) | (546,689) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 23,059 | $ | 23,312 | ||
| Operating ratio | 96.0 | % | 95.9 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Revenue | $ | 570,294 | $ | 570,001 | ||
| Total operating expenses | 547,235 | 546,689 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (4,656) | (4,656) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 542,579 | 542,033 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 27,715 | $ | 27,968 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 95.1 | % | 95.1 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in the U.S. Xpress and UTXL acquisitions.
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Intermodal Segment
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Revenue | $ | 364,914 | $ | 387,232 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (372,554) | (396,690) | ||||
| Operating loss | $ | (7,640) | $ | (9,458) | ||
| Operating ratio | 102.1 | % | 102.4 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Revenue | $ | 364,914 | $ | 387,232 | ||
| Total operating expenses | 372,554 | 396,690 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Impairments 1 | (2,454) | — | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 370,100 | 396,690 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Loss | $ | (5,186) | $ | (9,458) | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 101.4 | % | 102.4 | % |
1See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 2.
Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Free cash flow
| 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| GAAP: Cash flows from operations | $ | 1,266,647 |
| Adjusted for: | ||
| Proceeds from sale of property and equipment, including assets held for sale | 291,973 | |
| Purchases of property and equipment | (795,392) | |
| Non-GAAP: Free Cash Flow | $ | 763,228 |
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
The following table presents our available sources of liquidity as of December 31, 2025:
| Source: | Amount | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents, excluding restricted cash | $ | 220,420 | |
| Availability under 2025 Revolver, due July 8, 2030 1 | 855,711 | ||
| Availability under 2025 RPA, due October 2, 2028 2 | 21,100 | ||
| Total unrestricted liquidity | $ | 1,097,231 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents – restricted 3 | 88,320 | ||
| Total liquidity, including restricted cash | $ | 1,185,551 |
1As of December 31, 2025, we had $626.0 million in borrowings under our $1.5 billion 2025 Revolver. We additionally had $18.3 million in outstanding letters of credit (discussed below) issued under the 2025 Revolver, leaving $855.7 million available under the 2025 Revolver.
2Based on eligible receivables at December 31, 2025, our facility capacity under the 2025 RPA was $499.3 million, while outstanding capital was $478.2 million, leaving $21.1 million available under the 2025 RPA.
3Restricted cash and restricted investments are primarily held by our captive insurance companies for claims payments. "Cash and cash equivalents – restricted" consists of $82.4 million, which is included in "Cash and cash equivalents — restricted" in the consolidated balance sheets held by Mohave and Red Rock for claims payments. The remaining $5.9 million is included in "Other long-term assets" and is held in escrow accounts to meet statutory requirements.
Uses of Liquidity
Our business requires substantial amounts of cash for operating activities, including salaries and wages paid to our employees, contract payments to independent contractors, insurance and claims payments, tax payments, and others. We also use large amounts of cash and credit for the following activities:
Capital Expenditures — Subject to our liquidity and our ability to generate acceptable returns, we make substantial cash capital expenditures to maintain a modern company tractor fleet, refresh and expand our trailer fleet (when justified by customer demand), expand our network of LTL service centers, and, to a lesser extent, fund upgrades to our terminals and technology in our various service offerings. In connection with our business strategy, we regularly evaluate acquisition, investment, and strategic partnership opportunities. We expect net cash capital expenditures will be in the range of $625.0 to $675.0 million in 2026. Our expected net cash capital expenditures primarily represent replacements of existing tractors and trailers and investments in our terminal network, driver amenities, and technology, and excludes acquisitions.
Over the long-term, we will continue to have significant capital requirements, which may require us to seek additional borrowing, lease financing, or equity capital. The availability of financing or equity capital will depend upon our financial condition and results of operations as well as prevailing market conditions. If such additional borrowing, lease financing, or equity capital is not available at the time we need it, then we may need to borrow more under the 2025 Revolver (if not then fully drawn), extend the maturity of then-outstanding debt, rely on alternative financing arrangements, engage in asset sales, limit our fleet size, or operate our revenue equipment for longer periods.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain additional debt under our existing financial arrangements to satisfy our ongoing capital requirements. However, we believe the combination of our expected cash flows, financing available through operating and finance leases, available funds under our 2025 RPA, and availability under the 2025 Revolver will be sufficient to fund our expected capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months.
Refer to Note 16 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion of our short-term and long-term contractual payment obligations related to purchase commitments.
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Principal and Interest Payments — As of December 31, 2025, we had debt and finance lease obligations of $2.4 billion, which are discussed under "Material Debt Agreements," below. Certain cash flows from operations are committed to minimum payments of principal and interest on our debt and lease obligations. Additionally, when our financial position allows, we periodically make voluntary prepayments on our outstanding debt balances.
Prior to the maturity of our 2025 Term Loans, 2025 Revolver, Prudential Notes, revenue equipment installment notes, and other debt, we expect to be contractually obligated to make interest payments of approximately $189.5 million, $154.8 million, $0.3 million, $4.4 million and $1.0 million, respectively. Refer to Notes 12 and 13 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion of the principal payment obligations related to the 2025 Debt Agreement.
Refer to Note 14 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion on our contractual principal and interest payment obligations for finance leases.
Letters of Credit — Our lenders may issue standby letters of credit on our behalf, certain of which reduce availability under our revolving line of credit. As of December 31, 2025, we also had outstanding letters of credit of $191.1 million pursuant to a bilateral agreement which does not impact the availability of the 2025 Revolver. Standby letters of credit are typically issued for the benefit of regulatory authorities, insurance companies and state departments of insurance for the purpose of satisfying certain collateral requirements, primarily related to our automobile, workers' compensation, and general insurance liabilities.
Share Repurchases — From time to time, and depending on Free Cash Flow1 availability, debt levels, the price of our common stock, general economic and market conditions, as well as internal approval requirements, we may repurchase shares of our outstanding common stock. The 2022 Knight-Swift Repurchase Plan had $200.0 million available as of December 31, 2025. See further details regarding our share repurchases under Note 18 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Working Capital
We had a working capital deficit of $143.7 million as of December 31, 2025 and a working capital deficit of $258.0 million as of December 31, 2024. The working capital deficit as of December 31, 2025 was primarily due to the reduction in our trade receivables due to their sale as part of the 2025 RPA.
________
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
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Material Debt Agreements
As of December 31, 2025, we had $2.4 billion in material debt obligations at the following carrying values:
•$698.1 million: 2025 Term Loan A-1, due July 2030, net of $1.9 million in deferred loan costs
•$299.4 million: 2025 Term Loan A-2, due January 2027, net of $0.6 million in deferred loan costs
•$606.2 million: Finance lease obligations
•$626.0 million: 2025 Revolver, due July 2030
•$106.6 million: Revenue equipment installment notes
•$13.9 million: Other
As of December 31, 2024, we had $2.9 billion in material debt obligations at the following carrying values:
•$349.1 million: 2021 Term Loan A-2, due September 2026, net of $0.9 million in deferred loan costs
•$779.4 million: 2021 Term Loan A-3, due September 2026, net of $0.6 million in deferred loan costs
•$249.5 million: 2023 Term Loan, due September 2026, net of $0.5 million in deferred loan costs
•$459.0 million: 2023 RSA outstanding borrowings, net of $0.2 million in deferred loan costs
•$597.4 million: Finance lease obligations
•$232.0 million: 2021 Revolver, due September 2026
•$192.3 million: Revenue equipment installment notes
•$23.3 million: Other, net of approximately $10,000 in deferred loan costs
Key terms and other details regarding our material debt obligations and finance leases are discussed in Notes 12, 13, and 14 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, and are incorporated by reference herein.
Cash Flow Analysis
| 2025 | 2024 | Change | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 1,266,647 | $ | 799,063 | $ | 467,584 | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (520,394) | (759,122) | 238,728 | |||||||
| Net cash used in financing activities | (807,743) | (139,397) | (668,346) |
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities
2025 Compared to 2024 — The $467.6 million increase in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to $478.2 million in sales proceeds funded under the 2025 RPA and a $13.1 million decrease in cash paid for interest partially offset by a $40.4 million increase in cash paid for taxes and various changes in working capital. Factors affecting the increase in operating income are discussed in "Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses."
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities
2025 Compared to 2024 — The $238.7 million decrease in net cash used in investing activities was primarily due to a $185.5 million decrease in net cash invested in acquisitions and a $61.8 million decrease in net cash capital expenditures.
Net Cash Used in Financing Activities
2025 Compared to 2024 — Net cash used in financing activities increased by $668.3 million, primarily due to a $497.3 million increase in net repayments on our finance leases and long-term debt, a $391.4 million increase in net repayments on our our accounts receivable securitization programs primarily as a result of the $478.2 million repayment of the 2025 RSA from entering into the 2025 RPA, and a $13.3 million increase in our dividends paid. These were partially offset by a $229.0 million increase in net borrowings on our 2021 Revolver and 2025 Revolver.
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Inflation
Most of our operating expenses are inflation-sensitive, with inflation generally leading to increased costs of operations. Price increases in manufactured revenue equipment have impacted the cost for us to acquire new equipment in recent periods. Cost increases have also impacted the cost of parts for equipment repairs and maintenance. The qualified driver shortage experienced by the trucking industry overall has had the effect of increasing compensation paid to our driving associates. We have also experienced inflation in insurance and claims cost related to health insurance and claims as well as auto liability insurance and claims. Prolonged periods of inflation have recently and could continue to cause interest rates, fuel, wages, and other costs to increase as well. Any of these factors could adversely affect our results of operations unless freight rates correspondingly increase.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that impact the amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Therefore, the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, and associated disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities are affected by these estimates and assumptions. We evaluate these estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis, utilizing historical experience, consultation with experts, and other methods considered reasonable in the particular circumstances. Nevertheless, actual results may differ significantly from our estimates and assumptions, and it is possible that materially different amounts could be reported using differing estimates or assumptions. We consider our critical accounting estimates to be those that require us to make more significant judgments and estimates when we prepare our financial statements.
Note 2 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report describes the Company's accounting policies. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Note 2, as it presents uncertainties involved in applying the accounting policies, and provides insight into the quality of management's estimates and variability in the amounts recorded for these critical accounting estimates. Our critical accounting estimates include the following:
Claims Accruals — Insurance and claims expense varies as a percentage of total revenue, based on the frequency and severity of claims incurred in a given period, as well as changes in claims development trends. The actual cost to settle our self-insured claim liabilities, as well as our third-party claim liabilities, may differ from our reserve estimates due to legal costs, claims that have been incurred but not reported, and various other uncertainties, including the inherent difficulty in estimating the severity of the claim and the potential judgment or settlement amount to dispose of the claim. If claims development factors that are based upon historical experience had increased by 10%, our claims accrual as of December 31, 2025 would have potentially increased by $40.6 million.
Refer to Note 10, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the claims accrual balance.
Goodwill and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets — The test of goodwill requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assigning assets (including goodwill) and liabilities to reporting units and determining the fair value of each reporting unit. Fair value of the reporting unit is determined using a combination of comparative valuation multiples of publicly traded companies, internal transaction methods, and discounted cash flow models. Estimating the fair value of reporting units includes several significant assumptions, including future cash flow estimates, determination of appropriate discount rates, and other assumptions that management believed reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and/or goodwill impairment for each reporting unit.
Knight-Swift evaluated its goodwill associated with the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions as of June 30, 2025 and 2024. The evaluations were completed using fair value measurement guidance prescribed in ASC 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other. The fair value of the goodwill was established using an equal weighting of both the income and market approaches. In evaluating this quantitative analysis, the Company determined that it was more likely than not that fair value exceeded carrying value for the Company's reporting units as of June 30, 2025 and 2024. Separate and apart from the Company's annual test of goodwill, the Company's decision to cease the operations of Abilene and combine it into its Swift business was identified as a potential indicator of impairment. Upon further analysis, the Company determined that as result of this decision the fair value of goodwill associated
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with Abilene would be zero. As a result, the Company recorded a non-cash impairment of $27.4 million related to Abilene's goodwill.
The test of indefinite-lived intangible assets consists of a comparison of the estimated fair value of certain trade names to their carrying values. The determination of the fair value of the trade names requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions related to forecasts of future revenues, discount rates, and royalty rates. Changes in these assumptions could materially affect the determination of the fair value of the trade names, the amount of any trade names impairment charge, or both. Management evaluated trade names for impairment as of June 30, 2025 and 2024 noting that the fair value exceeded carrying value for the trade name. Separate and apart from the Company's annual test of indefinite-lived intangible assets, the Company determined that the decision to rebrand the MME and DHE brands of our LTL businesses under the AAA Cooper brand, and the decision to cease operations of the Abilene brand were indicators of impairment. Upon further analysis, the Company determined that as result of these decisions the fair value of the MME, DHE, and Abilene tradenames would be zero. As a result the Company recorded non-cash impairments of $33.5 million to the tradenames associated with these brands.
Refer to Note 8, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible asset balances.
Depreciation and Amortization — Selecting the appropriate accounting method requires management judgment, as there are multiple acceptable methods that are in accordance with GAAP, including straight-line, declining-balance, and sum-of-the-years' digits. As discussed in Note 2 included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, property and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis and intangible customer relationships are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. We believe that these methods properly spread the costs over the useful lives of the assets. Management judgment is also involved when determining estimated useful lives of the Company's long-lived assets. We determine useful lives of our long-lived assets, based on historical experience, as well as future expectations regarding the period we expect to benefit from the asset. Factors affecting estimated useful lives of property and equipment may include estimating loss, damage, obsolescence, and company policies around maintenance and asset replacement. Factors affecting estimated useful lives of long-lived intangible assets may include legal, contractual, or other provisions that limit useful lives, historical experience with similar assets, future expectations of customer relationships, among others.
Refer to Note 8, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the impact of the amortization of definite-lived intangibles on our results for 2025 and 2024.
Impairments of Long-lived Assets — Fair value is determined through various valuation techniques, including discounted cash flow models, quoted market values, and third-party independent appraisals, as necessary. Estimating fair value includes several significant assumptions, including future cash flow estimates, determination of appropriate discount rates, and other assumptions that management believed reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and/or impairment.
Refer to Note 21, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in long-lived assets and the impact on our results for 2025 and 2024.
Fair Value of Net Assets Acquired in Business Combinations — Management performs fair value assessments in determining the fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities acquired through the business combination as of the acquisition date. Management and third-party specialists use significant inputs and assumptions in the valuations of acquired net assets such as certain prospective information, discount rates, royalty rates, and market data. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value.
Refer to Note 4, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the fair value of net assets acquired in business combinations and the impact on our results for 2025 and 2024.
Fair Value of Contingent Consideration — Management performs assessments in determining the fair value of contingent consideration arrangements associated with certain acquisitions and which based on the acquired businesses achieving certain thresholds related to performance. The fair values of these contingent consideration arrangements are included as part of the purchase price of the acquired companies on their respective acquisition
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dates. For each transaction, we estimate the fair value of contingent earnout payments as part of the initial purchase price and record the estimated fair value of contingent consideration as a liability on the consolidated balance sheets.
The fair values of certain earnout arrangements are estimated by discounting the expected future contingent payments to present value using a variation of the income approach, specifically using a Monte Carlo Simulation approach. The key assumptions used in our valuation were: (i) forecast of operating income and net income, (ii) the volatility associated with operating income and net income, (iii) risk-adjusted discount rate applied to forecasted operating income and net income, and (iv) the credit-adjusted discount rate related to the payment of the contingent consideration.
Refer to Notes 4 and 21, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the fair value of contingent consideration agreements and the impact on our results for 2025 and 2024.
Income Taxes — Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes and in determining whether deferred tax assets will be realized in full or in part. We periodically assess the likelihood that all or some portion of deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income. To the extent we believe the likelihood of recovery is not sufficient, a valuation allowance is established for the amount determined not to be realizable. Management judgment is necessary in determining the frequency at which we assess the need for a valuation allowance, the accounting period in which to establish the valuation allowance, as well as the amount of the valuation allowance. We believe that we have adequately provided for our future tax consequences based upon current facts and circumstances and current tax law. However, should our tax positions be challenged, different outcomes could result and have a significant impact on the amounts reported in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
Management judgment is also required regarding a variety of other factors including the appropriateness of tax strategies. We utilize certain income tax planning strategies to reduce our overall income taxes. It is possible that certain strategies might be disallowed, resulting in an increased liability for income taxes. Significant management judgments are involved in assessing the likelihood of sustaining the strategies and determining the likely range of defense and settlement costs, in the event that tax strategies are challenged by taxing authorities. An ultimate result worse than our expectations could adversely affect our results of operations.
Refer to Note 11, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the balances of deferred taxes assets and related valuation allowances.
Leases — At the inception of a lease, management judgment is involved in the determination of the discount rate, the determination of whether a contract contains a lease, classification of operating versus finance lease, assessment of useful lives, and estimation of residual values. Discounted future minimum lease payments are used in determining the lease classification represent the present value of minimum rental payments called for over the lease term, inclusive of residual value guarantees (if applicable) and amounts that would be required to be paid, if any, by the Company upon default for leases containing subjective acceleration or cross default clauses.
Refer to Note 14, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in balance of operating leases.
Stock-based Compensation — We issue several types of stock-based compensation, including awards that vest, based on service conditions, performance conditions, or a combination of service and performance conditions. Determining the appropriate amount to expense in each period is based on likelihood and timing of achievement of the stated targets for performance-based awards, and requires judgment, including forecasting future financial results, market performance, and other factors. The estimates are revised periodically, based on the probability and timing of achieving the required performance targets, and adjustments are made as appropriate. There is also some judgment involved with estimating expected forfeiture rates as we have opted to net the benefit of expected forfeitures against our stock-based compensation expense.
Refer to Note 19, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the assumptions related to these awards and the impact on our results for 2025 and 2024.
Legal Settlements and Reserves — See Note 17 in Part II Item 8 of this Annual Report.
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Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 3 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, which is incorporated herein by reference, for recently issued accounting pronouncements that could have an impact on our consolidated financial statements.
MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001492691-25-000013.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Certain acronyms and terms used throughout this Annual Report are specific to our company, commonly used in our industry, or are otherwise frequently used throughout our document. Definitions for these acronyms and terms are provided in the "Glossary of Terms," available in the front of this document.
Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations should be read together with "Business" in Part I, Item 1 of this Annual Report, as well as the consolidated financial statements and accompanying footnotes in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report. This discussion contains forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A. "Risk Factors" and Part I "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements" of this Annual Report, and elsewhere in this report. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed.
Executive Summary
Company Overview
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. is one of North America's largest and most diversified freight transportation companies, providing multiple full truckload, LTL, intermodal, and other complementary services. Our objective is to operate our business with industry-leading margins, continued organic growth, and growth through acquisitions while providing safe, high-quality, and cost-effective solutions for our customers. Knight-Swift uses a nationwide network of business units and terminals in the US and Mexico to serve customers throughout North America. In addition to operating one of the country's largest truckload fleets, Knight-Swift also contracts with third-party carriers to provide a broad range of transportation services to our customers while creating quality driving jobs for our driving associates and successful business opportunities for independent contractors. Our four reportable segments are Truckload, LTL, Logistics, and Intermodal. Additionally, we have various other operating segments, included within our All Other Segments.
Key Financial Highlights
During 2024, consolidated total revenue was $7.4 billion, which is a 3.8% increase over 2023. Consolidated operating income was $243.4 million in 2024, reflecting a decrease of 28.0% from 2023. Consolidated net income attributable to Knight-Swift decreased by 45.8% from 2023 to $117.6 million.
•Truckload — 96.7% operating ratio during 2024, with a 9.4% increase in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, compared to 2023.
•LTL — 92.9% operating ratio during 2024 with a 16.2% increase in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge.
•Logistics — 95.9% operating ratio during 2024. Load count reduced by 11.1%, leading to a 1.3% decrease in revenue, excluding intersegment transactions.
•Intermodal — 102.4% operating ratio during 2024. Load count improved by 3.5%, leading to a 10.0% decrease in operating loss.
•All Other Segments — Operating loss improved 76.5% to $26.2 million during 2024 compared to $111.6 million in 2023, largely as a result of winding down our third-party insurance program, ultimately ceasing operations at the end of the first quarter of 2024.
•Liquidity and Capital — During 2024, we generated $799.1 million in operating cash flows. Our Free Cash Flow1 was $233.8 million. We paid down $140.2 million in long-term debt, $134.8 million in finance lease liabilities, and $175.9 million on our operating lease liabilities. We obtained financing of $150.0 million in new long-term debt and $165.0 million from net borrowings on our revolving lines of credit. In 2024, we issued $104.2 million in dividends to our stockholders. Gain on sale of property and equipment decreased to $34.4 million in 2024, compared to $64.7 million in 2023.
We ended 2024 with $1.1 billion in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and available liquidity and $7.1 billion of stockholders' equity. The face value of our debt, net of unrestricted cash ("Net Debt") was $2.7 billion at the end of 2024. We do not foresee material liquidity constraints or any issues with our ongoing ability to meet our debt covenants. See discussion under "Liquidity and Capital Resources" for additional information.
________
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
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MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS — CONTINUED
Key Financial Data and Operating Metrics
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP financial data: | (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,410,078 | $ | 7,141,766 | ||
| Revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | $ | 6,611,957 | $ | 6,308,169 | ||
| Net income attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 117,626 | $ | 217,149 | ||
| Earnings per diluted share | $ | 0.73 | $ | 1.34 | ||
| Operating ratio | 96.7 | % | 95.3 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP financial data: | ||||||
| Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift 1 | $ | 172,085 | $ | 278,739 | ||
| Adjusted EPS 1 | $ | 1.06 | $ | 1.72 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 | 94.7 | % | 93.1 | % | ||
| Revenue equipment statistics by segment: | ||||||
| Truckload | ||||||
| Average tractors 2 | 22,791 | 20,948 | ||||
| Average trailers 3 | 92,831 | 87,865 | ||||
| LTL | ||||||
| Average tractors 4 | 3,569 | 3,201 | ||||
| Average trailers 5 | 9,564 | 8,482 | ||||
| Intermodal | ||||||
| Average tractors | 615 | 639 | ||||
| Average containers | 12,572 | 12,730 |
1Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, and Adjusted Operating Ratio are non-GAAP financial measures and should not be considered alternatives, or superior to, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. However, management believes that presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors regarding the Company's results of operations. Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, and Adjusted Operating Ratio are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures," below.
2Our tractor fleet within the Truckload segment had a weighted average age of 2.6 years and 2.5 years as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
3Note that average trailers includes 8,985 and 8,724 trailers within our All Other Segment as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Our trailer fleet within the Truckload segment had a weighted average age of 9.4 years and 8.9 years as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
4Our LTL tractor fleet had a weighted average age of 4.2 years and 4.4 years as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and includes 619 and 611 tractors from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2024 and 2023, respectively.
5Our LTL trailer fleet had a weighted average age of 8.4 years and 8.6 years as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and includes 876 and 723 trailers from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2024 and 2023, respectively.
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Results of Operations — Summary
Notes regarding presentation: A discussion of changes in our results of operations from 2022 to 2023 has been omitted from this Annual Report, but may be found in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of our 2023 Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 22, 2024.
In accordance with accounting treatment applicable to each of our recent acquisitions, Knight-Swift's reported results do not include the operating results of the acquired entities prior to the respective acquisition dates. Accordingly, comparisons between the Company's 2024 results and prior periods may not be meaningful. Refer to Note 1 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for a list of our recent acquisitions.
Operating Results: 2024 Compared to 2023 — The $99.5 million decrease in net income attributable to Knight-Swift to $117.6 million in 2024 from $217.1 million in 2023, includes the following:
•Contributor — $129.6 million decrease in operating income within our Truckload segment, primarily due to a 7.6% decrease in average revenue per tractor, which includes the results of U.S. Xpress. Excluding U.S. Xpress, revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, per tractor increased 1.6% year-over-year.
•Contributor — $31.5 million decrease in operating income from our LTL segment as a result of increased costs related to expanding our LTL service area and a 4.1% decrease in weight per shipment.
•Contributor — $20.1 million decrease in operating income within our Logistics segment driven by a 11.1% decrease in load count.
•Contributor — $49.1 million increase in net interest expense primarily due to an increase in interest rates and increase in outstanding borrowings.
•Offset — $85.4 million decrease in operating loss within our All Other Segments, largely as a result of exiting the third-party insurance business at the end of the first quarter of 2024.
•Offset — $22.6 million increase in "Other income (expenses), net," primarily driven by a mark-to-market adjustment in 2024 related to certain purchase price obligations associated with the acquisition of U.S. Xpress.
•Offset — $21.8 million decrease in consolidated income tax expense, primarily due to a decrease in income before income taxes. This resulted in a 2024 effective tax rate of 22.1% and a 2023 effective tax rate of 20.3%.
•Offset — $1.0 million decrease in operating loss within our Intermodal segment driven by a 3.5% increase in load count.
See additional discussion of our operating results within "Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses" below.
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Results of Operations — Segment Review
The Company has four reportable segments: Truckload, LTL, Logistics, and Intermodal, as well as certain other operating segments included within our All Other Segments. Refer to Note 23 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for descriptions of our segments. Refer to Part I, Item 1, "Business – Our Mission and Company Strategy" of this Annual Report for discussion related to our segment operating strategies.
Consolidating Tables for Total Revenue and Operating Income
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue: | (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Truckload | $ | 5,034,941 | 67.9 | % | $ | 4,698,655 | 65.8 | % | |||||
| LTL | $ | 1,235,547 | 16.7 | % | $ | 1,082,454 | 15.2 | % | |||||
| Logistics | $ | 570,001 | 7.7 | % | $ | 582,250 | 8.2 | % | |||||
| Intermodal | $ | 387,232 | 5.2 | % | $ | 410,549 | 5.7 | % | |||||
| Subtotal | $ | 7,227,721 | 97.5 | % | $ | 6,773,908 | 94.9 | % | |||||
| All Other Segments | $ | 266,496 | 3.6 | % | $ | 462,061 | 6.5 | % | |||||
| Intersegment eliminations | $ | (84,139) | (1.1 | %) | $ | (94,203) | (1.4 | %) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,410,078 | 100.0 | % | $ | 7,141,766 | 100.0 | % |
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating income (loss): | (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Truckload | $ | 168,345 | 69.2 | % | $ | 297,977 | 88.1 | % | |||||
| LTL | $ | 87,390 | 35.9 | % | $ | 118,880 | 35.2 | % | |||||
| Logistics | $ | 23,312 | 9.6 | % | $ | 43,418 | 12.8 | % | |||||
| Intermodal | $ | (9,458) | (3.9 | %) | $ | (10,507) | (3.1 | %) | |||||
| Subtotal | $ | 269,589 | 110.8 | % | $ | 449,768 | 133.0 | % | |||||
| All Other Segments | $ | (26,201) | (10.8 | %) | $ | (111,615) | (33.0 | %) | |||||
| Operating income | $ | 243,388 | 100.0 | % | $ | 338,153 | 100.0 | % |
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Revenue
•Our truckload services include irregular route and dedicated, refrigerated, expedited, flatbed, and cross-border transportation of various products, goods, and materials for our diverse customer base with approximately 16,300 irregular route and 6,500 dedicated tractors.
•Our LTL business, which was initially established in 2021 through the ACT Acquisition and later the MME and DHE acquisitions, provides our customers with regional LTL transportation service through our growing network of approximately 170 facilities and a door count of approximately 6,060. Our LTL segment operates approximately 3,600 tractors and approximately 9,600 trailers, including equipment used for ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses. The LTL segment also provides national coverage to our customers by utilizing partner carriers for areas outside of our direct network.
•Our Logistics and Intermodal segments provide a multitude of shipping solutions, including additional sources of truckload capacity and alternative transportation modes, by utilizing our vast network of third-party capacity providers and rail providers, as well as certain logistics and freight management services. We continue to offer power-only services through our Logistics segment by leveraging our fleet of approximately 93,000 trailers as of December 31, 2024.
•All Other Segments include support services provided to our customers and third-party carriers including equipment maintenance, equipment leasing, warehousing, trailer parts manufacturing, warranty services, and insurance for independent contractors, as well as insurance for affiliated carriers through the first quarter of 2024. All Other Segments also include certain corporate expenses (such as legal settlements and accruals, certain impairments, and amortization of intangibles related to the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions).
•In addition to the revenues earned from our customers for the trucking and non-trucking services discussed above, we also earn fuel surcharge revenue from our customers through our fuel surcharge programs, which serve to recover a majority of our fuel costs. This generally applies only to loaded miles for our Truckload and LTL segments and typically does not offset non-paid empty miles, idle time, nor out-of-route miles driven. Fuel surcharge programs involve a computation based on the change in national or regional fuel prices. These programs may update as often as weekly, but typically require a specified minimum change in fuel cost to prompt a change in fuel surcharge revenue. Therefore, many of these programs have a time lag between when fuel costs change and when the change is reflected in fuel surcharge revenue for our Truckload and LTL segments.
Expenses
Our most significant expenses typically vary with miles traveled and include fuel, driving associate-related expenses (such as wages and benefits), and services purchased from third-party service providers (including other trucking companies, railroad and drayage providers, and independent contractors). Maintenance and tire expenses, as well as the cost of insurance and claims generally vary with the miles we travel but also have a controllable component based on safety performance, fleet age, operating efficiency, and other factors. Our primary fixed costs are depreciation and lease expense for revenue equipment and terminals, non-driver employee compensation, amortization of intangible assets, and interest expenses.
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Operating Statistics
We measure our consolidated and segment results through the operating statistics listed in the table below. Our chief operating decision makers monitor the GAAP results of our reportable segments, supplemented by certain non-GAAP information. Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for more details. Additionally, we use a number of primary indicators to monitor our revenue and expense performance and efficiency.
| Operating Statistic | Relevant Segment(s) | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Revenue per Tractor | Truckload | Measures productivity and represents revenue (excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions) divided by average tractor count | ||
| Total Miles per Tractor | Truckload | Total miles (including loaded and empty miles) divided by average tractor count | ||
| Average Length of Haul | Truckload, LTL | For our Truckload segment this is calculated as average miles traveled with loaded trailer cargo per order. For our LTL segment this is calculated as average miles traveled from the origin service center to the destination service center. | ||
| Non-paid Empty Miles Percentage | Truckload | Percentage of miles without trailer cargo | ||
| Shipments per Day | LTL | Average number of shipments completed each business day | ||
| Weight per Shipment | LTL | Total weight (in pounds) divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue per shipment | LTL | Total revenue divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue xFSC per shipment | LTL | Total revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue per hundredweight | LTL | Measures yield and is calculated as total revenue divided by total weight (in pounds) times 100 | ||
| Revenue xFSC per hundredweight | LTL | Total revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, divided by total weight (in pounds) times 100 | ||
| Average Tractors | Truckload, LTL, Intermodal | Average tractors in operation during the period, including company tractors and tractors provided by independent contractors | ||
| Average Trailers | Truckload, LTL | Average trailers in operation during the period | ||
| Average Revenue per Load | Logistics, Intermodal | Total revenue (excluding intersegment transactions) divided by load count | ||
| Gross Margin Percentage | Logistics | Logistics gross margin (revenue, excluding intersegment transactions, less purchased transportation expense, excluding intersegment transactions) as a percentage of logistics revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | ||
| Average Containers | Intermodal | Average containers in operation during the period | ||
| GAAP Operating Ratio | Truckload, LTL, Logistics, Intermodal | Measures operating efficiency and is widely used in our industry as an assessment of management's effectiveness in controlling all categories of operating expenses. Calculated as operating expenses as a percentage of total revenue, or the inverse of operating margin | ||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio | Truckload, LTL, Logistics, Intermodal | Measures operating efficiency and is widely used in our industry as an assessment of management's effectiveness in controlling all categories of operating expenses. Consolidated and segment Adjusted Operating Ratios are reconciled to their corresponding GAAP operating ratios under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures," below |
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Segment Review
Truckload Segment
We generate revenue in the Truckload segment primarily through irregular route, dedicated, refrigerated, flatbed, expedited, and cross-border service offerings, with approximately 16,300 irregular route tractors and approximately 6,500 dedicated route tractors in use during 2024. Generally, we are paid a predetermined rate per mile or per load for our truckload services. Additional revenues are generated by charging for tractor and trailer detention, loading and unloading activities, dedicated services, other specialized services, and through the collection of fuel surcharge revenue to mitigate the impact of increases in the cost of fuel. The main factors that affect the revenue generated by our Truckload segment are rate per mile from our customers, the percentage of miles for which we are compensated, and the number of loaded miles we generate with our equipment.
The most significant expenses in the Truckload segment are primarily variable and include fuel and fuel taxes, driving associate-related expenses (such as wages, benefits, training, and recruitment), and costs associated with independent contractors primarily included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Maintenance expense (which includes costs for replacement tires for our revenue equipment) and insurance and claims expenses have both fixed and variable components. These expenses generally vary with the miles we travel, but also have a controllable component based on safety, fleet age, efficiency, and other factors. The main fixed costs in the Truckload segment are depreciation and rent expenses from tractors, trailers, and terminals, as well as compensating our non-driver employees.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per tractor data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 5,034,941 | $ | 4,698,655 | 7.2 | % | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions | $ | 4,408,612 | $ | 4,031,054 | 9.4 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 168,345 | $ | 297,977 | (43.5 | %) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 | $ | 194,744 | $ | 314,542 | (38.1 | %) | ||||
| Average revenue per tractor 2 | $ | 193,436 | $ | 209,258 | (7.6 | %) | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 96.7 | % | 93.7 | % | 300 | bps | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 95.6 | % | 92.2 | % | 340 | bps | ||||
| Non-paid empty miles percentage 2 | 14.0 | % | 14.3 | % | (30 | bps) | ||||
| Average length of haul (miles) 2 | 383 | 393 | (2.5 | %) | ||||||
| Total miles per tractor 2 | 81,563 | 85,233 | (4.3 | %) | ||||||
| Average tractors 2 3 | 22,791 | 20,948 | 8.8 | % | ||||||
| Average trailers 2 4 | 92,831 | 87,865 | 5.7 | % |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined within "Operating Statistics" above.
3Includes 20,644 and 18,821 company-owned tractors for 2024 and 2023, respectively.
4Average trailers includes 8,985 and 8,724 trailers from our All Other Segments for 2024 and 2023, respectively.
2024 Compared to 2023 — Our Truckload segment revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, increased 9.4 % year-over-year, driven by a 13.6% increase in loaded miles. Revenue per loaded mile, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, declined 3.8% year-over-year. The 2024 Adjusted Operating Ratio increased 340 basis points year-over-year to 95.6%.
We believe our extensive trailer fleet, which has grown to approximately 93,000 trailers as of the end of 2024, positions us to provide valuable capacity, flexibility, and efficiency to our customers through our Truckload and Logistics segments. We are focused on disciplined pricing and capacity commitments that we expect will position our business to continue to respond as market conditions improve.
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LTL Segment
Our LTL segment provides regional direct service and serves our customers' national transportation needs by utilizing key partner carriers for coverage areas outside of our network. We primarily generate revenue by transporting freight for our customers through our core LTL services.
Our revenues are impacted by shipment volume and tonnage levels that flow through our network. Additional revenues are generated through fuel surcharges and accessorial services provided during transit from shipment origin to destination. We focus on the following multiple revenue generation factors when reviewing revenue yield: revenue per hundredweight, revenue per shipment, weight per shipment, and length of haul. Fluctuations within each of these metrics are analyzed when determining the revenue quality of our customers' shipment density.
Our most significant expenses are related to direct costs associated with the transportation of our freight moves including direct salary, wage and benefit costs, fuel expense, and depreciation expense associated with revenue equipment costs. Other expenses associated with revenue generation that can fluctuate and impact operating results are insurance and claims expense, as well as maintenance costs of our revenue equipment. These expenses can be influenced by multiple factors including our safety performance, equipment age, and other factors. A key component to lowering our operating costs is labor efficiency within our network. We continue to focus on technological advances to improve the customer experience and reduce our operating costs.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per shipment and per hundredweight data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,235,547 | $ | 1,082,454 | 14.1 | % | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge | $ | 1,063,165 | $ | 914,568 | 16.2 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 87,390 | $ | 118,880 | (26.5) | % | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 | $ | 105,511 | $ | 134,560 | (21.6) | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 92.9 | % | 89.0 | % | 390 | bps | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 90.1 | % | 85.3 | % | 480 | bps | ||||
| LTL shipments per day 2 | 20,756 | 18,899 | 9.8 | % | ||||||
| LTL weight per shipment 2 | 1,005 | 1,048 | (4.1) | % | ||||||
| LTL average length of haul (miles) 2 | 589 | 553 | 6.5 | % | ||||||
| LTL revenue per shipment 2 | $ | 202.67 | $ | 193.32 | 4.8 | % | ||||
| LTL revenue xFSC per shipment 2 | $ | 174.10 | $ | 163.10 | 6.7 | % | ||||
| LTL revenue per hundredweight 2 | $ | 20.17 | $ | 18.44 | 9.4 | % | ||||
| LTL revenue xFSC per hundredweight 2 | $ | 17.33 | $ | 15.56 | 11.4 | % | ||||
| LTL average tractors 2 3 | 3,569 | 3,201 | 11.5 | % | ||||||
| LTL average trailers 2 4 | 9,564 | 8,482 | 12.8 | % |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined under "Operating Statistics," above.
3Includes 619 and 611 tractors from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2024 and 2023, respectively.
4Includes 876 and 723 trailers from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2024 and 2023, respectively.
2024 Compared to 2023 — Our LTL segment grew revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, 16.2% as shipments per day increased 9.8% year-over-year, which includes the acquisition of DHE on July 30, 2024. Revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharge, increased 11.4%, while revenue per shipment, excluding fuel surcharge, increased by 6.7%, reflecting a 4.1% decrease in weight per shipment. This segment produced a 90.1% Adjusted Operating Ratio in 2024, while Adjusted Operating Income decreased 21.6% year-over-year primarily due to start-up costs and early-stage operations at our recently opened facilities and costs related to the system integration of DHE, which was completed during the fourth quarter of 2024.
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During 2024, we opened 37 additional service centers and added 14 more facilities through the DHE Acquisition in the third quarter. Overall, our organic and inorganic expansion activities in 2024 added approximately 1,430 doors, representing over 30% growth in our door count from the beginning of the year. We believe this meaningfully impacts the reach of our service offering and ultimately will increase the density of our network. We believe the investments in our network during 2024 bring opportunities to service additional freight and customers, though the associated set-up costs and initial operational inefficiencies are near-term headwinds to improving margins. Our focus for 2025 will be to grow shipment volumes at these locations, particularly as they participate in the bid cycle, which we expect will help drive both revenue and margin expansion in the business. While we currently anticipate that our pace of facility additions will slow in 2025, we continue to look for both organic and inorganic opportunities to geographically expand our footprint within the LTL market.
Logistics Segment
The Logistics segment is less asset-intensive than the Truckload and LTL segments and is dependent upon capable non-driver employees, modern and effective information technology, and third-party capacity providers. Logistics revenue is primarily generated by its brokerage operations. We generate additional revenue by offering specialized logistics solutions (including, but not limited to, trailing equipment, origin management, surge volume, disaster relief, special projects, and other logistics needs). Logistics revenue is mainly affected by the rates we obtain from customers, the freight volumes we ship through third-party capacity providers, and our ability to secure third-party capacity providers to transport customer freight.
The most significant expense in the Logistics segment is purchased transportation that we pay to third-party capacity providers, which is primarily a variable cost, and is included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Variability in this expense depends on truckload capacity, availability of third-party capacity providers, rates charged to customers, current freight demand, and customer shipping needs. Fixed Logistics operating expenses primarily include non-driver employee compensation and benefits recorded in "Salaries, wages, and benefits," as well as depreciation and amortization expense recorded in "Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per load data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 570,001 | $ | 582,250 | (2.1 | %) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | $ | 570,001 | $ | 577,695 | (1.3 | %) | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 23,312 | $ | 43,418 | (46.3 | %) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 2 | $ | 27,968 | $ | 45,031 | (37.9 | %) | ||||
| Revenue per load - Brokerage only 2 | $ | 1,894 | $ | 1,724 | 9.9 | % | ||||
| Gross margin percentage - Brokerage only 2 | 17.5 | % | 18.7 | % | (120 | bps) | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 95.9 | % | 92.5 | % | 340 | bps | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 95.1 | % | 92.2 | % | 290 | bps |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined under "Operating Statistics" above.
2024 Compared to 2023 — Logistics Adjusted Operating Ratio was 95.1%, with a gross margin of 17.5% in 2024, compared to 18.7% in 2023. Logistics load count, excluding U.S. Xpress, declined by 26.3% year-over-year. With the inclusion of U.S. Xpress logistics volumes, load count declined by 11.1% year-over-year. Revenue per load increased by 9.9% year-over-year, but was offset by increased purchase transportation costs. We remain disciplined on price and diligent in carrier qualification to provide value to customers while maintaining profitability. We continue to leverage our power-only capabilities to complement our asset business, build a broader and more diversified freight portfolio, and to enhance the returns on our capital assets.
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Intermodal Segment
The Intermodal segment complements our regional operating model, while also allowing us to better serve customers in longer haul lanes, and reduces our investment in fixed assets. Through the Intermodal segment, we generate revenue by moving freight over the rail in our containers and other trailing equipment, combined with revenue for drayage to transport loads between railheads and customer locations. The most significant expense in the Intermodal segment is the cost of purchased transportation that we pay to third-party capacity providers (including rail providers), which is primarily variable and included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. While rail pricing is primarily determined on an annual basis, purchased transportation varies as it relates to rail capacity, freight demand, and customer shipping needs. The main fixed costs in the Intermodal segment are depreciation of our company tractors related to drayage, containers, and chassis, as well as non-driver employee compensation and benefits.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per load data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 387,232 | $ | 410,549 | (5.7 | %) | ||||
| GAAP: Operating loss | $ | (9,458) | $ | (10,507) | 10.0 | % | ||||
| Average revenue per load 1 | $ | 2,590 | $ | 2,842 | (8.9 | %) | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 1 | 102.4 | % | 102.6 | % | (20 | bps) | ||||
| Load count | 149,512 | 144,471 | 3.5 | % | ||||||
| Average tractors 1 2 | 615 | 639 | (3.8 | %) | ||||||
| Average containers 1 | 12,572 | 12,730 | (1.2 | %) |
1Defined within "Operating Statistics" above.
2Includes 561 and 577 company-owned tractors for 2024 and 2023, respectively.
2024 Compared to 2023 — Intermodal operated with a 102.4% operating ratio in 2024. While load count increased year-over-year by 3.5%, total revenue decreased 5.7% year-over-year to $387.2 million as revenue per load declined 8.9%, resulting from soft demand and competitive truck capacity.
We remain focused on growing our load count with disciplined pricing across a diverse group of customers, although we expect future results will be impacted by the cost of alternative truck capacity.
All Other Segments
Our All Other Segments include support services provided to our customers and third-party carriers including equipment maintenance, equipment leasing, warehousing, trailer parts manufacturing, warranty services, and insurance for independent contractors, as well as insurance for affiliated carriers through the first quarter of 2024. Our All Other Segments also include certain corporate expenses (such as legal settlements and accruals, certain impairments, and $46.7 million in annual amortization of intangibles related to the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions).
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 266,496 | $ | 462,061 | (42.3 | %) | ||||
| Operating income (loss) | $ | (26,201) | $ | (111,615) | 76.5 | % |
2024 Compared to 2023 — Revenue declined 42.3% year-over-year, largely as a result of winding down our third-party carrier insurance program in the first quarter of 2024. The $26.2 million operating loss within our All Other Segments is primarily driven by the intangible amortization during 2024. The operating loss within our All Other Segments improved from the prior year, which had included a $125.5 million operating loss for the third-party insurance business during 2023.
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Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses
Consolidated Operating Expenses
The following tables present certain operating expenses from our consolidated statements of comprehensive income, including each operating expense as a percentage of total revenue and as a percentage of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge. Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge revenue can be volatile and is primarily dependent upon the cost of fuel, rather than operating expenses unrelated to fuel. Therefore, we believe that revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge is a better measure for analyzing many of our expenses and operating metrics.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Salaries, wages, and benefits | $ | 2,821,987 | $ | 2,479,759 | 13.8 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 38.1 | % | 34.7 | % | 340 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 42.7 | % | 39.3 | % | 340 | bps |
Salaries, wages, and benefits expense is primarily affected by the total number of miles driven by and rates we pay to our company driving associates, and employee benefits including healthcare, workers' compensation, and other benefits. To a lesser extent, non-driver employee headcount, compensation, and benefits affect this expense. Driving associate wages represent the largest component of salaries, wages, and benefits expense.
Several ongoing market factors have reduced the pool of available driving associates, contributing to a challenging driver sourcing market, which we believe will continue. Having a sufficient number of qualified driving associates is a significant headwind, although we continue to seek ways to attract and retain qualified driving associates, including heavily investing in our recruiting efforts, our driving academies, technology, equipment, and terminals that improve the experience of driving associates. We expect labor costs (related to both driving associates and non-driver employees) to remain inflationary, which we expect will result in additional increases in pay and benefits expenses in the future, thereby increasing our salaries, wages, and benefits expense.
2024 Compared to 2023 — The increase in consolidated salaries, wages, and benefits includes a $263.6 million increase as a result of including U.S. Xpress' full year expense in 2024 compared to its partial year expense in 2023 following the U.S. Xpress Acquisition in July 2023 as well as an $87.0 million increase from LTL wages primarily due to the DHE Acquisition.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Fuel | $ | 871,146 | $ | 878,407 | (0.8 | %) | ||||
| % of total revenue | 11.8 | % | 12.3 | % | (50 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 13.2 | % | 13.9 | % | (70 | bps) |
Fuel expense consists primarily of diesel fuel expense for our company-owned tractors. The primary factors affecting our fuel expense are the cost of diesel fuel, the fuel economy of our equipment, and the miles driven by company driving associates.
Our fuel surcharge programs help to offset increases in fuel prices, but generally apply only to loaded miles for our Truckload and LTL segments and typically do not offset non-paid empty miles, idle time, or out-of-route miles driven. Typical fuel surcharge programs involve a computation based on the change in national or regional fuel prices. These programs may update as often as weekly, but typically require a specified minimum change in fuel cost to prompt a change in fuel surcharge revenue for our Truckload and LTL segments. Therefore, many of these programs have a time lag between when fuel costs change and when the change is reflected in fuel surcharge revenue. Due to this time lag, our fuel expense, net of fuel surcharge, negatively impacts our operating income during periods of sharply rising fuel costs and positively impacts our operating income during periods of falling fuel costs. We continue to utilize our fuel efficiency initiatives such as trailer blades, idle-control, management of tractor speeds, fleet updates for more fuel-efficient engines, management of fuel procurement, and driving associate training programs that we believe contribute to controlling our fuel expense.
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2024 Compared to 2023 — The decrease in consolidated fuel expense was primarily due to lower average weekly DOE fuel prices of $3.76 per gallon in 2024 compared to $4.20 per gallon in 2023, mostly offset by the increase in fuel expense as a result of including U.S. Xpress' full year expense in 2024 compared to its partial year expense in 2023 following the U.S. Xpress Acquisition in July 2023.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Operations and maintenance | $ | 546,883 | $ | 473,491 | 15.5 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 7.4 | % | 6.6 | % | 80 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 8.3 | % | 7.5 | % | 80 | bps |
Operations and maintenance expense consists of direct operating expenses, such as driving associate hiring and recruiting expenses, equipment maintenance, and tire expense. Operations and maintenance expenses are typically affected by the age of our company-owned fleet of tractors and trailers and the miles driven. We expect the driver market to remain competitive throughout 2025, which could increase future driving associate development and recruiting costs and negatively affect our operations and maintenance expense. We expect to continue refreshing our tractor fleet in the coming quarters, subject to availability of new revenue equipment, to maintain the average age of our equipment.
2024 Compared to 2023 — The increase in consolidated operations and maintenance expense includes a $57.5 million increase as a result of including U.S. Xpress' full year expense in 2024 compared to its partial year expense in 2023 following the U.S. Xpress Acquisition in July 2023 and a $10.0 million increase in maintenance primarily related to tractor and trailer tire expenses, excluding U.S. Xpress.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Insurance and claims | $ | 415,652 | $ | 609,536 | (31.8 | %) | ||||
| % of total revenue | 5.6 | % | 8.5 | % | (290 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 6.3 | % | 9.7 | % | (340 | bps) |
Insurance and claims expense consists of premiums for liability, physical damage, and cargo, and will vary based upon the frequency and severity of claims, our level of self-insurance, and premium expense. In recent years, insurance carriers have raised premiums for many businesses, including transportation companies. As a result, our insurance and claims expense could increase in the future, or we could raise our self-insured retention limits or reduce excess coverage limits when our policies are renewed or replaced. Insurance and claims expense also varies based on the number of miles driven by company driving associates and independent contractors, the frequency and severity of accidents, trends in development factors used in actuarial accruals, and developments in prior-year claims. In future periods, our higher self-insured retention limits and lower excess coverage limits may cause increased volatility in our consolidated insurance and claims expense.
In the first quarter of 2024, we exited our third-party insurance business, which offered insurance products to third-party carriers, earning premium revenues, which were partially offset by increased insurance reserves, and which exposed us to claims and inability to collect premiums. We ceased operating this business in the first quarter of 2024, which we expect will result in some reduction of volatility as we will no longer be exposed to new claims from the third-party insurance business.
2024 Compared to 2023 — Consolidated insurance and claims expense decreased primarily due to a $259.7 million decrease in insurance costs associated with the third-party insurance business, which we exited in the first quarter of 2024. This decrease was partially offset by an increase of $42.2 million in insurance and claims expense as a result of including U.S. Xpress' full year expense in 2024 compared to its partial year expense in 2023 following the U.S. Xpress Acquisition in July 2023.
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| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Operating taxes and licenses | $ | 127,505 | $ | 117,024 | 9.0 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 1.7 | % | 1.6 | % | 10 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 1.9 | % | 1.9 | % | — | bps |
Operating taxes and licenses include state franchise taxes, state and federal highway use taxes, property taxes, vehicle license and registration fees, and fuel and mileage taxes, among others. The expense is impacted by changes in the tax rates and registration fees associated with our tractor fleet and regional operating facilities.
2024 Compared to 2023 — The increase in consolidated operating taxes and licenses expense is primarily due to the inclusion of $7.5 million of operating taxes and licenses expense from including U.S Xpress' full year expense in 2024 compared to its partial year expense in 2023 following the U.S. Xpress Acquisition in July 2023.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Communications | $ | 31,152 | $ | 29,661 | 5.0 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 0.4 | % | 0.4 | % | — | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 0.5 | % | 0.5 | % | — | bps |
Communications expense is comprised of costs associated with our tractor and trailer tracking systems, information technology systems, and phone systems.
2024 Compared to 2023 — The increase in consolidated communications expense is primarily due to the inclusion of $2.0 million of communications expense from including U.S. Xpress' full year expense in 2024 compared to its partial year expense in 2023 following the U.S. Xpress Acquisition in July 2023.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment | $ | 717,522 | $ | 664,962 | 7.9 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 9.7 | % | 9.3 | % | 40 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 10.9 | % | 10.5 | % | 40 | bps |
Depreciation relates primarily to our owned tractors, trailers, buildings, electronic logging devices, other communication units, and other similar assets. Changes to this fixed cost are generally attributed to increases or decreases in company-owned equipment, the relative percentage of owned versus leased equipment, and fluctuations in new equipment purchase prices. Depreciation can also be affected by the cost of used equipment that we sell or trade and the replacement of older used equipment. Management periodically reviews the condition, average age, and reasonableness of estimated useful lives and salvage values of our equipment and considers such factors in light of our experience with similar assets, used equipment market conditions, and prevailing industry practices.
2024 Compared to 2023 — The increase in consolidated depreciation and amortization of property and equipment includes a $65.7 million increase of expense as a result of including U.S. Xpress' full year expense in 2024 compared to its partial year expense in 2023 following the U.S. Xpress Acquisition in July 2023. This was partially offset by a decrease in tractor and trailer depreciation as a result of the decrease in the tractor and trailer counts for our legacy business, excluding U.S. Xpress.
We anticipate that depreciation and amortization expense will increase, as a percentage of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge, as we intend to purchase, rather than enter into operating leases, for a majority of our revenue equipment, terminal improvements, or terminal expansions in 2025.
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| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Amortization of intangibles | $ | 75,280 | $ | 70,138 | 7.3 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 1.0 | % | 1.0 | % | — | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 1.1 | % | 1.1 | % | — | bps |
Amortization of intangibles relates to intangible assets identified with the 2017 Merger, ACT Acquisition, U.S. Xpress Acquisition, and other acquisitions. See Note 4 and Note 8 in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report for further details regarding the Company's intangible assets, historical amortization, and anticipated future amortization.
2024 Compared to 2023 — The increase in consolidated amortization of intangibles for 2024 is primarily attributed to the U.S. Xpress and DHE acquisitions. See Note 4 in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report for more details regarding our acquisitions.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Rental expense | $ | 171,665 | $ | 130,269 | 31.8 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 2.3 | % | 1.8 | % | 50 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 2.6 | % | 2.1 | % | 50 | bps |
Rental expense consists primarily of payments for revenue equipment assumed in the U.S. Xpress Acquisition, as well as our terminals and other real estate leases.
2024 Compared to 2023 — The increase in consolidated rental expense is primarily related to the inclusion of $38.0 million from including U.S. Xpress' full year expense in 2024 compared to its partial year expense in 2023 following the U.S. Xpress Acquisition in July 2023. Additional increases relate to the incorporation of new facilities as we expand our LTL network and were partially offset by a decrease in the rental expense for revenue equipment.
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Purchased transportation | $ | 1,170,806 | $ | 1,190,836 | (1.7 | %) | ||||
| % of total revenue | 15.8 | % | 16.7 | % | (90 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 17.7 | % | 18.9 | % | (120 | bps) |
Purchased transportation expense is comprised of payments to independent contractors in our trucking operations, as well as payments to third-party capacity providers related to logistics, freight management, and non-trucking services in our logistics and intermodal businesses. Purchased transportation is generally affected by capacity in the market, as well as changes in fuel prices. As capacity tightens, our payments to third-party capacity providers and to independent contractors tend to increase. Additionally, as fuel prices increase, payments to third-party capacity providers and independent contractors increase. Purchased transportation expense may also fluctuate as a percentage of revenue based on the relative growth of our logistics and intermodal businesses as compared to our full truckload and LTL businesses.
2024 Compared to 2023 — The decrease in consolidated purchased transportation expense is primarily due to decreased load volume within our logistics business and lower miles driven by independent contractors, partially offset by $152.2 million of additional purchased transportation expense from including U.S. Xpress' full year expense in 2024 compared to its partial year expense in 2023 following the U.S. Xpress Acquisition in July 2023.
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| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Impairments | $ | 19,012 | $ | 2,236 | 750.3 | % |
2024 Compared to 2023 — In 2024, we incurred impairment charges related to building improvements, certain revenue equipment held for sale, leases, and other equipment (within the Truckload segment and All Other Segments). In 2023, we incurred impairment charges related to certain revenue equipment held for sale (within the Truckload segment) and terminated software projects (recorded within our All Other Segments, specifically related to our third-party insurance business).
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Miscellaneous operating expenses | $ | 198,080 | $ | 157,294 | 25.9 | % |
Miscellaneous operating expenses primarily consists of legal and professional services fees, general and administrative expenses, and other costs, net of gain on sales of equipment.
2024 Compared to 2023 — The increase in net consolidated miscellaneous operating expenses is primarily due to a $30.2 million decrease in gain on sales of property and equipment, as well as the inclusion of the full year expense of $14.4 million in 2024 compared to the partial year expense in 2023 from the results of U.S. Xpress.
Consolidated Other Expenses, net
The following table summarizes fluctuations in certain non-operating expenses included in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income:
| 2024 | 2023 | 2024 vs. 2023 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Interest income | $ | (16,556) | $ | (21,577) | (23.3 | %) | ||||
| Interest expense | $ | 171,158 | $ | 127,100 | 34.7 | % | ||||
| Other income, net | $ | (60,260) | $ | (37,659) | 60.0 | % | ||||
| Income tax expense | $ | 32,960 | $ | 54,768 | (39.8 | %) |
Interest income — Interest income includes interest earned from financing revenue equipment to independent contractors, as well as interest earned from our investments.
2024 Compared to 2023 — The decrease in consolidated interest income is primarily due to the lower balances in our interest yielding cash accounts during 2024.
Interest expense — Interest expense is comprised of debt and finance lease interest expense, as well as amortization of deferred loan costs.
2024 Compared to 2023 — Consolidated interest expense increased due to an increase in interest rates during 2024 and an increase in the average debt balance. Additional details regarding our debt are discussed in Note 13 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Other income, net — Other income, net is primarily comprised of (gains) and losses from our various equity investments, as well as certain other non-operating income and expense items that may arise outside of the normal course of business.
2024 Compared to 2023 — The increase in consolidated other income, net is primarily due to the $36.6 million benefit for the mark-to-market adjustment in 2024 related to certain purchase price obligations associated with the acquisition of U.S. Xpress, partially offset by a $12.1 million write-off of a minority investment in a transportation-adjacent technology venture which ceased operations in the third quarter of 2024.
See Note 4 in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report for more details regarding our purchase price obligations in connection with the U.S. Xpress Acquistion.
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Income tax expense — In addition to the discussion below, Note 11 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report provides further analysis related to income taxes.
2024 Compared to 2023 — The decrease in consolidated income tax expense was primarily due to a reduction in pre-tax earnings in addition to tax benefits from mark-to-market adjustments and decreased state tax expense due to changes in rates. These were partially offset by a decrease in the release of valuation allowance, reductions in foreign currency benefits, and decreases in stock compensation deductions. As a result, the effective tax rate for 2024 was 22.1% as compared to the 2023 effective tax rate of 20.3%.
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The terms "Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift," "Adjusted EPS," "Adjusted Operating Income," "Adjusted Operating Expenses," "Adjusted Operating Ratio," and "Free Cash Flow," as we define them, are not presented in accordance with GAAP. These financial measures supplement our GAAP results in evaluating certain aspects of our business. We believe that using these measures improves comparability in analyzing our performance because they remove the impact of items from our operating results that, in our opinion, do not reflect our core operating performance. Management and the Board focus on Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Expenses and Adjusted Operating Ratio as key measures of our performance, all of which are reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measures and further discussed below. Management and the Board use Free Cash Flow as a key measure of our liquidity. Free Cash Flow does not represent residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures. We believe our presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is useful because it provides investors and securities analysts the same information that we use internally for purposes of assessing our core operating performance.
Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Expenses, Adjusted Operating Ratio, and Free Cash Flow are not substitutes for their comparable GAAP financial measures, such as net income, cash flows from operating activities, operating income, or other measures prescribed by GAAP. There are limitations to using non-GAAP financial measures. Although we believe that they improve comparability in analyzing our period to period performance, they could limit comparability to other companies in our industry if those companies define these measures differently. Because of these limitations, our non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered measures of income generated by our business or discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. Management compensates for these limitations by primarily relying on GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures on a supplemental basis.
Pursuant to the requirements of Regulation G, the following tables reconcile GAAP consolidated net income attributable to Knight-Swift to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted Net Income attributable to Knight-Swift, GAAP consolidated earnings per diluted share to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted EPS, GAAP consolidated operating ratio to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted Operating Ratio, GAAP reportable segment operating income to non-GAAP reportable segment Adjusted Operating Income, GAAP reportable segment operating expenses to non-GAAP segment Adjusted Operating Expenses, GAAP reportable segment operating ratio to non-GAAP reportable segment Adjusted Operating Ratio, and GAAP cash flow from operations to non-GAAP Free Cash Flow.
Note regarding presentation: A discussion of changes in our results of operations from 2022 to 2023 has been omitted from this Annual Report, but may be found in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of our 2023 Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 22, 2024.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliation:
Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||
| GAAP: Net income attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 117,626 | $ | 217,149 | ||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Income tax expense attributable to Knight-Swift | 32,960 | 54,768 | ||||
| Income before income taxes attributable to Knight-Swift | 150,586 | 271,917 | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | 75,945 | 70,138 | ||||
| Impairments 2 | 19,012 | 2,236 | ||||
| Legal accruals 3 | 2,560 | 7,694 | ||||
| Transaction fees 4 | 602 | 6,868 | ||||
| Other acquisition related expenses 5 | — | 7,697 | ||||
| Severance expense 6 | 7,219 | 5,151 | ||||
| Change in fair value of deferred earnout 7 | (859) | (3,359) | ||||
| Loss on investment 8 | 12,107 | — | ||||
| USX mark to market adjustment 9 | (36,617) | — | ||||
| Adjusted income before income taxes | 230,555 | 368,342 | ||||
| Provision for income tax expense at effective rate 10 | (58,470) | (89,603) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 172,085 | $ | 278,739 |
Note: Since the numbers reflected in the table below are calculated on a per share basis, they may not foot due to rounding.
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP: Earnings per diluted share | $ | 0.73 | $ | 1.34 | ||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Income tax expense (benefit) attributable to Knight-Swift | 0.20 | 0.34 | ||||
| Income before income taxes attributable to Knight-Swift | 0.93 | 1.68 | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | 0.47 | 0.43 | ||||
| Impairments 2 | 0.12 | 0.01 | ||||
| Legal accruals 3 | 0.02 | 0.05 | ||||
| Transaction fees 4 | — | 0.04 | ||||
| Other acquisition related expenses 5 | — | 0.05 | ||||
| Severance expense 6 | 0.04 | 0.03 | ||||
| Change in fair value of deferred earnout 7 | (0.01) | (0.02) | ||||
| Loss on investment 8 | 0.07 | — | ||||
| USX mark to market adjustment 9 | (0.23) | — | ||||
| Adjusted income before income taxes | 1.42 | 2.28 | ||||
| Provision for income tax expense at effective rate 10 | (0.36) | (0.55) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted EPS | $ | 1.06 | $ | 1.72 |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in the 2017 Merger, the ACT Acquisition, the U.S. Xpress Acquisition, and other acquisitions, as well as the non-cash amortization expense related to the fair value of favorable leases assumed in the DHE acquisition included within "Rental expense" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
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2"Impairments" reflects the non-cash impairments:
•2024 impairments of building improvements, certain revenue equipment held for sale, leases, and other equipment (within the Truckload segment and All Other Segments).
•2023 impairments related to certain revenue equipment held for sale (within the Truckload segment) and terminated software projects (recorded within our All Other Segments, specifically related to our third party insurance business).
3"Legal accruals" are included in "Miscellaneous operating expenses" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income and reflect the following:
•Year-to-date 2024 legal expense reflects the increased estimated exposures for accrued legal matters based on recent settlement agreements.
•During the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company recorded estimated exposure for various legal matters. Additionally, the Company identified a probable loss contingency related to our third-party carrier insurance business included within our All Other segments. During the second and third quarters of 2023, legal expense reflects the increased estimated exposure for various accrued legal matters based on recent settlement agreements. First quarter 2023 legal expense reflects a decrease in the estimated exposure related to an accrued legal matter previously identified as probable and estimable in prior periods based on a recent settlement agreement.
4"Transaction fees" reflects certain legal and professional fees associated with the July 1, 2023 and July 30, 2024 acquisitions of U.S. Xpress and DHE, respectively. The transaction fees are primarily included within "Miscellaneous operating expenses" and "Salaries, wages, and benefits" and with smaller amounts included in other line items in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
5"Other acquisition related expenses" represents one-time expenses associated with the U.S. Xpress Acquisition, including certain severance expenses, including the acceleration of stock compensation expense as well as other operating expenses. These are primarily included within "Salaries, wages, and benefits" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
6"Severance expense" is included within "Salaries, wages, and benefits" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
7"Change in fair value of deferred earnout" reflects the benefit for the change in fair value of a deferred earnout related to various acquisitions, which is recorded in "Miscellaneous operating expenses."
8"Loss on investment" reflects the write-off of a minority investment in a transportation-adjacent technology venture which ceased operations in the third quarter of 2024 and is recorded within the All Other Segments.
9Mark-to-market adjustment related to certain purchase price obligations associated with the acquisition of U.S. Xpress.
10For 2024, an adjusted effective tax rate of 25.4% was applied in our Adjusted EPS calculation to exclude certain discrete items.
For 2023, an effective tax rate of 24.3% was applied in our Adjusted EPS calculation. The change in the effective tax rate was primarily impacted by the change in pre-tax income based on the adjustments presented in Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift. For 2023, the effective tax rate was normalized to exclude the third quarter 2023 tax benefit from the partial release of the pre-acquisition allowance associated with the U.S. Xpress net operating loss and tax credit carryforward benefits.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Expenses, and Adjusted Operating Ratio
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,410,078 | $ | 7,141,766 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (7,166,690) | (6,803,613) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 243,388 | $ | 338,153 | ||
| Operating ratio | 96.7 | % | 95.3 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,410,078 | $ | 7,141,766 | ||
| Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | (798,121) | (833,597) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 6,611,957 | 6,308,169 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 7,166,690 | 6,803,613 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | (798,121) | (833,597) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (75,945) | (70,138) | ||||
| Impairments 2 | (19,012) | (2,236) | ||||
| Legal accruals 3 | (2,560) | (7,694) | ||||
| Transaction fees 4 | (602) | (6,868) | ||||
| Other acquisition related expenses 5 | — | (7,697) | ||||
| Severance expense 6 | (7,219) | (5,151) | ||||
| Change in fair value of deferred earnout 7 | 859 | 3,359 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 6,264,090 | 5,873,591 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 347,867 | $ | 434,578 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 94.7 | % | 93.1 | % |
1See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 1.
2See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 2.
3See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 3.
4See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 4.
5See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 5.
6See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 6.
7See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 7.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Reportable Segment Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Expenses, and Adjusted Operating Ratio
Truckload Segment
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 5,034,941 | $ | 4,698,655 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (4,866,596) | (4,400,678) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 168,345 | $ | 297,977 | ||
| Operating ratio | 96.7 | % | 93.7 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 5,034,941 | $ | 4,698,655 | ||
| Fuel surcharge | (625,739) | (665,711) | ||||
| Intersegment transactions | (590) | (1,890) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions | 4,408,612 | 4,031,054 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 4,866,596 | 4,400,678 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Fuel surcharge | (625,739) | (665,711) | ||||
| Intersegment transactions | (590) | (1,890) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (7,099) | (5,576) | ||||
| Impairments 2 | (17,132) | (656) | ||||
| Legal accruals 3 | (702) | — | ||||
| Other acquisition related expenses 4 | — | (7,697) | ||||
| Severance expense 5 | (1,466) | (2,636) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 4,213,868 | 3,716,512 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 194,744 | $ | 314,542 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 95.6 | % | 92.2 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in historical Knight acquisitions and the U.S. Xpress Acquisition.
2See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 2.
3See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 3.
4See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 5.
5See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 6.
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LTL Segment
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,235,547 | $ | 1,082,454 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (1,148,157) | (963,574) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 87,390 | $ | 118,880 | ||
| Operating ratio | 92.9 | % | 89.0 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,235,547 | $ | 1,082,454 | ||
| Fuel surcharge | (172,382) | (167,886) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge | 1,063,165 | 914,568 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 1,148,157 | 963,574 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Fuel surcharge | (172,382) | (167,886) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (17,447) | (15,680) | ||||
| Impairments 2 | (674) | — | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 957,654 | 780,008 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 105,511 | $ | 134,560 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 90.1 | % | 85.3 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified with the ACT, MME, and DHE acquisitions, as well as the non-cash amortization expense related to the fair value of favorable leases assumed in the DHE Acquisition.
2See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 2.
Logistics Segment
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 570,001 | $ | 582,250 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (546,689) | (538,832) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 23,312 | $ | 43,418 | ||
| Operating ratio | 95.9 | % | 92.5 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 570,001 | $ | 582,250 | ||
| Intersegment transactions | — | (4,555) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | 570,001 | 577,695 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 546,689 | 538,832 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Intersegment transactions | — | (4,555) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (4,656) | (1,613) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 542,033 | 532,664 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 27,968 | $ | 45,031 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 95.1 | % | 92.2 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in the U.S. Xpress and UTXL acquisitions.
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Intermodal Segment
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 387,232 | $ | 410,549 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (396,690) | (421,056) | ||||
| Operating loss | $ | (9,458) | $ | (10,507) | ||
| Operating ratio | 102.4 | % | 102.6 | % |
Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Free cash flow
| 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| GAAP: Cash flows from operations | $ | 799,063 |
| Adjusted for: | ||
| Proceeds from sale of property and equipment, including assets held for sale | 253,923 | |
| Purchases of property and equipment | (819,150) | |
| Non-GAAP: Free Cash Flow | $ | 233,836 |
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MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS — CONTINUED
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
The following table presents our available sources of liquidity as of December 31, 2024:
| Source: | Amount | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents, excluding restricted cash | $ | 218,261 | |
| Availability under 2021 Revolver, due September 2026 1 | 849,899 | ||
| Availability under 2023 RSA, due October 2025 2 | 14,333 | ||
| Total unrestricted liquidity | $ | 1,082,493 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents – restricted 3 | 151,969 | ||
| Total liquidity, including restricted cash | $ | 1,234,462 |
1As of December 31, 2024, we had $232.0 million in borrowings under our $1.1 billion 2021 Revolver. We additionally had $18.1 million in outstanding letters of credit (discussed below) issued under the 2021 Revolver, leaving $849.9 million available under the 2021 Revolver.
2Based on eligible receivables at December 31, 2024, our borrowing base for the 2023 RSA was $500.7 million, while outstanding borrowings were $459.2 million, along with $27.2 million in outstanding letters of credit, leaving $14.3 million available under the 2023 RSA.
3Restricted cash and restricted investments are primarily held by our captive insurance companies for claims payments. "Cash and cash equivalents – restricted" consists of $147.7 million, which is included in "Cash and cash equivalents — restricted" in the consolidated balance sheets held by Mohave and Red Rock for claims payments. The remaining $4.3 million is included in "Other long-term assets" and is held in escrow accounts to meet statutory requirements.
Uses of Liquidity
Our business requires substantial amounts of cash for operating activities, including salaries and wages paid to our employees, contract payments to independent contractors, insurance and claims payments, tax payments, and others. We also use large amounts of cash and credit for the following activities:
Capital Expenditures — Subject to our liquidity and our ability to generate acceptable returns, we make substantial cash capital expenditures to maintain a modern company tractor fleet, refresh and expand our trailer fleet (when justified by customer demand), expand our network of LTL service centers, and, to a lesser extent, fund upgrades to our terminals and technology in our various service offerings. In connection with our business strategy, we regularly evaluate acquisition, investment, and strategic partnership opportunities. We expect net cash capital expenditures will be in the range of $575.0 to $625.0 million in 2025. Our expected net cash capital expenditures primarily represent replacements of existing tractors and trailers and investments in our terminal network, driver amenities, and technology, and excludes acquisitions.
Over the long-term, we will continue to have significant capital requirements, which may require us to seek additional borrowing, lease financing, or equity capital. The availability of financing or equity capital will depend upon our financial condition and results of operations as well as prevailing market conditions. If such additional borrowing, lease financing, or equity capital is not available at the time we need it, then we may need to borrow more under the 2021 Revolver (if not then fully drawn), extend the maturity of then-outstanding debt, rely on alternative financing arrangements, engage in asset sales, limit our fleet size, or operate our revenue equipment for longer periods.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain additional debt under our existing financial arrangements to satisfy our ongoing capital requirements. However, we believe the combination of our expected cash flows, financing available through operating and finance leases, available funds under our 2023 RSA, and availability under the 2021 Revolver will be sufficient to fund our expected capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months.
Refer to Note 16 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion of our short-term and long-term contractual payment obligations related to purchase commitments.
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Principal and Interest Payments — As of December 31, 2024, we had debt, accounts receivable securitization, and finance lease obligations of $2.9 billion, which are discussed under "Material Debt Agreements," below. Certain cash flows from operations are committed to minimum payments of principal and interest on our debt and lease obligations. Additionally, when our financial position allows, we periodically make voluntary prepayments on our outstanding debt balances.
Prior to the maturity of our 2023 RSA, 2023 Term Loan, 2021 Term Loans, 2021 Revolver, Prudential Notes, revenue equipment installment notes, and other debt, we expect to be contractually obligated to make interest payments of approximately $19.4 million, $27.0 million, $115.7 million, $7.0 million, $0.7 million, $11.1 million and $1.4 million, respectively. Refer to Notes 12 and 13 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion of the principal payment obligations related to the 2023 RSA, 2023 Term Loan, and 2021 Debt Agreement.
Refer to Note 14 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion on our contractual principal and interest payment obligations for finance leases.
Letters of Credit — Pursuant to the terms of the 2021 Debt Agreement and the 2023 RSA, our lenders may issue standby letters of credit on our behalf. When we have certain letters of credit outstanding, the availability under the 2021 Revolver or 2023 RSA is reduced accordingly. As of December 31, 2024, we also had outstanding letters of credit of $246.0 million pursuant to a bilateral agreement which does not impact the availability of the 2021 Revolver and 2023 RSA. Standby letters of credit are typically issued for the benefit of regulatory authorities, insurance companies and state departments of insurance for the purpose of satisfying certain collateral requirements, primarily related to our automobile, workers' compensation, and general insurance liabilities.
Share Repurchases — From time to time, and depending on Free Cash Flow1 availability, debt levels, the price of our common stock, general economic and market conditions, as well as internal approval requirements, we may repurchase shares of our outstanding common stock. The 2022 Knight-Swift Repurchase Plan had $200.0 million available as of December 31, 2024. See further details regarding our share repurchases under Note 18 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Working Capital
We had a working capital deficit of $258.0 million as of December 31, 2024 and a working capital deficit of $116.3 million as of December 31, 2023. The $141.7 million increase in the deficit was primarily due to the current classification of the 2023 RSA, which matures October 2025.
________
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
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Material Debt Agreements
As of December 31, 2024, we had $2.9 billion in material debt obligations at the following carrying values:
•$349.1 million: 2021 Term Loan A-2, due September 2026, net of $0.9 million in deferred loan costs
•$779.4 million: 2021 Term Loan A-3, due September 2026, net of $0.6 million in deferred loan costs
•$249.5 million: 2023 Term Loan, due September 2026, net of $0.5 million in deferred loan costs
•$459.0 million: 2023 RSA outstanding borrowings, net of $0.2 million in deferred loan costs
•$597.4 million: Finance lease obligations
•$232.0 million: 2021 Revolver, due September 2026
•$192.3 million: Revenue equipment installment notes
•$23.3 million: Other, net of approximately $10,000 in deferred loan costs
As of December 31, 2023, we had $2.7 billion in material debt obligations at the following carrying values:
•$199.9 million: 2021 Term Loan A-2, due September 2024, net of $0.1 million in deferred loan costs
•$799.1 million: 2021 Term Loan A-3, due September 2026, net of $0.9 million in deferred loan costs
•$249.1 million: 2023 Term Loan, due September 2026, net of $0.9 million in deferred loan costs
•$526.5 million: 2023 RSA outstanding borrowings, net of $0.5 million in deferred loan costs
•$528.9 million: Finance lease obligations
•$67.0 million: 2021 Revolver, due September 2026
•$279.3 million: Revenue equipment installment notes
•$33.6 million: Other, net of approximately $22,000 in deferred loan costs
Key terms and other details regarding our material debt obligations and finance leases are discussed in Notes 12, 13, and 14 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, and are incorporated by reference herein.
Cash Flow Analysis
| 2024 | 2023 | Change | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 799,063 | $ | 1,161,676 | $ | (362,613) | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (759,122) | (1,228,025) | 468,903 | |||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (139,397) | 150,690 | (290,087) |
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities
2024 Compared to 2023 — The $362.6 million decrease in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to a $94.8 million decrease in operating income, a $161.1 million cash payment for a commutation agreement to transfer certain outstanding insurance reserves to a third party, a $77.1 million decrease in change in trade receivables, and a $56.3 million increase in cash paid for interest. These were partially offset by a $30.4 million decrease in cash paid for taxes and various changes in working capital. Factors affecting the increase in operating income are discussed in "Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses."
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities
2024 Compared to 2023 — The $468.9 million decrease in net cash used in investing activities was primarily due to a $272.8 million decrease in net cash invested in acquisitions and a $213.8 million decrease in net cash capital expenditures.
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Net Cash (Used in) Provided by Financing Activities
2024 Compared to 2023 — Net cash used in financing activities increased by $290.1 million, primarily due to a $175.8 million increase in net repayments on our 2023 RSA, a $154.9 million increase in repayments on finance leases and long-term debt, and a $100.0 million decrease in proceeds from long-term debt. These were offset by a $86.0 million increase in net borrowings on our 2021 Revolver.
Inflation
Most of our operating expenses are inflation-sensitive, with inflation generally leading to increased costs of operations. Price increases in manufactured revenue equipment have impacted the cost for us to acquire new equipment in recent periods. Cost increases have also impacted the cost of parts for equipment repairs and maintenance. The qualified driver shortage experienced by the trucking industry overall has had the effect of increasing compensation paid to our driving associates. We have also experienced inflation in insurance and claims cost related to health insurance and claims as well as auto liability insurance and claims. Prolonged periods of inflation have recently and could continue to cause interest rates, fuel, wages, and other costs to increase as well. Any of these factors could adversely affect our results of operations unless freight rates correspondingly increase.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that impact the amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Therefore, the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, and associated disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities are affected by these estimates and assumptions. We evaluate these estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis, utilizing historical experience, consultation with experts, and other methods considered reasonable in the particular circumstances. Nevertheless, actual results may differ significantly from our estimates and assumptions, and it is possible that materially different amounts could be reported using differing estimates or assumptions. We consider our critical accounting estimates to be those that require us to make more significant judgments and estimates when we prepare our financial statements.
Note 2 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report describes the Company's accounting policies. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Note 2, as it presents uncertainties involved in applying the accounting policies, and provides insight into the quality of management's estimates and variability in the amounts recorded for these critical accounting estimates. Our critical accounting estimates include the following:
Claims Accruals — Insurance and claims expense varies as a percentage of total revenue, based on the frequency and severity of claims incurred in a given period, as well as changes in claims development trends. The actual cost to settle our self-insured claim liabilities, as well as our third-party claim liabilities, may differ from our reserve estimates due to legal costs, claims that have been incurred but not reported, and various other uncertainties, including the inherent difficulty in estimating the severity of the claim and the potential judgment or settlement amount to dispose of the claim. If claims development factors that are based upon historical experience had increased by 10%, our claims accrual as of December 31, 2024 would have potentially increased by $43.4 million.
Refer to Note 10, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the claims accrual balance.
Goodwill and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets — The test of goodwill requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assigning assets (including goodwill) and liabilities to reporting units and determining the fair value of each reporting unit. Fair value of the reporting unit is determined using a combination of comparative valuation multiples of publicly traded companies, internal transaction methods, and discounted cash flow models. Estimating the fair value of reporting units includes several significant assumptions, including future cash flow estimates, determination of appropriate discount rates, and other assumptions that management believed reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and/or goodwill impairment for each reporting unit.
Knight-Swift evaluated its goodwill associated with the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions as of June 30, 2024 and 2023. The evaluations were completed using fair value measurement guidance prescribed in ASC 350,
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Intangibles – Goodwill and Other. The fair value of the goodwill was established using an equal weighting of both the income and market approaches. In evaluating this quantitative analysis, the Company determined that it was more likely than not that fair value exceeded carrying value for the Company's reporting units as of June 30, 2024 and 2023.
The test of indefinite-lived intangible assets consists of a comparison of the estimated fair value of certain trade names to their carrying values. The determination of the fair value of the trade names requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions related to forecasts of future revenues, discount rates, and royalty rates. Changes in these assumptions could materially affect the determination of the fair value of the trade names, the amount of any trade names impairment charge, or both. Management evaluated trade names for impairment as of June 30, 2024 and 2023 noting that the fair value exceeded carrying value for the trade name.
Refer to Note 8, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible asset balances.
Depreciation and Amortization — Selecting the appropriate accounting method requires management judgment, as there are multiple acceptable methods that are in accordance with GAAP, including straight-line, declining-balance, and sum-of-the-years' digits. As discussed in Note 2 included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, property and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis and intangible customer relationships are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. We believe that these methods properly spread the costs over the useful lives of the assets. Management judgment is also involved when determining estimated useful lives of the Company's long-lived assets. We determine useful lives of our long-lived assets, based on historical experience, as well as future expectations regarding the period we expect to benefit from the asset. Factors affecting estimated useful lives of property and equipment may include estimating loss, damage, obsolescence, and company policies around maintenance and asset replacement. Factors affecting estimated useful lives of long-lived intangible assets may include legal, contractual, or other provisions that limit useful lives, historical experience with similar assets, future expectations of customer relationships, among others.
Refer to Note 8, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the impact of the amortization of definite-lived intangibles on our results for 2024 and 2023.
Impairments of Long-lived Assets — Fair value is determined through various valuation techniques, including discounted cash flow models, quoted market values, and third-party independent appraisals, as necessary. Estimating fair value includes several significant assumptions, including future cash flow estimates, determination of appropriate discount rates, and other assumptions that management believed reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and/or impairment.
Refer to Note 21, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in long-lived assets and the impact on our results for 2024 and 2023.
Fair Value of Net Assets Acquired in Business Combinations — Management performs fair value assessments in determining the fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities acquired through the business combination as of the acquisition date. Management and third-party specialists use significant inputs and assumptions in the valuations of acquired net assets such as certain prospective information, discount rates, royalty rates, and market data. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value.
Refer to Note 4, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the fair value of net assets acquired in business combinations and the impact on our results for 2024 and 2023.
Fair Value of Contingent Consideration — Management performs assessments in determining the fair value of contingent consideration arrangements associated with certain acquisitions and which based on the acquired businesses achieving certain thresholds related to performance. The fair values of these contingent consideration arrangements are included as part of the purchase price of the acquired companies on their respective acquisition dates. For each transaction, we estimate the fair value of contingent earnout payments as part of the initial purchase price and record the estimated fair value of contingent consideration as a liability on the consolidated balance sheets.
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The fair values of certain earnout arrangements are estimated by discounting the expected future contingent payments to present value using a variation of the income approach, specifically using a Monte Carlo Simulation approach. The key assumptions used in our valuation were: (i) forecast of operating income and net income, (ii) the volatility associated with operating income and net income, (iii) risk-adjusted discount rate applied to forecasted operating income and net income, and (iv) the credit-adjusted discount rate related to the payment of the contingent consideration.
Refer to Notes 4 and 21, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the fair value of contingent consideration agreements and the impact on our results for 2024 and 2023.
Income Taxes — Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes and in determining whether deferred tax assets will be realized in full or in part. We periodically assess the likelihood that all or some portion of deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income. To the extent we believe the likelihood of recovery is not sufficient, a valuation allowance is established for the amount determined not to be realizable. Management judgment is necessary in determining the frequency at which we assess the need for a valuation allowance, the accounting period in which to establish the valuation allowance, as well as the amount of the valuation allowance. We believe that we have adequately provided for our future tax consequences based upon current facts and circumstances and current tax law. However, should our tax positions be challenged, different outcomes could result and have a significant impact on the amounts reported in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
Management judgment is also required regarding a variety of other factors including the appropriateness of tax strategies. We utilize certain income tax planning strategies to reduce our overall income taxes. It is possible that certain strategies might be disallowed, resulting in an increased liability for income taxes. Significant management judgments are involved in assessing the likelihood of sustaining the strategies and determining the likely range of defense and settlement costs, in the event that tax strategies are challenged by taxing authorities. An ultimate result worse than our expectations could adversely affect our results of operations.
Refer to Note 11, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the balances of deferred taxes assets and related valuation allowances.
Leases — At the inception of a lease, management judgment is involved in the determination of the discount rate, the determination of whether a contract contains a lease, classification of operating versus finance lease, assessment of useful lives, and estimation of residual values. Discounted future minimum lease payments are used in determining the lease classification represent the present value of minimum rental payments called for over the lease term, inclusive of residual value guarantees (if applicable) and amounts that would be required to be paid, if any, by the Company upon default for leases containing subjective acceleration or cross default clauses.
Refer to Note 14, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in balance of operating leases.
Stock-based Compensation — We issue several types of stock-based compensation, including awards that vest, based on service conditions, performance conditions, or a combination of service and performance conditions. Determining the appropriate amount to expense in each period is based on likelihood and timing of achievement of the stated targets for performance-based awards, and requires judgment, including forecasting future financial results, market performance, and other factors. The estimates are revised periodically, based on the probability and timing of achieving the required performance targets, and adjustments are made as appropriate. There is also some judgement involved with estimating expected forfeiture rates as we have opted to net the benefit of expected forfeitures against our stock-based compensation expense.
Refer to Note 19, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the assumptions related to these awards and the impact on our results for 2024 and 2023.
Legal Settlements and Reserves — See Note 17 in Part II Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 3 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, which is incorporated herein by reference, for recently issued accounting pronouncements that could have an impact on our consolidated financial statements.
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FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001492691-24-000015.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Certain acronyms and terms used throughout this Annual Report are specific to our company, commonly used in our industry, or are otherwise frequently used throughout our document. Definitions for these acronyms and terms are provided in the "Glossary of Terms," available in the front of this document.
Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations should be read together with "Business" in Part I, Item 1 of this Annual Report, as well as the consolidated financial statements and accompanying footnotes in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report. This discussion contains forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A. "Risk Factors" and Part I "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements" of this Annual Report, and elsewhere in this report. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed.
Executive Summary
Company Overview
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. is one of North America's largest and most diversified freight transportation companies, providing multiple full truckload, LTL, intermodal, and other complementary services. Our objective is to operate our business with industry-leading margins, continued organic growth, and growth through acquisitions while providing safe, high-quality, and cost-effective solutions for our customers. Knight-Swift uses a nationwide network of business units and terminals in the US and Mexico to serve customers throughout North America. In addition to operating one of the country's largest truckload fleets, Knight-Swift also contracts with third-party equipment providers to provide a broad range of transportation services to our customers while creating quality driving jobs for our driving associates and successful business opportunities for independent contractors. Our four reportable segments are Truckload, LTL, Logistics, and Intermodal. Additionally, we have various other operating segments, included within our All Other Segments.
Key Financial Highlights
During 2023, consolidated total revenue was $7.1 billion, which is a 3.9% decrease over 2022. Consolidated operating income was $338.2 million in 2023, reflecting a decrease of 69.0% from 2022. Consolidated net income attributable to Knight-Swift decreased by 71.8% from 2022 to $217.1 million.
•Truckload — 93.7% operating ratio during 2023, with a 5.8% increase in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, compared to 2022.
•LTL — 89.0% operating ratio during 2023 with a 5.5% increase in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge.
•Logistics — 92.5% operating ratio during 2023. Load count reduced by 17.5%, leading to a 36.6% decrease in revenue, excluding intersegment transactions.
•Intermodal — 102.6% operating ratio during 2023, a 15.5% decrease in revenue, excluding intersegment transactions leading to a 121.8% decrease in operating income.
•All Other Segments — Operating loss was $111.6 million during 2023 compared to operating income of $36.5 million in 2022 primarily due to the $125.5 million operating loss of our third-party insurance business. Based on the recent results, including the continued unfavorable development of insurance reserves, the Company decided to initiate exiting this business during the fourth quarter of 2023 and expects to cease all third-party insurance operations and cancel any remaining policies by the end of the first quarter of 2024. We do not expect this business to have a material impact to our results in 2024.
•Acquisition of U.S. Xpress — Having closed on July 1, 2023, our synergy teams, composed of leaders from Knight, Swift, and U.S. Xpress have been sharing information, best practices, and further defining opportunities for improvement and action plans to execute on those plans. In the first two quarters of ownership, we have made significant cost improvement and even some rate improvement, leading to slight profitability in the fourth quarter of 2023.
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•Liquidity and Capital — During 2023, we generated $1.2 billion in operating cash flows. Our Free Cash Flow1 was $382.7 million. We paid down $59.3 million in long-term debt, $60.9 million in finance lease liabilities, and $120.6 million on our operating lease liabilities. We obtained financing of $250.0 million in new long-term debt and $108.0 million from net borrowings on our accounts receivable securitization and assumed $337.9 million in debt and finance lease liabilities related to the U.S. Xpress Acquisition. In 2023, we issued $91.1 million in dividends to our stockholders. Gain on sale of revenue equipment decreased to $64.7 million in 2023, compared to $92.9 million in 2022.
We ended 2023 with $168.5 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, $67.0 million outstanding on the 2021 Revolver, $1.3 billion face value outstanding on the 2023 Term Loan and the 2021 Term Loans, and $7.1 billion of stockholders' equity. We do not foresee material liquidity constraints or any issues with our ongoing ability to meet our debt covenants. See discussion under "Liquidity and Capital Resources" for additional information.
________
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
Key Financial Data and Operating Metrics
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP financial data: | (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,141,766 | $ | 7,428,582 | ||
| Revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | $ | 6,308,169 | $ | 6,508,165 | ||
| Net income attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 217,149 | $ | 771,325 | ||
| Earnings per diluted share | $ | 1.34 | $ | 4.73 | ||
| Operating ratio | 95.3 | % | 85.3 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP financial data: | ||||||
| Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift 1 | $ | 278,739 | $ | 821,196 | ||
| Adjusted EPS 1 | $ | 1.72 | $ | 5.03 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 | 93.1 | % | 82.2 | % | ||
| Revenue equipment statistics by segment: | ||||||
| Truckload | ||||||
| Average tractors 2 | 20,948 | 18,110 | ||||
| Average trailers 3 | 87,865 | 74,779 | ||||
| LTL | ||||||
| Average tractors 4 | 3,201 | 3,176 | ||||
| Average trailers 5 | 8,482 | 8,431 | ||||
| Intermodal | ||||||
| Average tractors | 639 | 613 | ||||
| Average containers | 12,730 | 11,786 |
1Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, and Adjusted Operating Ratio are non-GAAP financial measures and should not be considered alternatives, or superior to, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. However, management believes that presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors regarding the Company's results of operations. Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, and Adjusted Operating Ratio are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures," below.
2Our tractor fleet within the Truckload segment had a weighted average age of 2.5 years and 2.7 years as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
3Note that average trailers includes 8,724 and 8,249 trailers within our All Other Segment. Our trailer fleet within the Truckload segment had a weighted average age of 8.9 years and 9.9 years as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
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4Our LTL tractor fleet had a weighted average age of 4.4 years and 4.3 years as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and includes 611 and 711 tractors from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2023 and 2022, respectively.
5Our LTL trailer fleet had a weighted average age of 8.6 years and 8.1 years as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and includes 723 and 968 trailers from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Market Trends and Outlook — On a year-over-year basis, the US gross domestic product, which is the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, increased by 2.5%1 in 2023, as compared to a 1.9%1 increase in 2022. The year-over-year improvement primarily reflects increases in consumer spending, nonresidential fixed investments, state and local government spending, exports, and federal government spending that were partly offset by decreases in residential fixed investment and inventory investment. The national unemployment rate was 3.7%2 as of December 31, 2023, as compared to 3.5%2 as of December 31, 2022. Early estimates of the full-year 2023 US employment cost index indicate a year-over-year increase of 0.9%2 and a sequential increase of 0.7%2.
The freight market outlook for the first half of 2024 includes the following:
•LTL demand remains strong;
•LTL improvement in revenue (excluding fuel) per hundredweight year-over-year;
•Truckload freight demand softness anticipated to continue into the first quarter of 2024, with modest seasonality in the second quarter of 2024;
•Truckload - contract rate sequentially stable;
•Cost inflation continues to be a challenge, though pace eases;
•Labor alternatives in the general economy remain attractive, providing a headwind to retention and utilization until freight conditions improve;
•Demand in the used equipment market weakens further as small carriers struggle.
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1 bea.gov
2 bls.gov
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Results of Operations — Summary
Notes regarding presentation: A discussion of changes in our results of operations from 2021 to 2022 has been omitted from this Annual Report, but may be found in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of our 2022 Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 23, 2023.
In accordance with accounting treatment applicable to each of our recent acquisitions, Knight-Swift's reported results do not include the operating results of the acquired entities prior to the respective acquisition dates. Accordingly, comparisons between the Company's 2023 results and prior periods may not be meaningful. Refer to Note 1 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for a list of our recent acquisitions.
Operating Results: 2023 Compared to 2022 — The $554.2 million decrease in net income attributable to Knight-Swift to $217.1 million in 2023 from $771.3 million in 2022, includes the following:
•Contributor — $448.6 million decrease in operating income within our Truckload segment was primarily due to a 0.6% decrease in average revenue per tractor, which includes the results of U.S. Xpress. Excluding U.S. Xpress, revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, per tractor decreased 10.2% year-over-year.
•Contributor — $90.5 million decrease in operating income within our Logistics segment driven by a 17.5% decrease in load count.
•Contributor — $58.7 million decrease in operating income within our Intermodal segment driven by a 19.9% decrease in revenue per load, partially offset by a 5.5% increase in load count.
•Contributor — $7.7 million decrease in operating income from our LTL segment as a result of a 1.9% decrease in weight per shipment and other costs related to expanding our service area and transitioning our operational systems on one network.
•Contributor — $148.1 million decrease in operating results within our All Other Segments, primarily due to the $125.5 million operating loss in the third-party insurance business, including additional costs incurred in the fourth quarter of 2023 as we prepare to exit the business in the first quarter of 2024.
•Contributor — $60.2 million increase in net interest expense primarily due to an increase in interest rates.
•Offset — $63.6 million increase in "Other income (expenses), net," primarily driven by an unrealized loss on our investment in Embark recorded in 2022.
•Offset — $194.6 million decrease in consolidated income tax expense, primarily due to a decrease in income before income taxes and a release of a valuation allowance in the third quarter of 2023. This resulted in a 2023 effective tax rate of 20.3% and a 2022 effective tax rate of 24.4%.
See additional discussion of our operating results within "Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses" below.
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Results of Operations — Segment Review
The Company has four reportable segments: Truckload, LTL, Logistics, and Intermodal, as well as certain other operating segments included within our All Other Segments. Refer to Note 25 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for descriptions of our segments. Refer to Part I, Item 1, "Business – Our Mission and Company Strategy" of this Annual Report for discussion related to our segment operating strategies.
Consolidating Tables for Total Revenue and Operating Income
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue: | (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Truckload | $ | 4,698,655 | 65.8 | % | $ | 4,531,115 | 61.0 | % | |||||
| LTL | $ | 1,082,454 | 15.2 | % | $ | 1,069,554 | 14.4 | % | |||||
| Logistics | $ | 582,250 | 8.2 | % | $ | 920,707 | 12.4 | % | |||||
| Intermodal | $ | 410,549 | 5.7 | % | $ | 485,786 | 6.5 | % | |||||
| Subtotal | $ | 6,773,908 | 94.9 | % | $ | 7,007,162 | 94.3 | % | |||||
| All Other Segments | $ | 462,061 | 6.5 | % | $ | 516,735 | 7.0 | % | |||||
| Intersegment eliminations | $ | (94,203) | (1.4 | %) | $ | (95,315) | (1.3 | %) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,141,766 | 100.0 | % | $ | 7,428,582 | 100.0 | % |
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating income (loss): | (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Truckload | $ | 297,977 | 88.1 | % | $ | 746,581 | 68.4 | % | |||||
| LTL | $ | 118,880 | 35.2 | % | $ | 126,609 | 11.6 | % | |||||
| Logistics | $ | 43,418 | 12.8 | % | $ | 133,942 | 12.3 | % | |||||
| Intermodal | $ | (10,507) | (3.1 | %) | $ | 48,167 | 4.4 | % | |||||
| Subtotal | $ | 449,768 | 133.0 | % | $ | 1,055,299 | 96.7 | % | |||||
| All Other Segments | $ | (111,615) | (33.0 | %) | $ | 36,529 | 3.3 | % | |||||
| Operating income | $ | 338,153 | 100.0 | % | $ | 1,091,828 | 100.0 | % |
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Revenue
•Our truckload services include irregular route and dedicated, refrigerated, expedited, flatbed, and cross-border transportation of various products, goods, and materials for our diverse customer base with approximately 15,100 irregular route and 5,900 dedicated tractors.
•Our LTL business, which was initially established in 2021 through the ACT Acquisition and later the MME acquisition, provides our customers with regional LTL transportation service through our growing network of approximately 120 facilities and a door count of approximately 4,550. Our LTL segment operates approximately 3,200 tractors and approximately 8,500 trailers, including equipment used for ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses. The LTL segment also provides national coverage to our customers by utilizing partner carriers for areas outside of our direct network.
•Our Logistics and Intermodal segments provide a multitude of shipping solutions, including additional sources of truckload capacity and alternative transportation modes, by utilizing our vast network of third-party capacity providers and rail providers, as well as certain logistics and freight management services. We continue to offer power-only services through our Logistics segment by leveraging our fleet of over 96,000 trailers as of December 31, 2023.
•All Other Segments include support services provided to our customers and third-party carriers including insurance, equipment maintenance, equipment leasing, warehousing, trailer parts manufacturing, and warranty services. All Other Segments also include certain corporate expenses (such as legal settlements and accruals, certain impairments, and amortization of intangibles related to the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions).
•In addition to the revenues earned from our customers for the trucking and non-trucking services discussed above, we also earn fuel surcharge revenue from our customers through our fuel surcharge programs, which serve to recover a majority of our fuel costs. This generally applies only to loaded miles for our Truckload and LTL segments and typically does not offset non-paid empty miles, idle time, nor out-of-route miles driven. Fuel surcharge programs involve a computation based on the change in national or regional fuel prices. These programs may update as often as weekly, but typically require a specified minimum change in fuel cost to prompt a change in fuel surcharge revenue. Therefore, many of these programs have a time lag between when fuel costs change and when the change is reflected in fuel surcharge revenue for our Truckload and LTL segments.
Expenses
Our most significant expenses typically vary with miles traveled and include fuel, driving associate-related expenses (such as wages and benefits), and services purchased from third-party service providers (including other trucking companies, railroad and drayage providers, and independent contractors). Maintenance and tire expenses, as well as the cost of insurance and claims generally vary with the miles we travel but also have a controllable component based on safety performance, fleet age, operating efficiency, and other factors. Our primary fixed costs are depreciation and lease expense for revenue equipment and terminals, non-driver employee compensation, amortization of intangible assets, and interest expenses.
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Operating Statistics
We measure our consolidated and segment results through the operating statistics listed in the table below. Our chief operating decision makers monitor the GAAP results of our reportable segments, supplemented by certain non-GAAP information. Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for more details. Additionally, we use a number of primary indicators to monitor our revenue and expense performance and efficiency.
| Operating Statistic | Relevant Segment(s) | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Revenue per Tractor | Truckload | Measures productivity and represents revenue (excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions) divided by average tractor count | ||
| Total Miles per Tractor | Truckload | Total miles (including loaded and empty miles) a tractor travels on average | ||
| Average Length of Haul | Truckload, LTL | For our Truckload segment this is calculated as average miles traveled with loaded trailer cargo per order. For our LTL segment this is calculated as average miles traveled from the origin service center to the destination service center. | ||
| Non-paid Empty Miles Percentage | Truckload | Percentage of miles without trailer cargo | ||
| Shipments per Day | LTL | Average number of shipments completed each business day | ||
| Weight per Shipment | LTL | Total weight (in pounds) divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue per shipment | LTL | Total revenue divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue xFSC per shipment | LTL | Total revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue per hundredweight | LTL | Measures yield and is calculated as total revenue divided by total weight (in pounds) times 100 | ||
| Revenue xFSC per hundredweight | LTL | Total revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, divided by total weight (in pounds) times 100 | ||
| Average Tractors | Truckload, LTL, Intermodal | Average tractors in operation during the period, including company tractors and tractors provided by independent contractors | ||
| Average Trailers | Truckload, LTL | Average trailers in operation during the period | ||
| Average Revenue per Load | Logistics, Intermodal | Total revenue (excluding intersegment transactions) divided by load count | ||
| Gross Margin Percentage | Logistics | Logistics gross margin (revenue, excluding intersegment transactions, less purchased transportation expense, excluding intersegment transactions) as a percentage of logistics revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | ||
| Average Containers | Intermodal | Average containers in operation during the period | ||
| GAAP Operating Ratio | Truckload, LTL, Logistics, Intermodal | Measures operating efficiency and is widely used in our industry as an assessment of management's effectiveness in controlling all categories of operating expenses. Calculated as operating expenses as a percentage of total revenue, or the inverse of operating margin | ||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio | Truckload, LTL, Logistics, Intermodal | Measures operating efficiency and is widely used in our industry as an assessment of management's effectiveness in controlling all categories of operating expenses. Consolidated and segment Adjusted Operating Ratios are reconciled to their corresponding GAAP operating ratios under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures," below |
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Segment Review
Truckload Segment
We generate revenue in the Truckload segment primarily through irregular route, dedicated, refrigerated, flatbed, expedited, and cross-border service offerings, with approximately 15,100 irregular route tractors and approximately 5,900 dedicated route tractors in use during 2023. Generally, we are paid a predetermined rate per mile or per load for our truckload services. Additional revenues are generated by charging for tractor and trailer detention, loading and unloading activities, dedicated services, other specialized services, and through the collection of fuel surcharge revenue to mitigate the impact of increases in the cost of fuel. The main factors that affect the revenue generated by our Truckload segment are rate per mile from our customers, the percentage of miles for which we are compensated, and the number of loaded miles we generate with our equipment.
The most significant expenses in the Truckload segment are primarily variable and include fuel and fuel taxes, driving associate-related expenses (such as wages, benefits, training, and recruitment), and costs associated with independent contractors primarily included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Maintenance expense (which includes costs for replacement tires for our revenue equipment) and insurance and claims expenses have both fixed and variable components. These expenses generally vary with the miles we travel, but also have a controllable component based on safety, fleet age, efficiency, and other factors. The main fixed costs in the Truckload segment are depreciation and rent expenses from tractors, trailers, and terminals, as well as compensating our non-driver employees.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per tractor data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 4,698,655 | $ | 4,531,115 | 3.7 | % | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions | $ | 4,031,054 | $ | 3,811,599 | 5.8 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 297,977 | $ | 746,581 | (60.1 | %) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 | $ | 314,542 | $ | 747,906 | (57.9 | %) | ||||
| Average revenue per tractor 2 | $ | 209,258 | $ | 210,469 | (0.6 | %) | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 93.7 | % | 83.5 | % | 1,020 | bps | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 92.2 | % | 80.4 | % | 1,180 | bps | ||||
| Non-paid empty miles percentage 2 | 14.3 | % | 14.6 | % | (30 | bps) | ||||
| Average length of haul (miles) 2 | 393 | 395 | (0.5 | %) | ||||||
| Total miles per tractor 2 | 85,233 | 76,502 | 11.4 | % | ||||||
| Average tractors 2 3 | 20,948 | 18,110 | 15.7 | % | ||||||
| Average trailers 2 4 | 87,865 | 74,779 | 17.5 | % |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined within "Operating Statistics" above.
3Includes 18,821 and 16,228 company-owned tractors for 2023 and 2022, respectively.
4Average trailers includes 8,724 and 8,249 trailers from our All Other Segments for 2023 and 2022, respectively.
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2023 Compared to 2022 — The Truckload segment continues to experience an extremely difficult environment, operating with an Adjusted Operating Ratio of 92.2% in 2023, as compared to 80.4% in 2022. The Adjusted Operating Ratio of the truckload business, excluding U.S. Xpress that was acquired in the third quarter of 2023, was 90.3% in 2023. The inclusion of U.S. Xpress negatively impacted the Adjusted Operating Ratio by 190 basis points. Revenue per loaded mile, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, decreased 10.9% year-over-year, while total miles increased 18.5% (before including the U.S. Xpress business, total miles decreased 2.9%). Miles per tractor increased 11.4% year-over-year (0.2% before including U.S. Xpress). Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions was $4.0 billion, an increase of 5.8% year-over-year, reflecting a 12.9% decline in the existing truckload business prior to the inclusion of U.S. Xpress. Excluding U.S. Xpress, revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, per tractor decreased 10.2% year-over-year as the decline in rates outweighed the improvement in miles per tractor.
We believe our extensive trailer fleet, which has grown to approximately 96,000 trailers as of the end of 2023, positions us to provide valuable capacity, flexibility, and efficiency to our customers through our Truckload and Logistics segments. We remain focused on managing costs and improving utilization, as we expect inflationary pressures in driver-related costs, equipment maintenance, and insurance to continue to affect the freight market in the first half of 2024.
LTL Segment
Dothan, Alabama-based ACT and Bismarck, North Dakota-based MME, both acquired in 2021, comprise our LTL segment. We provide regional direct service and serve our customers' national transportation needs by utilizing key partner carriers for coverage areas outside of our network. We primarily generate revenue by transporting freight for our customers through our core LTL services.
Our revenues are impacted by shipment volume and tonnage levels that flow through our network. Additional revenues are generated through fuel surcharges and accessorial services provided during transit from shipment origin to destination. We focus on the following multiple revenue generation factors when reviewing revenue yield: revenue per hundredweight, revenue per shipment, weight per shipment, and length of haul. Fluctuations within each of these metrics are analyzed when determining the revenue quality of our customers' shipment density.
Our most significant expenses are related to direct costs associated with the transportation of our freight moves including direct salary, wage and benefit costs, fuel expense, and depreciation expense associated with revenue equipment costs. Other expenses associated with revenue generation that can fluctuate and impact operating results are insurance and claims expense, as well as maintenance costs of our revenue equipment. These expenses can be influenced by multiple factors including our safety performance, equipment age, and other factors. A key component to lowering our operating costs is labor efficiency within our network. We continue to focus on technological advances to improve the customer experience and reduce our operating costs.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per shipment and per hundredweight data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,082,454 | $ | 1,069,554 | 1.2 | % | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge | $ | 914,568 | $ | 867,292 | 5.5 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 118,880 | $ | 126,609 | (6.1) | % | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 | $ | 134,560 | $ | 142,539 | (5.6) | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 89.0 | % | 88.2 | % | 80 | bps | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 85.3 | % | 83.6 | % | 170 | bps | ||||
| LTL shipments per day 2 | 18,899 | 18,642 | 1.4 | % | ||||||
| LTL weight per shipment 2 | 1,048 | 1,068 | (1.9) | % | ||||||
| LTL average length of haul (miles) 2 | 553 | 520 | 6.3 | % | ||||||
| LTL revenue per shipment 2 | $ | 193.32 | $ | 188.03 | 2.8 | % | ||||
| LTL revenue xFSC per shipment 2 | $ | 163.10 | $ | 152.15 | 7.2 | % | ||||
| LTL revenue per hundredweight 2 | $ | 18.44 | $ | 17.61 | 4.7 | % | ||||
| LTL revenue xFSC per hundredweight 2 | $ | 15.56 | $ | 14.25 | 9.2 | % | ||||
| LTL average tractors 2 3 | 3,201 | 3,176 | 0.8 | % | ||||||
| LTL average trailers 2 4 | 8,482 | 8,431 | 0.6 | % |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
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2Defined under "Operating Statistics," above.
3Includes 611 and 711 tractors from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2023 and 2022, respectively.
4Includes 723 and 968 trailers from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2023 and 2022, respectively.
2023 Compared to 2022 — Our LTL segment operates across approximately 120 facilities with a door count of over 4,550. LTL operated well, producing an 85.3% Adjusted Operating Ratio during 2023, as revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, grew 5.5% but Adjusted Operating Income decreased 5.6% year-over-year. Volumes were strong with shipments per day for the year increasing 1.4% year-over-year. Revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharge, increased 9.2%, while revenue per shipment, excluding fuel surcharge, increased by 7.2%, reflecting a 1.9% decrease in weight per shipment.
We expect that our connected LTL network will provide additional opportunities for revenue growth. During 2023, we increased our door count by over 260 and we expect door capacity to continue to grow in 2024. We remain encouraged by the strong performance within our LTL segment, and we continue to look for both organic and inorganic opportunities to geographically expand our footprint within the LTL market.
Logistics Segment
The Logistics segment is less asset-intensive than the Truckload and LTL segments and is dependent upon capable non-driver employees, modern and effective information technology, and third-party capacity providers. Logistics revenue is generated by its brokerage operations. We generate additional revenue by offering specialized logistics solutions (including, but not limited to, trailing equipment, origin management, surge volume, disaster relief, special projects, and other logistic needs). Logistics revenue is mainly affected by the rates we obtain from customers, the freight volumes we ship through third-party capacity providers, and our ability to secure third-party capacity providers to transport customer freight.
The most significant expense in the Logistics segment is purchased transportation that we pay to third-party capacity providers, which is primarily a variable cost, and is included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Variability in this expense depends on truckload capacity, availability of third-party capacity providers, rates charged to customers, current freight demand, and customer shipping needs. Fixed Logistics operating expenses primarily include non-driver employee compensation and benefits recorded in "Salaries, wages, and benefits," as well as depreciation and amortization expense recorded in "Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per load data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 582,250 | $ | 920,707 | (36.8 | %) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | $ | 577,695 | $ | 910,609 | (36.6 | %) | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 43,418 | $ | 133,942 | (67.6 | %) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 2 | $ | 45,031 | $ | 135,278 | (66.7 | %) | ||||
| Revenue per load 2 | $ | 1,724 | $ | 2,242 | (23.1 | %) | ||||
| Gross margin percentage 2 | 18.7 | % | 21.9 | % | (320 | bps) | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 92.5 | % | 85.5 | % | 700 | bps | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 92.2 | % | 85.1 | % | 710 | bps |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined under "Operating Statistics" above.
2023 Compared to 2022 — Logistics Adjusted Operating Ratio was 92.2%, with a gross margin of 18.7% in 2023, compared to 21.9% in 2022. Our existing logistics load count declined by 28.0% year-over-year, prior to the addition of U.S. Xpress logistics. With the inclusion of U.S. Xpress logistics volumes, the load count declined by 17.5% year-over-year. Revenue per load decreased by 23.1% year-over-year. We continue to innovate with technology designed to remove friction and allow seamless connectivity, leading to services that we expect will capture new opportunities for revenue growth.
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Intermodal Segment
The Intermodal segment complements our regional operating model, while also allowing us to better serve customers in longer haul lanes, and reduces our investment in fixed assets. Through the Intermodal segment, we generate revenue by moving freight over the rail in our containers and other trailing equipment, combined with revenue for drayage to transport loads between railheads and customer locations. The most significant expense in the Intermodal segment is the cost of purchased transportation that we pay to third-party capacity providers (including rail providers), which is primarily variable and included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. While rail pricing is primarily determined on an annual basis, purchased transportation varies as it relates to rail capacity, freight demand, and customer shipping needs. The main fixed costs in the Intermodal segment are depreciation of our company tractors related to drayage, containers, and chassis, as well as non-driver employee compensation and benefits.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per load data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 410,549 | $ | 485,786 | (15.5 | %) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | $ | 410,549 | $ | 485,739 | (15.5 | %) | ||||
| GAAP: Operating (loss) income | $ | (10,507) | $ | 48,167 | (121.8 | %) | ||||
| Average revenue per load 1 | $ | 2,842 | $ | 3,546 | (19.9 | %) | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 1 | 102.6 | % | 90.1 | % | 1,250 | bps | ||||
| Load count | 144,471 | 136,967 | 5.5 | % | ||||||
| Average tractors 2 3 | 639 | 613 | 4.2 | % | ||||||
| Average containers 2 | 12,730 | 11,786 | 8.0 | % |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined within "Operating Statistics" above.
3Includes 577 and 544 company-owned tractors for 2023 and 2022, respectively.
2023 Compared to 2022 — Intermodal operated with a 102.6% operating ratio. While load count increased year-over-year by 5.5%, total revenue decreased 15.5% year-over-year to $410.5 million as revenue per load declined 19.9%, resulting from soft demand and competitive truck capacity.
We remain focused on growing our load count and improving the efficiency of our assets as Intermodal continues to provide value to our customers and is complementary to the many services we offer. Results can be impacted by the cost of alternative truck capacity.
All Other Segments
Our All Other Segments include support services provided to our customers and third-party carriers including insurance, equipment maintenance, equipment leasing, warehousing, trailer parts manufacturing, and warranty services. Our All Other Segments also include certain corporate expenses (such as legal settlements and accruals, certain impairments, and $47.3 million in annual amortization of intangibles related to the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions).
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 462,061 | $ | 516,735 | (10.6 | %) | ||||
| Operating (loss) income | $ | (111,615) | $ | 36,529 | (405.6 | %) |
2023 Compared to 2022 — Revenue declined 10.6% year-over-year, largely as a result of our actions to address the challenges within our third-party insurance program, including significantly reducing exposures. The $111.6 million operating loss within our All Other Segments is primarily driven by the $125.5 million operating loss in the third-party insurance business.
Based on recent results, including the continued unfavorable development of insurance reserves, the Company decided to initiate exiting this business during the fourth quarter of 2023 and expects to cease all third-party insurance operations and cancel any remaining policies by the end of the first quarter of 2024. We do not expect this business to have a material impact to our results in 2024.
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Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses
Consolidated Operating Expenses
The following tables present certain operating expenses from our consolidated statements of comprehensive income, including each operating expense as a percentage of total revenue and as a percentage of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge. Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge revenue can be volatile and is primarily dependent upon the cost of fuel, rather than operating expenses unrelated to fuel. Therefore, we believe that revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge is a better measure for analyzing many of our expenses and operating metrics.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Salaries, wages, and benefits | $ | 2,479,759 | $ | 2,173,933 | 14.1 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 34.7 | % | 29.3 | % | 540 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 39.3 | % | 33.4 | % | 590 | bps |
Salaries, wages, and benefits expense is primarily affected by the total number of miles driven by and rates we pay to our company driving associates, and employee benefits including healthcare, workers' compensation, and other benefits. To a lesser extent, non-driver employee headcount, compensation, and benefits affect this expense. Driving associate wages represent the largest component of salaries, wages, and benefits expense.
Several ongoing market factors have reduced the pool of available driving associates, contributing to a challenging driver sourcing market, which we believe will continue. Having a sufficient number of qualified driving associates is a significant headwind, although we continue to seek ways to attract and retain qualified driving associates, including heavily investing in our recruiting efforts, our driving academies, technology, our equipment, and our terminals that improve the experience of driving associates. We expect labor costs (related to both driving associates and non-driver employees) to remain inflationary, which we expect will result in additional pay increases in the future, thereby increasing our salaries, wages, and benefits expense.
2023 Compared to 2022 — The increase in consolidated salaries, wages, and benefits includes a $344.2 million increase from the results of U.S. Xpress. This was partially offset by decreases in non-driver salaries and wages and driving associate wages due to a 1.7% reduction in miles driven by company driving associates, excluding U.S. Xpress.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Fuel | $ | 878,407 | $ | 895,603 | (1.9 | %) | ||||
| % of total revenue | 12.3 | % | 12.1 | % | 20 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 13.9 | % | 13.8 | % | 10 | bps |
Fuel expense consists primarily of diesel fuel expense for our company-owned tractors. The primary factors affecting our fuel expense are the cost of diesel fuel, the fuel economy of our equipment, and the miles driven by company driving associates.
Our fuel surcharge programs help to offset increases in fuel prices, but generally apply only to loaded miles for our Truckload and LTL segments and typically do not offset non-paid empty miles, idle time, or out-of-route miles driven. Typical fuel surcharge programs involve a computation based on the change in national or regional fuel prices. These programs may update as often as weekly, but typically require a specified minimum change in fuel cost to prompt a change in fuel surcharge revenue for our Truckload and LTL segments. Therefore, many of these programs have a time lag between when fuel costs change and when the change is reflected in fuel surcharge revenue. Due to this time lag, our fuel expense, net of fuel surcharge, negatively impacts our operating income during periods of sharply rising fuel costs and positively impacts our operating income during periods of falling fuel costs. We continue to utilize our fuel efficiency initiatives such as trailer blades, idle-control, management of tractor speeds, fleet updates for more fuel-efficient engines, management of fuel procurement, and driving associate training programs that we believe contribute to controlling our fuel expense.
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2023 Compared to 2022 — The decrease in consolidated fuel expense includes $139.6 million from the results of U.S. Xpress. The inclusion of U.S. Xpress's fuel expense was offset by lower average weekly DOE fuel prices of $4.20 per gallon in 2023 compared to $5.01 per gallon in 2022. It was also offset by a 1.7% reduction in the total miles driven by company driving associates, excluding U.S. Xpress.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Operations and maintenance | $ | 473,491 | $ | 422,872 | 12.0 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 6.6 | % | 5.7 | % | 90 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 7.5 | % | 6.5 | % | 100 | bps |
Operations and maintenance expense consists of direct operating expenses, such as driving associate hiring and recruiting expenses, equipment maintenance, and tire expense. Operations and maintenance expenses are typically affected by the age of our company-owned fleet of tractors and trailers and the miles driven. We expect the driver market to remain competitive throughout 2023, which could increase future driving associate development and recruiting costs and negatively affect our operations and maintenance expense. We expect to continue refreshing our tractor fleet in the coming quarters, subject to availability of new revenue equipment, to maintain the average age of our equipment.
2023 Compared to 2022 — The increase in consolidated operations and maintenance expense includes a $79.5 million increase from the results of U.S. Xpress, partially offset by lower hiring and labor expense, as well as lower road expense.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Insurance and claims | $ | 609,536 | $ | 455,918 | 33.7 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 8.5 | % | 6.1 | % | 240 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 9.7 | % | 7.0 | % | 270 | bps |
Insurance and claims expense consists of premiums for liability, physical damage, and cargo, and will vary based upon the frequency and severity of claims, our level of self-insurance, and premium expense. In recent years, insurance carriers have raised premiums for many businesses, including transportation companies. As a result, our insurance and claims expense could increase in the future, or we could raise our self-insured retention limits or reduce excess coverage limits when our policies are renewed or replaced. In addition, our Iron Insurance line of business offers insurance products to third-party carriers, earning additional premium revenues, which are partially offset by increased insurance reserves, but does increase our exposure to claims and inability to collect premiums. Insurance and claims expense also varies based on the number of miles driven by company driving associates and independent contractors, the frequency and severity of accidents, trends in development factors used in actuarial accruals, and developments in large, prior-year claims. In future periods, our higher self-insured retention limits and lower excess coverage limits may cause increased volatility in our consolidated insurance and claims expense.
2023 Compared to 2022 — Consolidated insurance and claims expense increased primarily due to increased frequency and unfavorable claim development during the periods within our Iron Insurance line of business. This was included in the $125.5 million operating loss of our third-party insurance business in 2023. The increase also includes unfavorable developments within our self-insured retention limits and $55.8 million of insurance and claims expense from the results of U.S. Xpress.
Based on recent results, including the continued unfavorable development of insurance reserves, the Company decided to initiate exiting the third-party insurance business during the fourth quarter of 2023 and expects to cease all third-party insurance operations and cancel any remaining policies by the end of the first quarter of 2024. We do not expect this business to have a material impact to our results in 2024.
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| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Operating taxes and licenses | $ | 117,024 | $ | 111,197 | 5.2 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 1.6 | % | 1.5 | % | 10 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 1.9 | % | 1.7 | % | 20 | bps |
Operating taxes and licenses include state franchise taxes, state and federal highway use taxes, property taxes, vehicle license and registration fees, and fuel and mileage taxes, among others. The expense is impacted by changes in the tax rates and registration fees associated with our tractor fleet and regional operating facilities.
2023 Compared to 2022 — The increase in consolidated operating taxes and licenses expense is primarily due to the inclusion of operating taxes and licenses expense from the results of U.S Xpress during 2023.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Communications | $ | 29,661 | $ | 23,656 | 25.4 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 0.4 | % | 0.3 | % | 10 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 0.5 | % | 0.4 | % | 10 | bps |
Communications expense is comprised of costs associated with our tractor and trailer tracking systems, information technology systems, and phone systems.
2023 Compared to 2022 — The increase in consolidated communications expense is primarily due to the inclusion of $6.3 million of communications expense from the results of U.S. Xpress. This increase was partially offset by the implementation of new technology on our revenue equipment.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment | $ | 664,962 | $ | 594,981 | 11.8 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 9.3 | % | 8.0 | % | 130 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 10.5 | % | 9.1 | % | 140 | bps |
Depreciation relates primarily to our owned tractors, trailers, buildings, electronic logging devices, other communication units, and other similar assets. Changes to this fixed cost are generally attributed to increases or decreases in company-owned equipment, the relative percentage of owned versus leased equipment, and fluctuations in new equipment purchase prices. Depreciation can also be affected by the cost of used equipment that we sell or trade and the replacement of older used equipment. Management periodically reviews the condition, average age, and reasonableness of estimated useful lives and salvage values of our equipment and considers such factors in light of our experience with similar assets, used equipment market conditions, and prevailing industry practices.
2023 Compared to 2022 — The increase in consolidated depreciation and amortization of property and equipment includes a $41.2 million increase of expense from the results of U.S. Xpress. The remaining increase is primarily due to an increase in owned versus leased equipment and higher depreciation for capital improvements made to our terminals.
We anticipate that depreciation and amortization expense will increase, as a percentage of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge, as we intend to purchase, rather than enter into operating leases, for a majority of our revenue equipment, terminal improvements, or terminal expansions in 2024.
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| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Amortization of intangibles | $ | 70,138 | $ | 64,843 | 8.2 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 1.0 | % | 0.9 | % | 10 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 1.1 | % | 1.0 | % | 10 | bps |
Amortization of intangibles relates to intangible assets identified with the 2017 Merger, ACT Acquisition, U.S. Xpress Acquisition, and other acquisitions. See Note 4 and Note 10 in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report for further details regarding the Company's intangible assets, historical amortization, and anticipated future amortization.
2023 Compared to 2022 — The increase in consolidated amortization of intangibles for 2023 is primarily attributed to the U.S. Xpress Acquisition. See Note 4 in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report for more details regarding our acquisitions.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Rental expense | $ | 130,269 | $ | 56,856 | 129.1 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 1.8 | % | 0.8 | % | 100 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 2.1 | % | 0.9 | % | 120 | bps |
Rental expense consists primarily of payments for our terminals and other real estate leases and, to a lesser extent, payments for revenue equipment from operating leases. The primary factors affecting the expense are the size and location of our leased properties.
2023 Compared to 2022 — The increase in consolidated rental expense is primarily related to the inclusion of $67.3 million from the results of U.S. Xpress. Additional increases relate to the incorporation of new facilities as we expand our network and were partially offset by a decrease in the rental expense for revenue equipment.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Purchased transportation | $ | 1,190,836 | $ | 1,444,937 | (17.6 | %) | ||||
| % of total revenue | 16.7 | % | 19.5 | % | (280 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 18.9 | % | 22.2 | % | (330 | bps) |
Purchased transportation expense is comprised of payments to independent contractors in our trucking operations, as well as payments to third-party capacity providers related to logistics, freight management, and non-trucking services in our logistics and intermodal businesses. Purchased transportation is generally affected by capacity in the market, as well as changes in fuel prices. As capacity tightens, our payments to third-party capacity providers and to independent contractors tend to increase. Additionally, as fuel prices increase, payments to third-party capacity providers and independent contractors increase.
2023 Compared to 2022 — The decrease in consolidated purchased transportation expense is primarily due to decreased load volume within our logistics and intermodal businesses and lower miles driven by independent contractors, partially offset by $160.6 million of additional purchased transportation expense from the results of U.S. Xpress.
We expect that consolidated purchased transportation will increase as a percentage of revenue if we grow our logistics and intermodal businesses faster than our full truckload and LTL businesses. The increase could be partially offset if independent contractors exit the market due to regulatory changes.
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| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Impairments | $ | 2,236 | $ | 810 | 176.0 | % |
2023 Compared to 2022 — In 2023, we incurred impairment charges related to certain revenue equipment held for sale (within the Truckload segment) and terminated software projects (recorded within our All Other Segments, specifically related to our third-party insurance business). In 2022, we incurred impairment charges associated with building improvements (within our All Other Segments).
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Miscellaneous operating expenses | $ | 157,294 | $ | 91,148 | 72.6 | % |
Miscellaneous operating expenses primarily consists of legal and professional services fees, general and administrative expenses, and other costs, net of gain on sales of equipment.
2023 Compared to 2022 — The increase in net consolidated miscellaneous operating expenses is primarily due to a $28.2 million decrease in gain on sales of equipment, as well as the inclusion of $22.3 million from the results of U.S. Xpress and $5.6 million in transaction fees related to the U.S. Xpress Acquisition.
Consolidated Other Expenses, net
The following table summarizes fluctuations in certain non-operating expenses included in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income:
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 vs. 2022 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Interest income | $ | (21,577) | $ | (5,439) | 296.7 | % | ||||
| Interest expense | $ | 127,100 | $ | 50,803 | 150.2 | % | ||||
| Other (income) expenses, net | $ | (37,659) | $ | 25,958 | (245.1 | %) | ||||
| Income tax (benefit) expense | $ | 54,768 | $ | 249,388 | (78.0 | %) |
Interest income — Interest income includes interest earned from financing revenue equipment to independent contractors, as well as interest earned from our investments.
2023 Compared to 2022 — The increase in consolidated interest income is primarily due to the higher balances in our interest yielding cash accounts, coupled with an increase in interest rates during 2023.
Interest expense — Interest expense is comprised of debt and finance lease interest expense, as well as amortization of deferred loan costs.
2023 Compared to 2022 — Consolidated interest expense increased due to an increase in interest rates during 2023. Additional details regarding our debt are discussed in Note 15 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Other (income) expenses, net — Other (income) expenses, net is primarily comprised of (gains) and losses from our various equity investments, including our investment in Embark, as well as certain other non-operating income and expense items that may arise outside of the normal course of business.
2023 Compared to 2022 — The increased change in consolidated other (income) expenses, net is primarily due to unrealized losses recognized from our investment in Embark in 2022 and a net gain recorded within our portfolio of investments during 2023.
Income tax expense — In addition to the discussion below, Note 13 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report provides further analysis related to income taxes.
2023 Compared to 2022 — The decrease in consolidated income tax expense was primarily due to a decrease in income before income taxes and a release of a valuation allowance in the third quarter of 2023. This resulted in a 2023 effective tax rate of 20.3% and a 2022 effective tax rate of 24.4%.
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The terms "Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift," "Adjusted EPS," "Adjusted Operating Income," "Adjusted Operating Ratio," and "Free Cash Flow," as we define them, are not presented in accordance with GAAP. These financial measures supplement our GAAP results in evaluating certain aspects of our business. We believe that using these measures improves comparability in analyzing our performance because they remove the impact of items from our operating results that, in our opinion, do not reflect our core operating performance. Management and the Board focus on Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, Adjusted Operating Income, and Adjusted Operating Ratio as key measures of our performance, all of which are reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measures and further discussed below. Management and the Board use Free Cash Flow as a key measure of our liquidity. Free Cash Flow does not represent residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures. We believe our presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is useful because it provides investors and securities analysts the same information that we use internally for purposes of assessing our core operating performance.
Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Ratio, and Free Cash Flow are not substitutes for their comparable GAAP financial measures, such as net income, cash flows from operating activities, operating income, or other measures prescribed by GAAP. There are limitations to using non-GAAP financial measures. Although we believe that they improve comparability in analyzing our period to period performance, they could limit comparability to other companies in our industry if those companies define these measures differently. Because of these limitations, our non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered measures of income generated by our business or discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. Management compensates for these limitations by primarily relying on GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures on a supplemental basis.
Pursuant to the requirements of Regulation G, the following tables reconcile GAAP consolidated net income attributable to Knight-Swift to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted Net Income attributable to Knight-Swift, GAAP consolidated earnings per diluted share to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted EPS, GAAP consolidated operating ratio to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted Operating Ratio, GAAP reportable segment operating income to non-GAAP reportable segment Adjusted Operating Income, GAAP reportable segment operating ratio to non-GAAP reportable segment Adjusted Operating Ratio, and GAAP cash flow from operations to non-GAAP Free Cash Flow.
Note regarding presentation: A discussion of changes in our results of operations from 2022 to 2023 has been omitted from this Annual Report, but may be found in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of our 2022 Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 23, 2023.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliation:
Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||
| GAAP: Net income attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 217,149 | $ | 771,325 | ||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Income tax expense attributable to Knight-Swift | 54,768 | 249,388 | ||||
| Income before income taxes attributable to Knight-Swift | 271,917 | 1,020,713 | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | 70,138 | 64,843 | ||||
| Impairments 2 | 2,236 | 810 | ||||
| Legal accruals and loss contingencies 3 | 7,694 | 415 | ||||
| Transaction fees 4 | 6,868 | — | ||||
| Other acquisition related expenses 5 | 7,697 | — | ||||
| Severance expense 6 | 5,151 | — | ||||
| Change in fair value of deferred earnout 7 | (3,359) | — | ||||
| Adjusted income before income taxes | 368,342 | 1,086,781 | ||||
| Provision for income tax expense at effective rate8 | (89,603) | (265,585) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 278,739 | $ | 821,196 |
Note: Since the numbers reflected in the table below are calculated on a per share basis, they may not foot due to rounding.
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP: Earnings per diluted share | $ | 1.34 | $ | 4.73 | ||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Income tax expense attributable to Knight-Swift | 0.34 | 1.53 | ||||
| Income before income taxes attributable to Knight-Swift | 1.68 | 6.25 | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | 0.43 | 0.40 | ||||
| Impairments 2 | 0.01 | — | ||||
| Legal accruals and loss contingencies 3 | 0.05 | — | ||||
| Transaction fees 4 | 0.04 | — | ||||
| Other acquisition related expenses 5 | 0.05 | — | ||||
| Severance expense 6 | 0.03 | — | ||||
| Change in fair value of deferred earnout 7 | (0.02) | — | ||||
| Adjusted income before income taxes | 2.28 | 6.66 | ||||
| Provision for income tax expense at effective rate 8 | (0.55) | (1.63) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted EPS | $ | 1.72 | $ | 5.03 |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in the 2017 Merger, the ACT Acquisition, the U.S. Xpress Acquisition and other acquisitions.
2"Impairments" reflects the non-cash impairments:
•2023 impairments related to certain revenue equipment held for sale (within the Truckload segment) and terminated software projects (recorded within our All Other Segments, specifically related to our third-party insurance business).
•2022 impairment of building improvements (within our All Other Segments).
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3"Legal accruals and loss contingencies" are included in "Insurance and claims" and "Miscellaneous operating expenses" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income and reflect the following:
•During the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company recorded estimated exposure for various legal matters. Additionally, the Company identified a probable loss contingency related to our third-party carrier insurance business included within our All Other segments. During the second and third quarters of 2023, legal expense reflects the increased estimated exposures for various accrued legal matters based on recent settlement agreements. First quarter 2023 legal expense reflects a decrease in the estimated exposure related to an accrued legal matter previously identified as probable and estimable in prior periods based on a recent settlement agreement.
•During 2022, the Company decreased the estimated exposure related to certain accrued legal matters previously identified as probable and estimable in prior periods based on recent settlement agreements. Additional 2022 legal costs relate to certain lawsuits arising from employee and contract related matters.
4"Transaction fees" consists of legal and professional fees associated with the July 1, 2023 acquisition of U.S. Xpress. The transaction fees are included within "Miscellaneous operating expenses" and "Salaries, Wages, and benefits" and with small amounts included in other line items in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
5"Other acquisition related expenses" represents one-time expenses associated with the U.S. Xpress acquisition, including certain severance expense, including the acceleration of stock compensation expense as well as other operating expenses. These are primarily included within "Salaries, wages, and benefits" in the condensed statements of comprehensive income.
6"Severance expense" is included within "Salaries, wages, and benefits" in the condensed statements of comprehensive income.
7"Change in fair value of deferred earnout" reflects the benefit for the change in fair value of a deferred earnout related to various acquisitions, which is recorded in "Miscellaneous operating expenses."
8For 2023, an effective tax rate of 24.3% was applied in our Adjusted EPS calculation. The change in the effective tax rate was primarily impacted by the change in pre-tax income based on the adjustments presented in Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift. Additionally, the effective tax rate was normalized to exclude the third quarter 2023 tax benefit from the partial release of the pre-acquisition allowance associated with the U.S. Xpress net operating loss and tax credit carryforward benefits.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted Operating Ratio
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,141,766 | $ | 7,428,582 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (6,803,613) | (6,336,754) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 338,153 | $ | 1,091,828 | ||
| Operating ratio | 95.3 | % | 85.3 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,141,766 | $ | 7,428,582 | ||
| Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | (833,597) | (920,417) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 6,308,169 | 6,508,165 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 6,803,613 | 6,336,754 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | (833,597) | (920,417) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (70,138) | (64,843) | ||||
| Impairments 2 | (2,236) | (810) | ||||
| Legal accruals and loss contingencies 3 | (7,694) | (415) | ||||
| Transaction fees 4 | (6,868) | — | ||||
| Other acquisition related expenses 5 | (7,697) | — | ||||
| Severance expense 6 | (5,151) | — | ||||
| Change in fair value of deferred earnout 7 | 3,359 | — | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 5,873,591 | 5,350,269 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 434,578 | $ | 1,157,896 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 93.1 | % | 82.2 | % |
1See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 1.
2See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 2.
3See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 3.
4See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 4.
5See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 5.
6See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 6.
7See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 7.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Reportable Segment Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted Operating Ratio
Truckload Segment
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 4,698,655 | $ | 4,531,115 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (4,400,678) | (3,784,534) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 297,977 | $ | 746,581 | ||
| Operating ratio | 93.7 | % | 83.5 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 4,698,655 | $ | 4,531,115 | ||
| Fuel surcharge | (665,711) | (718,155) | ||||
| Intersegment transactions | (1,890) | (1,361) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions | 4,031,054 | 3,811,599 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 4,400,678 | 3,784,534 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Fuel surcharge | (665,711) | (718,155) | ||||
| Intersegment transactions | (1,890) | (1,361) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (5,576) | (1,325) | ||||
| Impairments 2 | (656) | — | ||||
| Other acquisition related expenses 3 | (7,697) | — | ||||
| Severance expense 4 | (2,636) | — | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 3,716,512 | 3,063,693 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 314,542 | $ | 747,906 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 92.2 | % | 80.4 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in historical Knight acquisitions and the U.S. Xpress Acquisition.
2See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 2.
3See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 5.
4See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 6.
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LTL Segment
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,082,454 | $ | 1,069,554 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (963,574) | (942,945) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 118,880 | $ | 126,609 | ||
| Operating ratio | 89.0 | % | 88.2 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,082,454 | $ | 1,069,554 | ||
| Fuel surcharge | (167,886) | (202,262) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge | 914,568 | 867,292 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 963,574 | 942,945 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Fuel surcharge | (167,886) | (202,262) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (15,680) | (15,930) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 780,008 | 724,753 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | 134,560 | 142,539 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 85.3 | % | 83.6 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified with the ACT Acquisition and MME Acquisition.
Logistics Segment
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 582,250 | $ | 920,707 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (538,832) | (786,765) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 43,418 | $ | 133,942 | ||
| Operating ratio | 92.5 | % | 85.5 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 582,250 | $ | 920,707 | ||
| Intersegment transactions | (4,555) | (10,098) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | 577,695 | 910,609 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 538,832 | 786,765 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Intersegment transactions | (4,555) | (10,098) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (1,613) | (1,336) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 532,664 | 775,331 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 45,031 | $ | 135,278 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 92.2 | % | 85.1 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in the UTXL acquisition.
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Intermodal Segment
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 410,549 | $ | 485,786 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (421,056) | (437,619) | ||||
| Operating (loss) income | $ | (10,507) | $ | 48,167 | ||
| Operating ratio | 102.6 | % | 90.1 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 410,549 | $ | 485,786 | ||
| Intersegment transactions | — | (47) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | 410,549 | 485,739 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 421,056 | 437,619 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Intersegment transactions | — | (47) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 421,056 | 437,572 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | (10,507) | $ | 48,167 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 102.6 | % | 90.1 | % |
Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Free cash flow
| 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| GAAP: Cash flows from operations | $ | 1,161,676 |
| Adjusted for: | ||
| Proceeds from sale of property and equipment, including assets held for sale | 292,627 | |
| Purchases of property and equipment | (1,071,611) | |
| Non-GAAP: Free Cash Flow | $ | 382,692 |
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
The following table presents our available sources of liquidity as of December 31, 2023:
| Source: | Amount | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents, excluding restricted cash | $ | 168,545 | |
| Availability under 2021 Revolver, due September 2026 1 | 1,015,007 | ||
| Availability under 2023 RSA, due October 2025 2 | 600 | ||
| Total unrestricted liquidity | $ | 1,184,152 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents – restricted 3 | 301,141 | ||
| Restricted investments, held-to-maturity, amortized cost 3 | 530 | ||
| Total liquidity, including restricted cash and restricted investments | $ | 1,485,823 |
1As of December 31, 2023, we had $67.0 million in borrowings under our $1.1 billion 2021 Revolver. We additionally had $18.0 million in outstanding letters of credit (discussed below) issued under the 2021 Revolver, leaving $1.0 billion available under the 2021 Revolver.
2Based on eligible receivables at December 31, 2023, our borrowing base for the 2023 RSA was $527.6 million, while outstanding borrowings were $527.0 million, leaving $0.6 million available under the 2023 RSA.
3Restricted cash and restricted investments are primarily held by our captive insurance companies for claims payments. "Cash and cash equivalents – restricted" consists of $297.3 million, which is included in "Cash and cash equivalents — restricted" in the consolidated balance sheets held by Mohave and Red Rock for claims payments. The remaining $3.9 million is included in "Other long-term assets" and is held in escrow accounts to meet statutory requirements.
Uses of Liquidity
Our business requires substantial amounts of cash for operating activities, including salaries and wages paid to our employees, contract payments to independent contractors, insurance and claims payments, tax payments, and others. We also use large amounts of cash and credit for the following activities:
Capital Expenditures — When justified by customer demand, as well as our liquidity and our ability to generate acceptable returns, we make substantial cash capital expenditures to maintain a modern company tractor fleet, refresh our trailer fleet and expand our trailer fleet, expand our network of LTL service centers, and, to a lesser extent, fund upgrades to our terminals and technology in our various service offerings. In connection with our business strategy, we regularly evaluate acquisition and strategic partnership opportunities. We expect net cash capital expenditures, including net cash expenditures of our LTL segment, will be in the range of $625.0 to $675.0 million in 2024. This range excludes cash outlays for potential acquisitions. We believe we have ample flexibility in our trade cycle and purchase agreements to alter our current plans if economic and other conditions warrant.
Over the long-term, we will continue to have significant capital requirements, which may require us to seek additional borrowing, lease financing, or equity capital. The availability of financing or equity capital will depend upon our financial condition and results of operations as well as prevailing market conditions. If such additional borrowing, lease financing, or equity capital is not available at the time we need it, then we may need to borrow more under the 2021 Revolver (if not then fully drawn), extend the maturity of then-outstanding debt, rely on alternative financing arrangements, engage in asset sales, limit our fleet size, or operate our revenue equipment for longer periods.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain additional debt under our existing financial arrangements to satisfy our ongoing capital requirements. However, we believe the combination of our expected cash flows, financing available through operating and finance leases, available funds under our 2023 RSA, and availability under the 2021 Revolver will be sufficient to fund our expected capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months.
Refer to Note 18 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion of our short-term and long-term contractual payment obligations related to purchase commitments.
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Principal and Interest Payments — As of December 31, 2023, we had debt, accounts receivable securitization, and finance lease obligations of $2.7 billion, which are discussed under "Material Debt Agreements," below. Certain cash flows from operations are committed to minimum payments of principal and interest on our debt and lease obligations. Additionally, when our financial position allows, we periodically make voluntary prepayments on our outstanding debt balances.
Prior to the maturity of our 2023 RSA, 2023 Term Loan, 2021 Term Loans, 2021 Revolver, Prudential Notes, revenue equipment installment notes, and other debt, we expect to be contractually obligated to make interest payments of approximately $58.6 million, $46.8 million, $150.5 million, $12.2 million, $1.6 million, $20.9 million and $1.8 million, respectively. Refer to Notes 14 and 15 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion of the principal payment obligations related to the 2023 RSA, 2023 Term Loan, and 2021 Debt Agreement.
Refer to Note 16 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion on our contractual principal and interest payment obligations for finance leases.
Letters of Credit — Pursuant to the terms of the 2021 Debt Agreement and the 2023 RSA, our lenders may issue standby letters of credit on our behalf. When we have certain letters of credit outstanding, the availability under the 2021 Revolver or 2023 RSA is reduced accordingly. As of December 31, 2023, we also had outstanding letters of credit of $264.3 million pursuant to a bilateral agreement which do not impact the availability of the 2021 Revolver and 2023 RSA. Standby letters of credit are typically issued for the benefit of regulatory authorities, insurance companies and state departments of insurance for the purpose of satisfying certain collateral requirements, primarily related to our automobile, workers' compensation, and general insurance liabilities.
Share Repurchases — From time to time, and depending on Free Cash Flow1 availability, debt levels, common stock prices, general economic and market conditions, as well as internal approval requirements, we may repurchase shares of our outstanding common stock. The 2022 Knight-Swift Repurchase Plan had $200.0 million available as of December 31, 2023. See further details regarding our share repurchases under Note 20 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Working Capital
We had working capital deficit of $116.3 million as of December 31, 2023 and a working capital surplus of $599.6 million as of December 31, 2022. The $715.9 million decrease was primarily due to the assumption of liabilities from the U.S. Xpress Acquisition as well as the 2021 Term Loan A-2 maturing September 2024.
________
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
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Material Debt Agreements
As of December 31, 2023, we had $2.7 billion in material debt obligations at the following carrying values:
•$199.9 million: 2021 Term Loan A-2, due September 2024, net of $0.1 million in deferred loan costs
•$799.1 million: 2021 Term Loan A-3, due September 2026, net of $0.9 million in deferred loan costs
•$249.1 million: 2023 Term Loan, due September 2026, net of $0.9 million in deferred loan costs
•$526.5 million: 2023 RSA outstanding borrowings, net of $0.5 million in deferred loan costs
•$528.9 million: Finance lease obligations
•$67.0 million: 2021 Revolver, due September 2026
•$279.3 million: Revenue equipment installment notes
•$33.6 million: Other, net of approximately $22,000 in deferred loan costs
As of December 31, 2022, we had $1.9 billion in material debt obligations at the following carrying values:
•$199.8 million: 2021 Term Loan A-2, due September 2024, net of $0.2 million in deferred loan costs
•$798.7 million: 2021 Term Loan A-3, due September 2026, net of $1.3 million in deferred loan costs
•$418.6 million: 2022 RSA outstanding borrowings, due April 2024, net of $0.4 million in deferred loan costs
•$403.0 million: Finance lease obligations
•$43.0 million: 2021 Revolver, due September 2026
•$39.0 million: Other, net of $0.1 million in deferred loan costs
Key terms and other details regarding our material debt obligations and finance leases are discussed in Notes 14, 15, and 16 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, and are incorporated by reference herein.
Cash Flow Analysis
| 2023 | 2022 | Change | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 1,161,676 | $ | 1,435,853 | $ | (274,177) | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (1,228,025) | (646,184) | (581,841) | |||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 150,690 | (754,347) | 905,037 |
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities
2023 Compared to 2022 — The $274.2 million decrease in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to a $753.7 million decrease in operating income and a $69.2 million increase in cash paid for interest. These were partially offset by a $248.8 million decrease in cash paid for taxes and various changes in working capital. Note: Factors affecting the increase in operating income are discussed in "Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses."
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities
2023 Compared to 2022 — The $0.6 billion increase in net cash used in investing activities was primarily due to a $0.4 billion increase in net cash invested in acquisitions and a $161.8 million increase in net cash capital expenditures.
Net Cash Provided by (Used in) Financing Activities
2023 Compared to 2022 — Net cash provided by financing activities increased by $0.9 billion, primarily due to a $250.0 million increase in proceeds from long-term debt, a $154.6 million decrease in repayments on finance leases and long-term debt, a $241.0 million decrease in net repayments on our 2021 Revolver, and a $299.9 million decrease in repurchases of our common stock.
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Inflation
Most of our operating expenses are inflation-sensitive, with inflation generally leading to increased costs of operations. Price increases in manufacturer revenue equipment has impacted the cost for us to acquire new equipment. Cost increases have also impacted the cost of parts for equipment repairs and maintenance. The qualified driver shortage experienced by the trucking industry overall has had the effect of increasing compensation paid to our driving associates. We have also experienced inflation in insurance and claims cost related to health insurance and claims as well as auto liability insurance and claims. Prolonged periods of inflation have recently and could continue to cause interest rates, fuel, wages, and other costs to increase as well. Any of these factors could adversely affect our results of operations unless freight rates correspondingly increase.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that impact the amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Therefore, the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, and associated disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities are affected by these estimates and assumptions. We evaluate these estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis, utilizing historical experience, consultation with experts, and other methods considered reasonable in the particular circumstances. Nevertheless, actual results may differ significantly from our estimates and assumptions, and it is possible that materially different amounts could be reported using differing estimates or assumptions. We consider our critical accounting estimates to be those that require us to make more significant judgments and estimates when we prepare our financial statements.
Note 2 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report describes the Company's accounting policies. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Note 2, as it presents uncertainties involved in applying the accounting policies, and provides insight into the quality of management's estimates and variability in the amounts recorded for these critical accounting estimates. Our critical accounting estimates include the following:
Claims Accruals — Insurance and claims expense varies as a percentage of total revenue, based on the frequency and severity of claims incurred in a given period, as well as changes in claims development trends. The actual cost to settle our self-insured claim liabilities, as well as our third-party claim liabilities, may differ from our reserve estimates due to legal costs, claims that have been incurred but not reported, and various other uncertainties, including the inherent difficulty in estimating the severity of the claim and the potential judgment or settlement amount to dispose of the claim. If claims development factors that are based upon historical experience had increased by 10%, our claims accrual as of December 31, 2023 would have potentially increased by $61.5 million.
Refer to Note 12, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the claims accrual balance.
Goodwill and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets — The test of goodwill requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assigning assets (including goodwill) and liabilities to reporting units and determining the fair value of each reporting unit. Fair value of the reporting unit is determined using a combination of comparative valuation multiples of publicly traded companies, internal transaction methods, and discounted cash flow models. Estimating the fair value of reporting units includes several significant assumptions, including future cash flow estimates, determination of appropriate discount rates, and other assumptions that management believed reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and/or goodwill impairment for each reporting unit.
Knight-Swift evaluated its goodwill associated with the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions as of December 31, 2023 and 2022. The evaluations were completed using fair value measurement guidance prescribed in ASC 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other. The fair value of the goodwill was established using an equal weighting of both the income and market approaches. In evaluating this quantitative analysis, the Company determined that it was more likely than not that fair value exceeded carrying value for the Company's reporting units as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.
The test of indefinite-lived intangible assets consists of a comparison of the estimated fair value of certain trade names to their carrying values. The determination of the fair value of the trade names requires management to
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make significant estimates and assumptions related to forecasts of future revenues, discount rates, and royalty rates. Changes in these assumptions could materially affect the determination of the fair value of the trade names, the amount of any trade names impairment charge, or both. Management evaluated trade names for impairment as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 noting that the fair value exceeded carrying value for the trade name.
Refer to Note 10, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible asset balances.
Depreciation and Amortization — Selecting the appropriate accounting method requires management judgment, as there are multiple acceptable methods that are in accordance with GAAP, including straight-line, declining-balance, and sum-of-the-years' digits. As discussed in Note 2 included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, property and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis and intangible customer relationships are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. We believe that these methods properly spread the costs over the useful lives of the assets. Management judgment is also involved when determining estimated useful lives of the Company's long-lived assets. We determine useful lives of our long-lived assets, based on historical experience, as well as future expectations regarding the period we expect to benefit from the asset. Factors affecting estimated useful lives of property and equipment may include estimating loss, damage, obsolescence, and company policies around maintenance and asset replacement. Factors affecting estimated useful lives of long-lived intangible assets may include legal, contractual, or other provisions that limit useful lives, historical experience with similar assets, future expectations of customer relationships, among others.
Refer to Note 10, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the impact of the amortization of definite-lived intangibles on our results for 2023 and 2022.
Impairments of Long-lived Assets — Fair value is determined through various valuation techniques, including discounted cash flow models, quoted market values, and third-party independent appraisals, as necessary. Estimating fair value includes several significant assumptions, including future cash flow estimates, determination of appropriate discount rates, and other assumptions that management believed reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and/or impairment.
Refer to Note 23, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in long-lived assets and the impact on our results for 2023 and 2022.
Fair Value of Net Assets Acquired in Business Combinations — Management performs fair value assessments in determining the fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities acquired through the business combination as of the acquisition date. Management and third-party specialists use significant inputs and assumptions in the valuations of acquired net assets such as certain prospective information, discount rates, royalty rates, and market data. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value.
Refer to Note 4, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the fair value of net assets acquired in business combinations and the impact on our results for 2023 and 2022.
Income Taxes — Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes and in determining whether deferred tax assets will be realized in full or in part. We periodically assess the likelihood that all or some portion of deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income. To the extent we believe the likelihood of recovery is not sufficient, a valuation allowance is established for the amount determined not to be realizable. Management judgment is necessary in determining the frequency at which we assess the need for a valuation allowance, the accounting period in which to establish the valuation allowance, as well as the amount of the valuation allowance. We believe that we have adequately provided for our future tax consequences based upon current facts and circumstances and current tax law. However, should our tax positions be challenged, different outcomes could result and have a significant impact on the amounts reported in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
Management judgment is also required regarding a variety of other factors including the appropriateness of tax strategies. We utilize certain income tax planning strategies to reduce our overall income taxes. It is possible that certain strategies might be disallowed, resulting in an increased liability for income taxes. Significant management judgments are involved in assessing the likelihood of sustaining the strategies and determining the likely range of
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defense and settlement costs, in the event that tax strategies are challenged by taxing authorities. An ultimate result worse than our expectations could adversely affect our results of operations.
Refer to Note 13, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the balances of deferred taxes assets and related valuation allowances.
Leases — At the inception of a lease, management judgment is involved in the determination of the discount rate, the determination of whether a contract contains a lease, classification of operating versus finance lease, assessment of useful lives, and estimation of residual values. Discounted future minimum lease payments are used in determining the lease classification represent the present value of minimum rental payments called for over the lease term, inclusive of residual value guarantees (if applicable) and amounts that would be required to be paid, if any, by the Company upon default for leases containing subjective acceleration or cross default clauses.
Refer to Note 16, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in balance of operating leases.
Stock-based Compensation — We issue several types of stock-based compensation, including awards that vest, based on service conditions, performance conditions, or a combination of service and performance conditions. Determining the appropriate amount to expense in each period is based on likelihood and timing of achievement of the stated targets for performance-based awards, and requires judgment, including forecasting future financial results, market performance, and other factors. The estimates are revised periodically, based on the probability and timing of achieving the required performance targets, and adjustments are made as appropriate. There is also some judgement involved with estimating expected forfeiture rates as we have opted to net the benefit of expected forfeitures against our stock-based compensation expense.
Refer to Note 21, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the assumptions related to these awards and the impact on our results for 2023 and 2022.
Legal Settlements and Reserves — See Note 19 in Part II Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 3 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, which is incorporated herein by reference, for recently issued accounting pronouncements that could have an impact on our consolidated financial statements.
FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001492691-23-000019.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Certain acronyms and terms used throughout this Annual Report are specific to our company, commonly used in our industry, or are otherwise frequently used throughout our document. Definitions for these acronyms and terms are provided in the "Glossary of Terms," available in the front of this document.
Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations should be read together with "Business" in Part I, Item 1 of this Annual Report, as well as the consolidated financial statements and accompanying footnotes in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report. This discussion contains forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A. "Risk Factors" and Part I "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements" of this Annual Report, and elsewhere in this report. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed.
Executive Summary
Company Overview
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. is one of North America's largest and most diversified freight transportation companies, providing multiple full truckload, LTL, intermodal, and other complementary services. Our objective is to operate our business with industry-leading margins and continued organic growth and growth through acquisitions while providing safe, high-quality, cost-effective solutions for our customers. Knight-Swift uses a nationwide network of business units and terminals in the US and Mexico to serve customers throughout North America. In addition to operating one of the country's largest truckload fleets, Knight-Swift also contracts with third-party equipment providers to provide a broad range of transportation services to our customers while creating quality driving jobs for our driving associates and successful business opportunities for independent contractors. Our four reportable segments are Truckload, LTL, Logistics, and Intermodal. Additionally, we have various non-reportable segments.
Key Financial Highlights
During 2022, consolidated total revenue was $7.4 billion, which is a 23.9% increase over 2021. Consolidated operating income was $1.1 billion in 2022, reflecting an increase of 13.1% from 2021. Consolidated net income attributable to Knight-Swift increased by 3.8% from 2021 to $771.3 million.
•Truckload — 83.5% operating ratio during 2022, with a 3.5% increase in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, compared to 2021.
•LTL — 88.2% operating ratio during 2022 as a result of continued improvements in yields and efficiencies.
•Logistics — 85.5% operating ratio during 2022. Operating income improved by 42.6%. Load count grew by 24.0%, leading to a 14.0% increase in revenue, excluding intersegment transactions.
•Intermodal — 90.1% operating ratio during 2022, a 70 basis point improvement compared to 2021, leading to a 14.5% increase in operating income with revenue growth of 5.9%, excluding intersegment transactions.
•Non-reportable Segments — Revenue growth of 68.6% was supported by the activities within our operating segments of insurance, equipment maintenance, equipment leasing, and warehousing, leading to a 158.9% improvement in operating income to $36.5 million during 2022, compared to 2021.
•Embark — The value of our 2021 initial investment in Embark declined, resulting in an unrealized loss that negatively impacted earnings per diluted share and Adjusted EPS1 by $0.25 during 2022.
•Liquidity and Capital — During 2022, we generated $1.4 billion in operating cash flows. Our Free Cash Flow1 was $818.7 million. We paid down $212.7 million in long-term debt, $62.1 million in finance lease liabilities, and $42.9 million in cash on our operating lease liabilities, and reduced the outstanding net balances on our revolving credit facilities by $77.0 million. In 2022, we repurchased approximately $300 million worth of shares, and issued $78.3 million in dividends to our stockholders. Gain on sale of revenue equipment increased to $92.9 million in 2022, compared to $74.8 million in 2021.
We ended 2022 with $196.8 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, $43.0 million outstanding on the 2021 Revolver, $1.0 billion face value outstanding on the 2021 Term Loans, and $7.0 billion of stockholders' equity. We do not foresee material liquidity constraints or any issues with our ongoing ability to meet our debt covenants. See discussion under "Liquidity and Capital Resources" for additional information.
________
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
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Key Financial Data and Operating Metrics
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP financial data: | (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,428,582 | $ | 5,998,019 | ||
| Revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | $ | 6,508,165 | $ | 5,531,890 | ||
| Net income attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 771,325 | $ | 743,388 | ||
| Earnings per diluted share | $ | 4.73 | $ | 4.45 | ||
| Operating ratio | 85.3 | % | 83.9 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP financial data: | ||||||
| Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift 1 | $ | 821,196 | $ | 788,181 | ||
| Adjusted EPS 1 | $ | 5.03 | $ | 4.72 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 | 82.2 | % | 81.5 | % | ||
| Revenue equipment statistics by segment: | ||||||
| Truckload | ||||||
| Average tractors 2 | 18,110 | 18,019 | ||||
| Average trailers 3 | 74,779 | 67,606 | ||||
| LTL | ||||||
| Average tractors 4 | 3,176 | 2,735 | ||||
| Average trailers 5 | 8,431 | 7,413 | ||||
| Intermodal | ||||||
| Average tractors | 613 | 597 | ||||
| Average containers | 11,786 | 10,847 |
1Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, and Adjusted Operating Ratio are non-GAAP financial measures and should not be considered alternatives, or superior to, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. However, management believes that presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors regarding the Company's results of operations. Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, and Adjusted Operating Ratio are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures," below.
2Our tractor fleet within the Truckload segment had a weighted average age of 2.7 years and 2.5 years as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
3Note that average trailers includes 8,249 and 6,388 trailers within our non-reportable operating segments. Our trailer fleet within the Truckload segment had a weighted average age of 9.9 years and 8.3 years as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
4Our LTL tractor fleet had a weighted average age of 4.3 years as of December 31, 2022, and includes 711 and 667 tractors from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2022 and 2021, respectively.
5Our LTL trailer fleet had a weighted average age of 8.1 years as of December 31, 2022, and includes 968 and 860 trailers from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2022 and 2021, respectively.
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Market Trends and Outlook — On a year-over-year basis, the US gross domestic product, which is the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, increased by 2.1%1 in 2022, as compared to a 5.7%1 decrease in 2021. The year-over-year improvement primarily reflects increases in consumer spending, exports, and inventory investment that were partly offset by a decrease in housing investment. The national unemployment rate was 3.5%2 as of December 31, 2022, as compared to 3.9%2 as of December 31, 2021. Early estimates of the full-year 2022 US employment cost index indicate a year-over-year increase of 5.1%2 and a sequential increase of 1.0%2.
The freight market outlook for 2023 includes the following:
•Continued softness in freight demand with few non-contract opportunities through the first half of 2023 as shippers work through higher inventory levels;
•Freight volumes improve in the second half of the year with a more typical peak season;
•Spot pricing troughs in the first quarter of 2023 and builds throughout the year;
•Demand continues for trailer pools;
•Small carriers continue to exit as a result of lower spot rates and significantly higher operating costs;
•LTL demand pressured but remains more stable than truckload;
•LTL year-over-year improvement in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, per hundredweight;
•Inflationary pressures ease in many cost areas but remain elevated on a year-over-year basis;
•Demand in the used equipment market weakens as small carriers struggle;
•We expect the driver market to remain competitive throughout 2023.
_________
1 bea.gov
2 bls.gov
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Results of Operations — Summary
Notes regarding presentation: A discussion of changes in our results of operations from 2020 to 2021 has been omitted from this Annual Report, but may be found in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of our 2021 Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 24, 2022.
In accordance with accounting treatment applicable to each of our recent acquisitions, Knight-Swift's reported results do not include the operating results of the acquired entities prior to the respective acquisition dates. Accordingly, comparisons between the Company's 2022 results and prior periods may not be meaningful. Refer to Note 1 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for a list of our recent acquisitions.
Operating Results: 2022 Compared to 2021 — The $27.9 million increase in net income attributable to Knight-Swift to $771.3 million in 2022 from $743.4 million in 2021, includes the following:
•Contributor — $95.4 million increase in operating income from our LTL segment representing ACT's and MME's full year 2022 results, compared to the portion of 2021 following the respective acquisition dates.
•Contributor — $40.0 million increase in operating income within our Logistics segment driven by a 24.0% increase in load count.
•Contributor — $6.1 million increase in operating income within our Intermodal segment driven by a 24.3% increase in revenue per load, partially offset by a 14.8% decrease in load count.
•Contributor — $22.4 million improvement in operating results within our non-reportable segments, driven by revenue growth of 68.6% related to our expanded services to third-party carriers.
•Offset — $37.9 million decrease in operating income within our Truckload segment as a result of a 6.3% decrease in total miles per tractor.
•Offset — $54.9 million decrease in "Other (expenses) income, net," primarily due to unrealized losses recognized from our investment in Embark, compared to a gain during 2021.
•Offset — $18.5 million increase in consolidated income tax expense, primarily due to an increase in income before income taxes. This resulted in a 2022 effective tax rate of 24.4% and a 2021 effective tax rate of 23.7%.
See additional discussion of our operating results within "Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses" below.
Results of Operations — Segment Review
The Company has four reportable segments: Truckload, LTL, Logistics, and Intermodal, as well as certain non-reportable segments. Refer to Note 25 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for descriptions of our segments. Refer to Part I, Item 1, "Business – Our Mission and Company Strategy" of this Annual Report for discussion related to our segment operating strategies.
Consolidating Tables for Total Revenue and Operating Income
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue: | (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Truckload | $ | 4,531,115 | 61.0 | % | $ | 4,098,005 | 68.3 | % | |||||
| LTL | $ | 1,069,554 | 14.4 | % | $ | 396,308 | 6.6 | % | |||||
| Logistics | $ | 920,707 | 12.4 | % | $ | 817,003 | 13.6 | % | |||||
| Intermodal | $ | 485,786 | 6.5 | % | $ | 458,867 | 7.7 | % | |||||
| Subtotal | $ | 7,007,162 | 94.3 | % | $ | 5,770,183 | 96.2 | % | |||||
| Non-reportable segments | $ | 516,735 | 7.0 | % | $ | 306,414 | 5.1 | % | |||||
| Intersegment eliminations | $ | (95,315) | (1.3 | %) | $ | (78,578) | (1.3 | %) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,428,582 | 100.0 | % | $ | 5,998,019 | 100.0 | % |
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| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating income | (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Truckload | $ | 746,581 | 68.4 | % | $ | 784,436 | 81.2 | % | |||||
| LTL | $ | 126,609 | 11.6 | % | $ | 31,169 | 3.2 | % | |||||
| Logistics | $ | 133,942 | 12.3 | % | $ | 93,920 | 9.7 | % | |||||
| Intermodal | $ | 48,167 | 4.4 | % | $ | 42,060 | 4.4 | % | |||||
| Subtotal | $ | 1,055,299 | 96.7 | % | $ | 951,585 | 98.5 | % | |||||
| Non-reportable segments | $ | 36,529 | 3.3 | % | $ | 14,112 | 1.5 | % | |||||
| Operating income | $ | 1,091,828 | 100.0 | % | $ | 965,697 | 100.0 | % |
Revenue
•Our truckload services include irregular route and dedicated, refrigerated, expedited, flatbed, and cross-border transportation of various products, goods, and materials for our diverse customer base with approximately 13,400 irregular route and 4,700 dedicated tractors.
•Our LTL business, which was initially established in 2021 through the ACT Acquisition and later the MME acquisition, provides our customers with regional LTL transportation service through our growing network of approximately 110 facilities and a door count of approximately 4,400. Our LTL segment operates approximately 3,200 tractors and approximately 8,400 trailers, including equipment used for ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses. The LTL segment also provides national coverage to our customers by utilizing partner carriers for areas outside of our direct network.
•Our Logistics and Intermodal segments provide a multitude of shipping solutions, including additional sources of truckload capacity and alternative transportation modes, by utilizing our vast network of third-party capacity providers and rail providers, as well as certain logistics and freight management services. We continue to offer power-only services through our Logistics segment by leveraging our fleet of over 79,000 trailers as of December 31, 2022.
•Our non-reportable segments include support services provided to our customers and third-party carriers including insurance, equipment maintenance, equipment leasing, warehousing, trailer parts manufacturing, and warranty services. Our non-reportable segments also include certain corporate expenses (such as legal settlements and accruals, certain impairments, and amortization of intangibles related to the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions).
•In addition to the revenues earned from our customers for the trucking and non-trucking services discussed above, we also earn fuel surcharge revenue from our customers through our fuel surcharge programs, which serve to recover a majority of our fuel costs. This generally applies only to loaded miles for our Truckload and LTL segments and typically does not offset non-paid empty miles, idle time, and out-of-route miles driven. Fuel surcharge programs involve a computation based on the change in national or regional fuel prices. These programs may update as often as weekly, but typically require a specified minimum change in fuel cost to prompt a change in fuel surcharge revenue. Therefore, many of these programs have a time lag between when fuel costs change and when the change is reflected in fuel surcharge revenue for our Truckload and LTL segments.
Expenses
Our most significant expenses typically vary with miles traveled and include fuel, driving associate-related expenses (such as wages and benefits), and services purchased from third-party service providers (including other trucking companies, railroad and drayage providers, and independent contractors). Maintenance and tire expenses, as well as the cost of insurance and claims generally vary with the miles we travel, but also have a controllable component based on safety performance, fleet age, operating efficiency, and other factors. Our primary fixed costs are depreciation and lease expense for revenue equipment and terminals, non-driver employee compensation, amortization of intangible assets, and interest expenses.
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Operating Statistics
We measure our consolidated and segment results through the operating statistics listed in the table below. Our chief operating decision makers monitor the GAAP results of our reportable segments, supplemented by certain non-GAAP information. Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for more details. Additionally, we use a number of primary indicators to monitor our revenue and expense performance and efficiency.
| Operating Statistic | Relevant Segment(s) | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Revenue per Tractor | Truckload | Measures productivity and represents revenue (excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions) divided by average tractor count | ||
| Total Miles per Tractor | Truckload | Total miles (including loaded and empty miles) a tractor travels on average | ||
| Average Length of Haul | Truckload, LTL | For our Truckload segment this is calculated as average miles traveled with loaded trailer cargo per order. For our LTL segment this is calculated as average miles traveled from the origin service center to the destination service center. | ||
| Non-paid Empty Miles Percentage | Truckload | Percentage of miles without trailer cargo | ||
| Shipments per Day | LTL | Average number of shipments completed each business day | ||
| Weight per Shipment | LTL | Total weight (in pounds) divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue per shipment | LTL | Total revenue divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue xFSR per shipment | LTL | Total revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue per hundredweight | LTL | Measures yield and is calculated as total revenue divided by total weight (in pounds) times 100 | ||
| Revenue xFSR per hundredweight | LTL | Total revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, divided by total weight (in pounds) times 100 | ||
| Average Tractors | Truckload, LTL, Intermodal | Average tractors in operation during the period, including company tractors and tractors provided by independent contractors | ||
| Average Trailers | Truckload, LTL | Average trailers in operation during the period | ||
| Average Revenue per Load | Logistics, Intermodal | Total revenue (excluding intersegment transactions) divided by load count | ||
| Gross Margin Percentage | Logistics | Logistics gross margin (revenue, excluding intersegment transactions, less purchased transportation expense, excluding intersegment transactions) as a percentage of logistics revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | ||
| Average Containers | Intermodal | Average containers in operation during the period | ||
| GAAP Operating Ratio | Truckload, LTL, Logistics, Intermodal | Measures operating efficiency and is widely used in our industry as an assessment of management's effectiveness in controlling all categories of operating expenses. Calculated as operating expenses as a percentage of total revenue, or the inverse of operating margin | ||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio | Truckload, LTL, Logistics, Intermodal | Measures operating efficiency and is widely used in our industry as an assessment of management's effectiveness in controlling all categories of operating expenses. Consolidated and segment Adjusted Operating Ratios are reconciled to their corresponding GAAP operating ratios under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures," below |
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Segment Review
Truckload Segment
We generate revenue in the Truckload segment primarily through irregular route, dedicated, refrigerated, flatbed, expedited, and cross-border service offerings, with approximately 13,400 irregular route tractors and approximately 4,700 dedicated route tractors in use during 2022. Generally, we are paid a predetermined rate per mile or per load for our truckload services. Additional revenues are generated by charging for tractor and trailer detention, loading and unloading activities, dedicated services, and other specialized services, as well as through the collection of fuel surcharge revenue to mitigate the impact of increases in the cost of fuel. The main factors that affect the revenue generated by our Truckload segment are rate per mile from our customers, the percentage of miles for which we are compensated, and the number of loaded miles we generate with our equipment.
The most significant expenses in the Truckload segment are primarily variable and include fuel and fuel taxes, driving associate-related expenses (such as wages, benefits, training, and recruitment), and costs associated with independent contractors primarily included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Maintenance expense (which includes costs for replacement tires for our revenue equipment) and insurance and claims expenses have both fixed and variable components. These expenses generally vary with the miles we travel, but also have a controllable component based on safety, fleet age, efficiency, and other factors. The main fixed costs in the Truckload segment are depreciation and rent expenses from tractors, trailers, and terminals, as well as compensating our non-driver employees.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per tractor data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 4,531,115 | $ | 4,098,005 | 10.6 | % | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions | $ | 3,811,599 | $ | 3,681,271 | 3.5 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 746,581 | $ | 784,436 | (4.8 | %) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 | $ | 747,906 | $ | 785,772 | (4.8 | %) | ||||
| Average revenue per tractor 2 | $ | 210,469 | $ | 204,299 | 3.0 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 83.5 | % | 80.9 | % | 260 | bps | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 80.4 | % | 78.7 | % | 170 | bps | ||||
| Non-paid empty miles percentage 2 | 14.6 | % | 13.4 | % | 120 | bps | ||||
| Average length of haul (miles) 2 | 395 | 403 | (2.0 | %) | ||||||
| Total miles per tractor 2 | 76,502 | 81,629 | (6.3 | %) | ||||||
| Average tractors 2 3 | 18,110 | 18,019 | 0.5 | % | ||||||
| Average trailers 2 4 | 74,779 | 67,606 | 10.6 | % |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined within "Operating Statistics" above.
3Includes 16,228 and 16,166 company-owned tractors for 2022 and 2021, respectively.
4Average trailers includes 8,249 and 6,388 trailers from our non-reportable operating segments for 2022 and 2021, respectively.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The Truckload segment's Adjusted Operating Ratio increased by 170 basis points to 80.4% in 2022, as compared to 2021. Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions was $3.8 billion, a year-over-year increase of 3.5%. Revenue per loaded mile, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, increased 11.4% year-over-year, while total miles decreased 5.8%, reflecting softer freight demand. These factors ultimately led to a 3.0% increase in average revenue per tractor.
We continue to add scale by increasing our trailer count, which has grown to approximately 79,000 trailers as of the end of 2022. We believe this positions us to provide valuable capacity to our customers through our Truckload and Logistics segments. We remain focused on managing costs and improving utilization, as we expect inflationary pressures in driver-related costs, equipment maintenance, and insurance to continue to affect the freight market in the first half of 2023.
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LTL Segment
Dothan, Alabama-based ACT and Bismarck, North Dakota-based MME, both acquired in 2021, comprise our LTL segment. We provide regional direct service and serve our customers' national transportation needs by utilizing key partner carriers for coverage areas outside of our network. We primarily generate revenue by transporting freight for our customers through our core LTL services.
Our revenues are impacted by shipment volume and tonnage levels that flow through our network. Additional revenues are generated through fuel surcharges and accessorial services provided during transit from shipment origin to destination. We focus on the following multiple revenue generation factors when reviewing revenue yield: revenue per hundredweight, revenue per shipment, weight per shipment, and length of haul. Fluctuations within each of these metrics are analyzed when determining the revenue quality of our customers' shipment density.
Our most significant expense is related to direct costs associated with the transportation of our freight moves including; direct salary, wage and benefit costs, fuel expense, and depreciation expense associated with revenue equipment costs. Other expenses associated with revenue generation that can fluctuate and impact operating results are insurance and claims expense, as well as maintenance costs of our revenue equipment. These expenses can be influenced by multiple factors including our safety performance, equipment age, and other factors. A key component to lowering our operating costs is labor efficiency within our network. We continue to focus on technological advances to improve the customer experience and reduce our operating costs.
Note: In accordance with the accounting treatment applicable to the ACT and MME acquisitions, the LTL segment's reported results do not include the operating results of the acquired entities prior to the respective acquisition dates.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per shipment and per hundredweight data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,069,554 | $ | 396,308 | 169.9 | % | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions | $ | 867,292 | $ | 345,785 | 150.8 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 126,609 | $ | 31,169 | 306.2 | % | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 | $ | 142,539 | $ | 38,293 | 272.2 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 88.2 | % | 92.1 | % | (390 | bps) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 83.6 | % | 88.9 | % | (530 | bps) | ||||
| LTL shipments per day 2 | 18,642 | 16,438 | 13.4 | % | ||||||
| LTL weight per shipment 2 | 1,068 | 1,111 | (3.9) | % | ||||||
| LTL average length of haul (miles) 2 | 520 | 518 | 0.4 | % | ||||||
| LTL revenue per shipment 2 | $ | 188.03 | $ | 161.66 | 16.3 | % | ||||
| LTL revenue xFSR per shipment 2 | $ | 152.15 | $ | 141.57 | 7.5 | % | ||||
| LTL revenue per hundredweight 2 | $ | 17.61 | $ | 14.55 | 21.0 | % | ||||
| LTL revenue xFSR per hundredweight 2 | $ | 14.25 | $ | 12.75 | 11.8 | % | ||||
| LTL average tractors 2 3 | 3,176 | 2,735 | 16.1 | % | ||||||
| LTL average trailers 2 4 | 8,431 | 7,413 | 13.7 | % |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined under "Operating Statistics," above.
3Includes 711 and 667 tractors from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2022 and 2021, respectively.
4Includes 968 and 860 trailers from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2022 and 2021, respectively.
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Our LTL segment operates across approximately 110 facilities with a door count of over 4,400. We generated $867 million in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and an 83.6% Adjusted Operating Ratio during 2022 in the LTL segment. Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, per hundredweight was $14.25, while revenue per shipment, excluding fuel surcharge, was $152.15.
The ACT and MME teams continue to achieve both customer and cost synergies. Also, during the fourth quarter, the operational systems were converted to allow freight movement through one connected network across both LTL brands. While the system conversion impacted volumes at MME for a period of time, we believe we are well-positioned to leverage the freight opportunities across the connected network with existing and new customers.
We expect that our connected LTL network will provide additional opportunities for revenue growth. During 2022, we increased our door count by over 180 and we expect door capacity to continue to grow in 2023. We remain encouraged by the strong performance within our LTL segment, and we continue to look for both organic and inorganic opportunities to geographically expand our footprint within the LTL market.
Logistics Segment
The Logistics segment is less asset-intensive than the Truckload and LTL segments and is dependent upon capable non-driver employees, modern and effective information technology, and third-party capacity providers. Logistics revenue is generated by its brokerage operations. We generate additional revenue by offering specialized logistics solutions (including, but not limited to, trailing equipment, origin management, surge volume, disaster relief, special projects, and other logistic needs). Logistics revenue is mainly affected by the rates we obtain from customers, the freight volumes we ship through third-party capacity providers, and our ability to secure third-party capacity providers to transport customer freight.
The most significant expense in the Logistics segment is purchased transportation that we pay to third-party capacity providers, which is a primarily variable cost, and is included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Variability in this expense depends on truckload capacity, availability of third-party capacity providers, rates charged to customers, current freight demand, and customer shipping needs. Fixed Logistics operating expenses primarily include non-driver employee compensation and benefits recorded in "Salaries, wages, and benefits" and depreciation and amortization expense recorded in "Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per load data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 920,707 | $ | 817,003 | 12.7 | % | ||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | $ | 910,609 | $ | 798,689 | 14.0 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 133,942 | $ | 93,920 | 42.6 | % | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 2 | $ | 135,278 | $ | 94,685 | 42.9 | % | ||||
| Revenue per load 2 | $ | 2,242 | $ | 2,439 | (8.1 | %) | ||||
| Gross margin percentage 2 | 21.9 | % | 18.1 | % | 380 | bps | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 85.5 | % | 88.5 | % | (300 | bps) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 85.1 | % | 88.1 | % | (300 | bps) |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined under "Operating Statistics" above.
2022 Compared to 2021 — Logistics Adjusted Operating Ratio was 85.1%, with a gross margin of 21.9% in 2022, compared to 18.1% in 2021. Logistics load volumes increased by 24.0% as we continue to leverage our consolidated fleet of approximately 79,000 trailers as we build out our power-only service. We continue to innovate with technology designed to remove friction and allow seamless connectivity, leading to services that we expect will capture new opportunities for revenue growth.
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Intermodal Segment
The Intermodal segment complements our regional operating model, allows us to better serve customers in longer haul lanes, and reduces our investment in fixed assets. Through the Intermodal segment, we generate revenue by moving freight over the rail in our containers and other trailing equipment, combined with revenue for drayage to transport loads between railheads and customer locations. The most significant expense in the Intermodal segment is the cost of purchased transportation that we pay to third-party capacity providers (including rail providers), which is primarily variable and included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. While rail pricing is determined on an annual basis, purchased transportation varies as it relates to rail capacity, freight demand, and customer shipping needs. The main fixed costs in the Intermodal segment are depreciation of our company tractors related to drayage, containers, and chassis, as well as non-driver employee compensation and benefits.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per load data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 485,786 | $ | 458,867 | 5.9 | % | ||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | $ | 485,739 | $ | 458,583 | 5.9 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 48,167 | $ | 42,060 | 14.5 | % | ||||
| Average revenue per load 1 | $ | 3,546 | $ | 2,852 | 24.3 | % | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 1 | 90.1 | % | 90.8 | % | (70 | bps) | ||||
| Load count | 136,967 | 160,774 | (14.8 | %) | ||||||
| Average tractors 2 3 | 613 | 597 | 2.7 | % | ||||||
| Average containers 2 | 11,786 | 10,847 | 8.7 | % |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined within "Operating Statistics" above.
3Includes 544 and 543 company-owned tractors for 2022 and 2021, respectively.
2022 Compared to 2021 — Revenue grew by 5.9% while the operating ratio improved from 90.8% in 2021 to 90.1% in 2022, resulting in a $6.1 million increase in operating income. Intermodal experienced a 24.3% increase in revenue per load, which was partially offset by a decrease in load count due to softer freight demand and labor challenges across the rail industry.
As a result of our network and improved service offerings, we expect to continue to grow with new customers and expand with existing customers. To position Intermodal for continued growth, we increased our average container count by approximately 1,600 in 2022. We remain focused on growing our load count and improving the efficiency of our assets as Intermodal continues to provide value to our customers and is complementary to the many services we offer.
Non-reportable Segments
Our non-reportable segments include support services provided to our customers and third-party carriers including insurance, equipment maintenance, equipment leasing, warehousing, trailer parts manufacturing, and warranty services. Our non-reportable segments also include certain corporate expenses (such as legal settlements and accruals, certain impairments, and $46.4 million in annual amortization of intangibles related to the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions).
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 516,735 | $ | 306,414 | 68.6 | % | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 36,529 | $ | 14,112 | 158.9 | % |
2022 Compared to 2021 — Operating income improved by 158.9% as a result of a 68.6% increase in revenue. The revenue growth was primarily related to expanded services to third-party carriers (including insurance through Iron Truck Services), increased demand for our equipment leasing services, and revenue improvement within our warehousing activities.
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Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses
Consolidated Operating Expenses
The following tables present certain operating expenses from our consolidated statements of comprehensive income, including each operating expense as a percentage of total revenue and as a percentage of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge. Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge revenue can be volatile and is primarily dependent upon the cost of fuel, rather than operating expenses unrelated to fuel. Therefore, we believe that revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge is a better measure for analyzing many of our expenses and operating metrics.
Note: In accordance with the accounting treatment applicable to each of our recent acquisitions, Knight-Swift's reported results do not include the operating results of the acquired entities prior to the respective acquisition dates. Accordingly, comparisons between the Company's 2022 results and prior periods may not be meaningful. Refer to Note 1 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for a list of our recent acquisitions.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Salaries, wages, and benefits | $ | 2,173,933 | $ | 1,771,772 | 22.7 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 29.3 | % | 29.5 | % | (20 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 33.4 | % | 32.0 | % | 140 | bps |
Salaries, wages, and benefits expense is primarily affected by the total number of miles driven by and rates we pay to our company driving associates, and employee benefits including healthcare, workers' compensation, and other benefits. To a lesser extent, non-driver employee headcount, compensation, and benefits affect this expense. Driving associate wages represent the largest component of salaries, wages, and benefits expense.
Several ongoing market factors have reduced the pool of available driving associates, contributing to a challenging driver sourcing market, which we believe will continue. Having a sufficient number of qualified driving associates is a significant headwind, although we continue to seek ways to attract and retain qualified driving associates, including heavily investing in our recruiting efforts, our driving academies, technology, our equipment, and our terminals that improve the experience of driving associates. We expect labor costs (related to both driving associates and non-driver employees) to remain inflationary, which we expect will result in additional pay increases in the future, thereby increasing our salaries, wages, and benefits expense.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The increase in consolidated salaries, wages, and benefits includes a $309.6 million increase from the results of ACT and MME for the full year 2022, compared to the portion of 2021 following the respective acquisition dates. The remaining increase pertained to driving associate pay rates, and an increase in non-driver headcount, resulting in higher non-driver salaries, wages, and benefits. These increases were partially offset by a 6.2% reduction in miles driven by company driving associates, excluding ACT and MME.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Fuel | $ | 895,603 | $ | 546,256 | 64.0 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 12.1 | % | 9.1 | % | 300 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 13.8 | % | 9.9 | % | 390 | bps |
Fuel expense consists primarily of diesel fuel expense for our company-owned tractors. The primary factors affecting our fuel expense are the cost of diesel fuel, the fuel economy of our equipment, and the miles driven by company driving associates.
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Our fuel surcharge programs help to offset increases in fuel prices, but generally apply only to loaded miles for our Truckload and LTL segments and typically do not offset non-paid empty miles, idle time, or out-of-route miles driven. Typical fuel surcharge programs involve a computation based on the change in national or regional fuel prices. These programs may update as often as weekly, but typically require a specified minimum change in fuel cost to prompt a change in fuel surcharge revenue for our Truckload and LTL segments. Therefore, many of these programs have a time lag between when fuel costs change and when the change is reflected in fuel surcharge revenue. Due to this time lag, our fuel expense, net of fuel surcharge, negatively impacts our operating income during periods of sharply rising fuel costs and positively impacts our operating income during periods of falling fuel costs. We continue to utilize our fuel efficiency initiatives such as trailer blades, idle-control, management of tractor speeds, fleet updates for more fuel-efficient engines, management of fuel procurement, and driving associate training programs that we believe contribute to controlling our fuel expense.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The increase in consolidated fuel expense includes a $71.8 million increase from the results of ACT for the full year 2022, compared to the portion of 2021 following the acquisition date. The remaining difference is primarily due to an increase in the average DOE fuel price to $5.01 per gallon in 2022 from $3.29 per gallon in 2021, partially offset by a 6.2% reduction in the total miles driven by company driving associates, excluding ACT.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Operations and maintenance | $ | 422,872 | $ | 313,505 | 34.9 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 5.7 | % | 5.2 | % | 50 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 6.5 | % | 5.7 | % | 80 | bps |
Operations and maintenance expense consists of direct operating expenses, such as driving associate hiring and recruiting expenses, equipment maintenance, and tire expense. Operations and maintenance expenses are typically affected by the age of our company-owned fleet of tractors and trailers and the miles driven. We expect the driver market to remain competitive throughout 2023, which could increase future driving associate development and recruiting costs and negatively affect our operations and maintenance expense. We expect to continue refreshing our tractor fleet in the coming quarters, subject to availability of new revenue equipment, to maintain or improve the average age of our equipment.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The increase in consolidated operations and maintenance expense includes a $29.3 million increase from the results of ACT for the full year 2022, compared to the portion of 2021 following the acquisition date. The remaining increase was attributed to higher maintenance expenses due to an increase in the average age of our fleet, higher port per diem expenses as we navigate a backlog of shipping containers at ports, and increased hiring expenses as we work to improve our seated truck count.
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| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Insurance and claims | $ | 455,918 | $ | 275,378 | 65.6 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 6.1 | % | 4.6 | % | 150 | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 7.0 | % | 5.0 | % | 200 | bps |
Insurance and claims expense consists of premiums for liability, physical damage, and cargo, and will vary based upon the frequency and severity of claims, our level of self-insurance, and premium expense. In recent years, insurance carriers have raised premiums for many businesses, including transportation companies, and as a result, our insurance and claims expense could increase in the future, or we could raise our self-insured retention limits or reduce excess coverage limits when our policies are renewed or replaced. In 2021, we expanded our insurance offerings to third-party carriers, earning additional premium revenues, which were partially offset by increased insurance reserves. Insurance and claims expense also varies based on the number of miles driven by company driving associates and independent contractors, the frequency and severity of accidents, trends in development factors used in actuarial accruals, and developments in large, prior-year claims. In future periods, our higher self-insured retention limits or lower excess coverage limits may cause increased volatility in our consolidated insurance and claims expense.
2022 Compared to 2021 — Consolidated insurance and claims expense increased partially due to the inclusion of $18.4 million of insurance and claims expense from the results of ACT for the full year 2022, compared to the portion of 2021 following the acquisition date. The remaining increase was primarily due to insurance reserves incurred through our expanded third-party carrier insurance program in 2022.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Operating taxes and licenses | $ | 111,197 | $ | 98,784 | 12.6 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 1.5 | % | 1.6 | % | (10 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 1.7 | % | 1.8 | % | (10 | bps) |
Operating taxes and licenses include state franchise taxes, state and federal highway use taxes, property taxes, vehicle license and registration fees, and fuel and mileage taxes, among others. The expense is impacted by changes in the tax rates and registration fees associated with our tractor fleet and regional operating facilities.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The increase in consolidated operating taxes and licenses expense is primarily due to the inclusion of operating taxes and licenses expense from ACT's and MME's results for the full year 2022, compared to the portion of 2021 following the respective acquisition dates.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Communications | $ | 23,656 | $ | 22,486 | 5.2 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 0.3 | % | 0.4 | % | (10 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 0.4 | % | 0.4 | % | — | bps |
Communications expense is comprised of costs associated with our tractor and trailer tracking systems, information technology systems, and phone systems.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The increase in consolidated communications expense is primarily due to the inclusion of $2.2 million of communications expense from ACT's and MME's results for the full year 2022, compared to the portion of 2021 following the respective acquisition dates. This increase was partially offset by the implementation of new technology on our revenue equipment.
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| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment | $ | 594,981 | $ | 522,596 | 13.9 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 8.0 | % | 8.7 | % | (70 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 9.1 | % | 9.4 | % | (30 | bps) |
Depreciation relates primarily to our owned tractors, trailers, buildings, electronic logging devices, other communication units, and other similar assets. Changes to this fixed cost are generally attributed to increases or decreases to company-owned equipment, the relative percentage of owned versus leased equipment, and fluctuations in new equipment purchase prices. Depreciation can also be affected by the cost of used equipment that we sell or trade and the replacement of older used equipment. Management periodically reviews the condition, average age, and reasonableness of estimated useful lives and salvage values of our equipment and considers such factors in light of our experience with similar assets, used equipment market conditions, and prevailing industry practices.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The increase in consolidated depreciation and amortization of property and equipment includes a $34.7 million increase of expense from ACT's results for the full year 2022, compared to the portion of 2021 following the acquisition date. The remaining increase is primarily due to an increase in owned versus leased equipment and higher depreciation for capital improvements made to our terminals.
We expect consolidated depreciation and amortization of property and equipment to increase both in total and as a percentage of consolidated revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge, as we currently do not plan to use operating leases as a primary means of funding our equipment purchases, terminal improvements, or terminal expansions in 2023.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Amortization of intangibles | $ | 64,843 | $ | 55,299 | 17.3 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 0.9 | % | 0.9 | % | — | bps | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 1.0 | % | 1.0 | % | — | bps |
Amortization of intangibles relates to intangible assets identified with the 2017 Merger, ACT Acquisition and other acquisitions. See Note 4 and Note 10 in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report for further details regarding the Company's intangible assets, historical amortization, and anticipated future amortization.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The increase in consolidated amortization of intangibles for 2022 is attributed to the ACT, MME, UTXL, and Eleos acquisitions in 2021. See Note 4 in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report for more details regarding our acquisitions.
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| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Rental expense | $ | 56,856 | $ | 55,161 | 3.1 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 0.8 | % | 0.9 | % | (10 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 0.9 | % | 1.0 | % | (10 | bps) |
Rental expense consists primarily of payments for tractors and trailers financed with operating leases. The primary factors affecting the expense are the size of our revenue equipment fleet and the relative percentage of owned versus leased equipment.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The increase in consolidated rental expense was primarily due to a $4.7 million increase in expense from ACT's and MME's results for the full year 2022, compared to the portion of 2021 following the respective acquisition dates. This increase was partially offset by increasing our ratio of owned versus leased equipment.
We expect consolidated rental expense to continue to decrease both in total and as a percentage of consolidated revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge, as we currently do not plan to use operating leases as a primary means of funding our equipment purchases in 2023.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Purchased transportation | $ | 1,444,937 | $ | 1,320,888 | 9.4 | % | ||||
| % of total revenue | 19.5 | % | 22.0 | % | (250 | bps) | ||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 22.2 | % | 23.9 | % | (170 | bps) |
Purchased transportation expense is comprised of payments to independent contractors in our trucking operations, as well as payments to third-party capacity providers related to logistics, freight management, and non-trucking services in our logistics and intermodal businesses. Purchased transportation is generally affected by capacity in the market as well as changes in fuel prices. As capacity tightens, our payments to third-party capacity providers and to independent contractors tend to increase. Additionally, as fuel prices increase, payments to third-party capacity providers and independent contractors increase.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The increase in consolidated purchased transportation expense is primarily due to increased load volumes within our logistics business and inflationary pressures related to services provided by our third party carriers. Purchased transportation expense also includes a $14.0 million increase in expense from ACT's and MME's results for the full year 2022, compared to the portion of 2021 following the respective acquisition dates.
We expect that consolidated purchased transportation will increase as a percentage of revenue if we grow our logistics and intermodal businesses faster than our full truckload and LTL businesses. The increase could be partially offset if independent contractors exit the market due to regulatory changes.
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Impairments | $ | 810 | $ | 299 | 170.9 | % |
2022 Compared to 2021 — In 2022, we incurred impairment charges associated with building improvements (within our non-reportable segments). In 2021, we incurred impairment charges associated with revenue equipment held for sale and trailer tracking systems (within our Truckload and non-reportable segments).
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| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Miscellaneous operating expenses | $ | 91,148 | $ | 49,898 | 82.7 | % |
Miscellaneous operating expenses primarily consists of legal and professional services fees, general and administrative expenses, and other costs, net of gain on sales of equipment.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The increase in net consolidated miscellaneous operating expenses includes $20.7 million of additional expense in 2022 from ACT's and MME's results for the full year 2022, compared to the portion of 2021 following the respective acquisition dates. Net consolidated miscellaneous operating expenses also include a net increase in legal settlements expense of $3.3 million, and higher operating expense associated with increased travel time and return to work programs. These increases were partially offset by an $18.1 million year-over-year increase in gain on sales of equipment, including a $2.3 million increase from ACT reflected in the net increase noted above.
Consolidated Other Expenses, net
The following table summarizes fluctuations in certain non-operating expenses included in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income:
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 vs. 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||
| Interest income | $ | (5,439) | $ | (1,173) | 363.7 | % | ||||
| Interest expense | $ | 50,803 | $ | 21,140 | 140.3 | % | ||||
| Other expenses (income), net | $ | 25,958 | $ | (28,905) | (189.8 | %) | ||||
| Income tax expense | $ | 249,388 | $ | 230,887 | 8.0 | % |
Interest income — Interest income includes interest earned from financing revenue equipment to independent contractors, as well as interest earned from our investments.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The increase in consolidated interest income is primarily due to the higher balances in our interest yielding cash accounts, coupled with an increase in interest rates during 2022.
Interest expense — Interest expense is comprised of debt and finance lease interest expense as well as amortization of deferred loan costs.
2022 Compared to 2021 — Consolidated interest expense increased due to higher overall debt balances and an increase in interest rates during 2022. See Note 15 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for further information related to the 2021 Debt Agreement and related interest rates and deferred loan costs.
Other expenses (income), net — Other expenses (income), net is primarily comprised of losses and (gains) from our various equity investments, including our investment in Embark, as well as certain other non-operating income and expense items that may arise outside of the normal course of business.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The unfavorable change in consolidated other expenses (income), net is primarily due to unrealized losses recognized from our investment in Embark, compared to a gain during 2021.
Income tax expense — In addition to the discussion below, Note 13 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report provides further analysis related to income taxes.
2022 Compared to 2021 — The increase in consolidated income tax expense was primarily due to an increase in income before income taxes. This resulted in a 2022 effective tax rate of 24.4% and a 2021 effective tax rate of 23.7%.
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The terms "Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift," "Adjusted EPS," "Adjusted Operating Income," "Adjusted Operating Ratio," and "Free Cash Flow," as we define them, are not presented in accordance with GAAP. These financial measures supplement our GAAP results in evaluating certain aspects of our business. We believe that using these measures improves comparability in analyzing our performance because they remove the impact of items from our operating results that, in our opinion, do not reflect our core operating performance. Management and the Board focus on Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, Adjusted Operating Income, and Adjusted Operating Ratio as key measures of our performance, all of which are reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measures and further discussed below. Management and the Board use Free Cash Flow as a key measure of our liquidity. Free Cash Flow does not represent residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures. We believe our presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is useful because it provides investors and securities analysts the same information that we use internally for purposes of assessing our core operating performance.
Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Ratio, and Free Cash Flow are not substitutes for their comparable GAAP financial measures, such as net income, cash flows from operating activities, operating income, or other measures prescribed by GAAP. There are limitations to using non-GAAP financial measures. Although we believe that they improve comparability in analyzing our period to period performance, they could limit comparability to other companies in our industry if those companies define these measures differently. Because of these limitations, our non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered measures of income generated by our business or discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. Management compensates for these limitations by primarily relying on GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures on a supplemental basis.
Pursuant to the requirements of Regulation G, the following tables reconcile GAAP consolidated net income attributable to Knight-Swift to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted Net Income attributable to Knight-Swift, GAAP consolidated earnings per diluted share to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted EPS, GAAP consolidated operating ratio to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted Operating Ratio, GAAP reportable segment operating income to non-GAAP reportable segment Adjusted Operating Income, GAAP reportable segment operating ratio to non-GAAP reportable segment Adjusted Operating Ratio, and GAAP cash flow from operations to non-GAAP Free Cash Flow.
Note regarding presentation: A discussion of changes in our results of operations from 2020 to 2021 has been omitted from this Annual Report, but may be found in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of our 2021 Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 24, 2022.
Non-GAAP Reconciliation:
Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||
| GAAP: Net income attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 771,325 | $ | 743,388 | ||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Income tax expense attributable to Knight-Swift | 249,388 | 230,887 | ||||
| Income before income taxes attributable to Knight-Swift | 1,020,713 | 974,275 | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | 64,843 | 55,299 | ||||
| Impairments 2 | 810 | 299 | ||||
| Legal accruals 3 | 415 | (2,481) | ||||
| Transaction fees 4 | — | 4,445 | ||||
| Write-off of deferred debt issuance costs 5 | — | 1,024 | ||||
| Adjusted income before income taxes | 1,086,781 | 1,032,861 | ||||
| Provision for income tax expense at effective rate | (265,585) | (244,680) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 821,196 | $ | 788,181 |
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Note: Since the numbers reflected in the table below are calculated on a per share basis, they may not foot due to rounding.
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP: Earnings per diluted share | $ | 4.73 | $ | 4.45 | ||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Income tax expense attributable to Knight-Swift | 1.53 | 1.38 | ||||
| Income before income taxes attributable to Knight-Swift | 6.25 | 5.83 | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | 0.40 | 0.33 | ||||
| Impairments 2 | — | — | ||||
| Legal accruals 3 | — | (0.01) | ||||
| Transaction fees 4 | — | 0.03 | ||||
| Write-off of deferred debt issuance costs 5 | — | 0.01 | ||||
| Adjusted income before income taxes | 6.66 | 6.18 | ||||
| Provision for income tax expense at effective rate | (1.63) | (1.46) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted EPS | $ | 5.03 | $ | 4.72 |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in the 2017 Merger, the July 5, 2021 ACT Acquisition, and other acquisitions.
2"Impairments" reflects the following non-cash impairments:
•2022 impairment of building improvements (within our non-reportable segments);
•2021 impairments related to certain revenue equipment held for sale (within the non-reportable segments and the Truckload segment).
3"Legal accruals" are included in "Miscellaneous operating expenses" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income and reflect the following:
•During 2022, the Company decreased the estimated exposure related to certain accrued legal matters previously identified as probable and estimable in prior periods based on recent settlement agreements. Additional 2022 legal costs relate to certain lawsuits arising from employee and contract related matters.
•During 2021, the reversal of an accrued legal matter previously identified as probable in 2019 was based on a recent decision of the appellate court, resulting in a change to a remote likelihood that a loss was incurred. Additional 2021 legal costs relate to certain class action lawsuits arising from employee and contract related matters.
4"Transaction fees" consisted of legal and professional fees associated with the acquisitions of UTXL, ACT, and MME. The transaction fees are included within "Miscellaneous operating expenses" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
5"Write-off of deferred debt issuance costs" was incurred from replacing the 2017 Debt Agreement with the 2021 Debt Agreement.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted Operating Ratio
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,428,582 | $ | 5,998,019 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (6,336,754) | (5,032,322) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 1,091,828 | $ | 965,697 | ||
| Operating ratio | 85.3 | % | 83.9 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 7,428,582 | $ | 5,998,019 | ||
| Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | (920,417) | (466,129) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 6,508,165 | 5,531,890 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 6,336,754 | 5,032,322 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | (920,417) | (466,129) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (64,843) | (55,299) | ||||
| Impairments 2 | (810) | (299) | ||||
| Legal accruals 3 | (415) | 2,481 | ||||
| Transaction fees 4 | — | (4,445) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 5,350,269 | 4,508,631 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 1,157,896 | $ | 1,023,259 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 82.2 | % | 81.5 | % |
1See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 1.
2See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 2.
3See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 3.
4See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 4.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Reportable Segment Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted Operating Ratio
Truckload Segment
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 4,531,115 | $ | 4,098,005 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (3,784,534) | (3,313,569) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 746,581 | $ | 784,436 | ||
| Operating ratio | 83.5 | % | 80.9 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 4,531,115 | $ | 4,098,005 | ||
| Fuel surcharge | (718,155) | (415,606) | ||||
| Intersegment transactions | (1,361) | (1,128) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions | 3,811,599 | 3,681,271 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 3,784,534 | 3,313,569 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Fuel surcharge | (718,155) | (415,606) | ||||
| Intersegment transactions | (1,361) | (1,128) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (1,325) | (1,295) | ||||
| Impairments 2 | — | (41) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 3,063,693 | 2,895,499 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 747,906 | $ | 785,772 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 80.4 | % | 78.7 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in historical Knight acquisitions.
2See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 2.
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LTL Segment
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,069,554 | $ | 396,308 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (942,945) | (365,139) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 126,609 | $ | 31,169 | ||
| Operating ratio | 88.2 | % | 92.1 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 1,069,554 | $ | 396,308 | ||
| Fuel surcharge | (202,262) | (50,523) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions | 867,292 | 345,785 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 942,945 | 365,139 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Fuel surcharge | (202,262) | (50,523) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (15,930) | (7,124) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 724,753 | 307,492 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | 142,539 | 38,293 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 83.6 | % | 88.9 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified with the ACT Acquisition and MME Acquisition.
Logistics Segment
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 920,707 | $ | 817,003 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (786,765) | (723,083) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 133,942 | $ | 93,920 | ||
| Operating ratio | 85.5 | % | 88.5 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 920,707 | $ | 817,003 | ||
| Intersegment transactions | (10,098) | (18,314) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | 910,609 | 798,689 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 786,765 | 723,083 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Intersegment transactions | (10,098) | (18,314) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (1,336) | (765) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 775,331 | 704,004 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 135,278 | $ | 94,685 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 85.1 | % | 88.1 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in the UTXL acquisition.
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Intermodal Segment
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 485,786 | $ | 458,867 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (437,619) | (416,807) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 48,167 | $ | 42,060 | ||
| Operating ratio | 90.1 | % | 90.8 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 485,786 | $ | 458,867 | ||
| Intersegment transactions | (47) | (284) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | 485,739 | 458,583 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 437,619 | 416,807 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Intersegment transactions | (47) | (284) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 437,572 | 416,523 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 48,167 | $ | 42,060 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 90.1 | % | 90.8 | % |
Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Free cash flow
| 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| GAAP: Cash flows from operations | $ | 1,435,853 |
| Adjusted for: | ||
| Proceeds from sale of property and equipment, including assets held for sale | 183,421 | |
| Purchases of property and equipment | (800,563) | |
| Non-GAAP: Free Cash Flow | $ | 818,711 |
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
The following table presents our available sources of liquidity as of December 31, 2022:
| Source: | Amount | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents, excluding restricted cash | $ | 196,770 | |
| Availability under 2021 Revolver, due September 2026 1 | 1,041,186 | ||
| Availability under 2021 RSA, due April 2024 2 | 37,400 | ||
| Total unrestricted liquidity | $ | 1,275,356 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents – restricted 3 | 188,575 | ||
| Restricted investments, held-to-maturity, amortized cost 3 | 7,175 | ||
| Total liquidity, including restricted cash and restricted investments | $ | 1,471,106 |
1As of December 31, 2022, we had $43.0 million in borrowings under our $1.1 billion 2021 Revolver. We additionally had $15.8 million in outstanding letters of credit (discussed below) issued under the 2021 Revolver, leaving $1.0 billion available under the 2021 Revolver.
2Based on eligible receivables at December 31, 2022, our borrowing base for the 2021 RSA was $456.4 million, while outstanding borrowings were $419.0 million, leaving $37.4 million available under the 2021 RSA.
3Restricted cash and restricted investments are primarily held by our captive insurance companies for claims payments. "Cash and cash equivalents – restricted" consists of $185.8 million, which is included in "Cash and cash equivalents — restricted" in the consolidated balance sheets and is held by Mohave and Red Rock for claims payments. The remaining $2.8 million is included in "Other long-term assets" and is held in escrow accounts to meet statutory requirements.
Uses of Liquidity
Our business requires substantial amounts of cash for operating activities, including salaries and wages paid to our employees, contract payments to independent contractors, insurance and claims payments, tax payments, and others. We also use large amounts of cash and credit for the following activities:
Capital Expenditures — When justified by customer demand, as well as our liquidity and our ability to generate acceptable returns, we make substantial cash capital expenditures to maintain a modern company tractor fleet, refresh our trailer fleet, expand our network of LTL service centers, and, to a lesser extent, fund upgrades to our terminals and technology in our various service offerings. We expect net cash capital expenditures, including net cash expenditures of our LTL segment, will be in the range of $640.0 to $690.0 million in 2023. The range provided excludes cash outlays for potential acquisitions. We believe we have ample flexibility with our trade cycle and purchase agreements to alter our current plans if economic or other conditions warrant.
Over the long-term, we will continue to have significant capital requirements, which may require us to seek additional borrowing, lease financing, or equity capital. The availability of financing or equity capital will depend upon our financial condition and results of operations as well as prevailing market conditions. If such additional borrowing, lease financing, or equity capital is not available at the time we need it, then we may need to borrow more under the 2021 Revolver (if not then fully drawn), extend the maturity of then-outstanding debt, rely on alternative financing arrangements, engage in asset sales, limit our fleet size, or operate our revenue equipment for longer periods.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain additional debt under our existing financial arrangements to satisfy our ongoing capital requirements. However, we believe the combination of our expected cash flows, financing available through operating and finance leases, available funds under our accounts receivable securitization, and availability under the 2021 Revolver will be sufficient to fund our expected capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months.
Refer to Note 18 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion of our short-term and long-term contractual payment obligations related to purchase commitments.
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Principal and Interest Payments — As of December 31, 2022, we had debt, accounts receivable securitization, and finance lease obligations of $1.9 billion, which are discussed under "Material Debt Agreements," below. Certain cash flows from operations are committed to minimum payments of principal and interest on our debt and lease obligations. Additionally, when our financial position allows, we periodically make voluntary prepayments on our outstanding debt balances.
Prior to the maturity of our 2022 RSA, 2021 Term Loans, 2021 Revolver, Prudential Notes, and other debt, we expect to be contractually obligated to make interest payments of approximately $58.8 million, $156.9 million, $8.5 million, $2.8 million, and $0.1 million, respectively. Refer to Notes 14 and 15 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion of the principal payment obligations related to the 2021 RSA and 2021 Debt Agreement.
Refer to Note 16 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion on our contractual principal and interest payment obligations for finance leases.
Letters of Credit — Pursuant to the terms of the 2021 Debt Agreement and the 2021 RSA, our lenders may issue standby letters of credit on our behalf. When we have certain letters of credit outstanding, it reduces the availability under our 2021 Revolver or 2021 RSA. Standby letters of credit are typically issued for the benefit of regulatory authorities, insurance companies and state departments of insurance for the purpose of satisfying certain collateral requirements, primarily related to our automobile, workers' compensation, and general insurance liabilities.
Share Repurchases — From time to time, and depending on free cash flow availability, debt levels, stock prices, general economic and market conditions, as well as Board approval, we may repurchase shares of our outstanding common stock. The 2022 Knight-Swift Repurchase Plan had $200.0 million available as of December 31, 2022. See further details regarding our share repurchases under Note 20 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Working Capital
We had working capital surpluses of $599.6 million as of December 31, 2022 and $339.5 million as of December 31, 2021. The $260.1 million increase was primarily due to the maturity and repayment of our 2021 Term Loan A-1 in December 2022.
Material Debt Agreements
As of December 31, 2022, we had $1.9 billion in material debt obligations at the following carrying values:
•$199.8 million: 2021 Term Loan A-2, due September 2024, net of $0.2 million in deferred loan costs
•$798.7 million: 2021 Term Loan A-3, due September 2026, net of $1.3 million in deferred loan costs
•$418.6 million: 2022 RSA outstanding borrowings, net of $0.4 million in deferred loan costs
•$403.0 million: Finance lease obligations
•$43.0 million: 2021 Revolver, due September 2026
•$39.0 million: Other, net of $0.1 million in deferred loan costs
As of December 31, 2021, we had $2.1 billion in material debt obligations at the following carrying values:
•$199.7 million: 2021 Term Loan A-1, due December 2022, net of $0.3 million in deferred loan costs
•$199.6 million: 2021 Term Loan A-2, due September 2024, net of $0.4 million in deferred loan costs
•$798.4 million: 2021 Term Loan A-3, due September 2026, net of $1.6 million in deferred loan costs
•$278.5 million: 2021 RSA outstanding borrowings, due April 2024, net of $0.5 million in deferred loan costs
•$306.2 million: Finance lease obligations
•$260.0 million: 2021 Revolver, due September 2026
•$52.3 million: Other, net of $0.1 million in deferred loan costs
Key terms and other details regarding our material debt obligations and finance leases are discussed in Notes 14, 15, and 16 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, and are incorporated by reference herein.
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Cash Flow Analysis
| 2022 | 2021 | Change | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | ||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 1,435,853 | $ | 1,190,153 | $ | 245,700 | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (646,184) | (1,816,733) | 1,170,549 | |||||||
| Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (754,347) | 779,326 | (1,533,673) |
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities
2022 Compared to 2021 — The $245.7 million increase in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to a $126.1 million increase in operating income and a non-cash increase in depreciation and amortization of property and equipment of $81.9 million. These increases were related to the addition of ACT's and MME's results for the full year 2022, compared to the portion of 2021 following the respective acquisition dates. The remaining increase is due to various changes in working capital and was partially offset by a $122.1 million increase in taxes paid. Note: Factors affecting the increase in operating income are discussed in "Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses."
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities
2022 Compared to 2021 — The $1.2 billion decrease in net cash used in investing activities was primarily due to a $1.5 billion decrease in net cash invested in acquisitions and was partially offset by a $335.1 million increase in net cash capital expenditures, including 2022 investing activities of ACT and MME.
Net Cash (Used in) Provided by Financing Activities
2022 Compared to 2021 — Net cash used in financing activities increased by $1.5 billion, primarily due to a $1.2 billion reduction in debt proceeds, a $267.0 million increase in net repayments on our 2021 Revolver, and a $242.8 million increase in repurchases of our common stock.
Inflation
Most of our operating expenses are inflation-sensitive, with inflation generally leading to increased costs of operations. Price increases in manufacturer revenue equipment has impacted the cost for us to acquire new equipment. Cost increases have also impacted the cost of parts for equipment repairs and maintenance. The qualified driver shortage experienced by the trucking industry overall has had the effect of increasing compensation paid to our driving associates. We have also experienced inflation in insurance and claims cost related to health insurance and claims as well as auto liability insurance and claims. Prolonged periods of inflation have recently and could continue to cause interest rates, fuel, wages, and other costs to increase as well. Any of these factors could adversely affect our results of operations unless freight rates correspondingly increase.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that impact the amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Therefore, the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, and associated disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities are affected by these estimates and assumptions. We evaluate these estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis, utilizing historical experience, consultation with experts, and other methods considered reasonable in the particular circumstances. Nevertheless, actual results may differ significantly from our estimates and assumptions, and it is possible that materially different amounts could be reported using differing estimates or assumptions. We consider our critical accounting estimates to be those that require us to make more significant judgments and estimates when we prepare our financial statements.
Note 2 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report describes the Company's accounting policies. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Note 2, as it presents uncertainties involved in applying the accounting policies, and provides insight into the quality of management's estimates and variability in the amounts recorded for these critical accounting estimates. Our critical accounting estimates include the following:
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Claims Accruals — Insurance and claims expense varies as a percentage of total revenue, based on the frequency and severity of claims incurred in a given period, as well as changes in claims development trends. The actual cost to settle our self-insured claim liabilities, as well as our third-party claim liabilities, may differ from our reserve estimates due to legal costs, claims that have been incurred but not reported, and various other uncertainties, including the inherent difficulty in estimating the severity of the claim and the potential judgment or settlement amount to dispose of the claim. If claims development factors that are based upon historical experience had increased by 10%, our claims accrual as of December 31, 2022 would have potentially increased by $70.1 million.
Refer to Note 12, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the claims accrual balance.
Goodwill and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets — The test of goodwill requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assigning assets (including goodwill) and liabilities to reporting units and determining the fair value of each reporting unit. Fair value of the reporting unit is determined using a combination of comparative valuation multiples of publicly traded companies, internal transaction methods, and discounted cash flow models. Estimating the fair value of reporting units includes several significant assumptions, including future cash flow estimates, determination of appropriate discount rates, and other assumptions that management believed reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and/or goodwill impairment for each reporting unit.
Knight-Swift evaluated its goodwill associated with the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions as of June 30, 2022 and 2021. The evaluations were completed using fair value measurement guidance prescribed in ASC 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other. The fair value of the goodwill was established using an equal weighting of both the income and market approaches. In evaluating this quantitative analysis, the Company determined that it was more likely than not that fair value exceeded carrying value for the Company's reporting units as of June 30, 2022 and 2021.
The test of indefinite-lived intangible assets consists of a comparison of the estimated fair value of certain trade names to their carrying values. The determination of the fair value of the trade names requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions related to forecasts of future revenues, discount rates, and royalty rates. Changes in these assumptions could materially affect the determination of the fair value of the trade names, the amount of any trade names impairment charge, or both. Management evaluated trade names for impairment as of June 30, 2022 and 2021 noting that the fair value exceeded carrying value for the trade name.
Refer to Note 10, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible asset balances.
Depreciation and Amortization — Selecting the appropriate accounting method requires management judgment, as there are multiple acceptable methods that are in accordance with GAAP, including straight-line, declining-balance, and sum-of-the-years' digits. As discussed in Note 2 included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, property and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis and intangible customer relationships are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. We believe that these methods properly spread the costs over the useful lives of the assets. Management judgment is also involved when determining estimated useful lives of the Company's long-lived assets. We determine useful lives of our long-lived assets, based on historical experience, as well as future expectations regarding the period we expect to benefit from the asset. Factors affecting estimated useful lives of property and equipment may include estimating loss, damage, obsolescence, and company policies around maintenance and asset replacement. Factors affecting estimated useful lives of long-lived intangible assets may include legal, contractual, or other provisions that limit useful lives, historical experience with similar assets, future expectations of customer relationships, among others.
Refer to Note 10, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the impact of the amortization of definite-lived intangibles on our results for 2022 and 2021.
Impairments of Long-lived Assets — Fair value is determined through various valuation techniques, including discounted cash flow models, quoted market values, and third-party independent appraisals, as necessary. Estimating fair value includes several significant assumptions, including future cash flow estimates, determination of appropriate discount rates, and other assumptions that management believed reasonable under the circumstances.
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Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and/or impairment.
Refer to Note 23, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in long-lived assets and the impact on our results for 2022 and 2021.
Income Taxes — Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes and in determining whether deferred tax assets will be realized in full or in part. We periodically assess the likelihood that all or some portion of deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income. To the extent we believe the likelihood of recovery is not sufficient, a valuation allowance is established for the amount determined not to be realizable. Management judgment is necessary in determining the frequency at which we assess the need for a valuation allowance, the accounting period in which to establish the valuation allowance, as well as the amount of the valuation allowance. We believe that we have adequately provided for our future tax consequences based upon current facts and circumstances and current tax law. However, should our tax positions be challenged, different outcomes could result and have a significant impact on the amounts reported in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
Management judgment is also required regarding a variety of other factors including the appropriateness of tax strategies. We utilize certain income tax planning strategies to reduce our overall income taxes. It is possible that certain strategies might be disallowed, resulting in an increased liability for income taxes. Significant management judgments are involved in assessing the likelihood of sustaining the strategies and determining the likely range of defense and settlement costs, in the event that tax strategies are challenged by taxing authorities. An ultimate result worse than our expectations could adversely affect our results of operations.
Refer to Note 13, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the balances of deferred taxes assets and related valuation allowances.
Leases — At the inception of a lease, management judgment is involved in the determination of the discount rate, the determination of whether a contract contains a lease, classification of operating versus finance lease, assessment of useful lives, and estimation of residual values. Discounted future minimum lease payments are used in determining the lease classification represent the present value of minimum rental payments called for over the lease term, inclusive of residual value guarantees (if applicable) and amounts that would be required to be paid, if any, by the Company upon default for leases containing subjective acceleration or cross default clauses.
Refer to Note 16, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in balance of operating leases.
Stock-based Compensation — We issue several types of stock-based compensation, including awards that vest, based on service conditions, performance conditions, or a combination of service and performance conditions. Determining the appropriate amount to expense in each period is based on likelihood and timing of achievement of the stated targets for performance-based awards, and requires judgment, including forecasting future financial results, market performance, and other factors. The estimates are revised periodically, based on the probability and timing of achieving the required performance targets, and adjustments are made as appropriate. There is also some judgement involved with estimating expected forfeiture rates as we have opted to net the benefit of expected forfeitures against our stock-based compensation expense.
Refer to Note 21, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the assumptions related to these awards and the impact on our results for 2022 and 2021.
Legal Settlements and Reserves — See Note 19 in Part II Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 3 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, which is incorporated herein by reference, for recently issued accounting pronouncements that could have an impact on our consolidated financial statements.
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FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001492691-22-000012.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Certain acronyms and terms used throughout this Annual Report are specific to our company, commonly used in our industry, or are otherwise frequently used throughout our document. Definitions for these acronyms and terms are provided in the "Glossary of Terms," available in the front of this document.
Management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations should be read together with "Business" in Part I, Item 1 of this Annual Report, as well as the consolidated financial statements and accompanying footnotes in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report. This discussion contains forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under Part I, Item 1A. "Risk Factors" and Part I "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements" of this Annual Report, and elsewhere in this report. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed.
Executive Summary
Company Overview
Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. is one of North America's largest and most diversified freight transportation companies, providing multiple full truckload, LTL, intermodal, and logistics services. Knight-Swift uses a nationwide network of business units and terminals in the US and Mexico to serve customers throughout North America. In addition to operating one of the country's largest truckload fleets, Knight-Swift also contracts with third-party equipment providers to provide a broad range of transportation services to our customers while creating quality driving jobs for our driving associates and successful business opportunities for independent contractors. Our four reportable segments are Truckload, Logistics, LTL, and Intermodal. Additionally, we have various non-reportable segments. Refer to Note 1 and Note 25 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for descriptions of our segments.
Our objective is to operate our business with industry-leading margins and growth while providing safe, high-quality, cost-effective solutions for our customers. We continue to grow our company organically and through acquisitions. Refer to Note 1 and Note 4 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for details regarding our recent acquisitions.
Revenue
•Our truckload services include irregular route and dedicated, refrigerated, expedited, flatbed, and cross-border transportation of various products, goods, and materials for our diverse customer base. We primarily generate revenue by transporting freight for our customers through our Truckload segment.
•Our logistics and intermodal operations provide a multitude of shipping solutions, including additional sources of truckload capacity and alternative transportation modes, by utilizing our vast network of third-party capacity providers and rail providers, as well as certain logistics and freight management services. Revenue in our brokerage and intermodal operations is generated through our Logistics and Intermodal segments.
•Our LTL business, established in 2021 through the ACT and MME acquisitions, provides our customers regional LTL transportation service through our network of approximately 100 service centers in our geographical footprint. Our LTL service also provides national coverage to our customers by utilizing partner carriers for areas outside of our direct network.
•Our non-reportable segments include Iron Truck Services, (which offers support services provided to our customers and independent contractors including repair and maintenance shop services, equipment leasing, warranty services, and insurance), trailer parts manufacturing, warehousing, and certain driving academy activities, as well as certain corporate expenses (such as legal settlements and accruals, certain impairments, and amortization of intangibles related to the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions).
•In addition to the revenues earned from our customers for the trucking and non-trucking services discussed above, we also earn fuel surcharge revenue from our customers through our fuel surcharge program, which serves to recover a majority of our fuel costs. This applies only to loaded miles and typically does not offset non-paid empty miles, idle time, and out-of-route miles driven. Fuel surcharge programs involve a computation based on the change in national or regional fuel prices. These programs may update as often as weekly, but typically require a specified minimum change in fuel cost to prompt a change in fuel surcharge revenue.
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Therefore, many of these programs have a time lag between when fuel costs change and when the change is reflected in fuel surcharge revenue for our Truckload and LTL segments.
Expenses — Our most significant expenses vary with miles traveled and include fuel, driving associate-related expenses (such as wages and benefits), and services purchased from independent contractors and other transportation providers (such as railroads, drayage providers, and other trucking companies). Maintenance and tire expenses, as well as the cost of insurance and claims generally vary with the miles we travel, but also have a controllable component based on safety improvements, fleet age, efficiency, and other factors. Our primary fixed costs are depreciation and lease expense for revenue equipment and terminals, amortization of intangibles, interest expense, and non-driver employee compensation.
Operating Statistics — We measure our consolidated and segment results through certain operating statistics, which are discussed under "Results of Operations — Segment Review — Operating Statistics," below.
Our results are affected by various economic, industry, operational, regulatory, and other factors, which are discussed in detail in "Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors," as well as in various disclosures in our press releases, stockholder reports, and other filings with the SEC.
Key Financial Highlights and Operating Metrics
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP financial data: | (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 5,998,019 | $ | 4,673,863 | ||
| Revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | $ | 5,531,890 | $ | 4,369,207 | ||
| Net income attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 743,388 | $ | 410,002 | ||
| Diluted EPS | $ | 4.45 | $ | 2.40 | ||
| Operating ratio | 83.9 | % | 87.9 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP financial data: | ||||||
| Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift 1 | $ | 788,181 | $ | 466,147 | ||
| Adjusted EPS 1 | $ | 4.72 | $ | 2.73 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 | 81.5 | % | 85.3 | % | ||
| Revenue equipment statistics by segment: 2 | ||||||
| Truckload | ||||||
| Average tractors 3 | 18,019 | 18,448 | ||||
| Average trailers 4 | 67,606 | 57,722 | ||||
| LTL | ||||||
| Average tractors 5 | 2,735 | N/A | ||||
| Average trailers 6 | 7,413 | N/A | ||||
| Intermodal | ||||||
| Average containers | 10,847 | 10,604 |
1Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, and Adjusted Operating Ratio are non-GAAP financial measures and should not be considered alternatives, or superior, to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. However, management believes that presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors regarding the Company's results of operations. Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, and Adjusted Operating Ratio are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures," below.
2See "Results of Operations — Segment Review — Operating Statistics" in Part II, Item 7 of this Annual Report regarding definitions of these operating data.
3Our Truckload tractor fleet had a weighted average age of 2.5 years and 2.2 years for 2021 and 2020, respectively. Average tractors within our Truckload segment includes 16,166 and 16,379 company-owned tractors for 2021 and 2020, respectively.
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4Note that average trailers includes 6,388 trailers related to leasing activities recorded within our non-reportable segments in 2021. Our Truckload trailer fleet had a weighted average age of 8.4 years and 7.8 years for 2021 and 2020, respectively.
5Our LTL tractor fleet had a weighted average age of 4.2 years for 2021.
6Our LTL trailer fleet had a weighted average age of 7.9 years for 2021.
Market Trends and Company Performance
Our Company Trends and Outlook — During 2021, each reportable segment grew revenue while improving margins, leading to consolidated revenue growth of 26.6%, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge. This contributed to a 71.1% improvement in consolidated operating income to $965.7 million in 2021, as compared to $564.4 million last year. Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift increased by 81.3% to $743.4 million.
•Truckload — 80.9% operating ratio within our Truckload segment for the year, a 380 basis point improvement, supported by continued year-over-year revenue growth, with six consecutive quarters of revenue growth year-over-year.
•Logistics — 88.5% operating ratio within our Logistics segment this year. Load count grew by 51.5%, leading to a 118.8 % increase in revenue, excluding intersegment transactions.
•LTL — 92.1% operating ratio, which includes the results of ACT, from July 5, 2021 through December 31, 2021, as well as the results of MME from December 6, 2021 through December 31, 2021. On a proforma annualized basis, the LTL segment represents approximately 14% of consolidated revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge.
•Intermodal — 90.8% operating ratio within our Intermodal segment, a 940 basis point improvement with year-over-year revenue growth of 17.2%.
We anticipate that depreciation and amortization expense will increase and rental expense will correspondingly decrease, as a percentage of revenue excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge, as we intend to purchase, rather than enter into operating leases, for a majority of our revenue equipment in 2022. With significant tightening in the insurance markets, we may also experience changes in premiums, retention limits, and excess coverage limits in the remainder of 2022. While fuel expense is generally offset by fuel surcharge revenue, our fuel expense, net of fuel surcharge revenue may increase in the future.
We expect that our acquisitions of ACT and MME will have a significant impact on future financial results, including an overall increase in operating revenues and expenses.
Market Trends and Outlook — On a year-over-year basis, the US gross domestic product, which is the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, increased by 5.7%1 in 2021, as compared to a 3.4%1 decrease in 2020. The year-over-year improvement was primarily driven by an increase in consumer spending, as the economic impacts of the pandemic began to subside and the economy showed signs of recovery. The national unemployment rate was 3.9%2 as of December 31, 2021, as compared to 6.7%2 as of December 31, 2020. Early estimates of the full-year 2021 US employment cost index indicate a year-over-year increase of 4.0%2 and a sequential increase of 1.0%2.
From a freight market perspective, we are encouraged by the continued strength in freight demand; however, demand may be difficult to predict for full-year 2022. Our expectations for the 2022 market include the following:
•Within the full truckload and LTL markets, we expect strong demand and constrained capacity throughout the year.
•Industry capacity expansion continues to be limited by manufacturing constraints.
•Sourcing and retaining drivers will remain challenging and lead to additional driver wage inflation.
•Inflationary pressure on equipment, maintenance, labor and other cost items.
•The above factors should continue to support a favorable rate environment, which we expect will result in double-digit full truckload contract rate increases.
•Strong demand for power-only opportunities.
•Strong used equipment market.
_________
1 bea.gov
2 bls.gov
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Notes regarding presentation: A discussion of changes in our results of operations from 2019 to 2020 has been omitted from this Annual Report, but may be found in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of our 2020 Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 25, 2021.
In accordance with accounting treatment applicable to each of our recent acquisitions, Knight-Swift's reported results do not include the operating results of the acquired entities prior to the respective acquisition dates. Accordingly, comparisons between the Company's 2021 results and prior periods may not be meaningful. Refer to Note 1 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for a list of our recent acquisitions.
Operating Results: 2021 Compared to 2020 — The $333.4 million increase in net income attributable to Knight-Swift to $743.4 million in 2021 from $410.0 million in 2020, includes the following:
•Contributor — $205.9 million increase in operating income within our Truckload segment driven by a 21.1% increase in revenue per loaded mile, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions, partially offset by a 10.3% decrease in total miles per tractor.
•Contributor — $73.7 million increase in operating income within our Logistics segment driven by a 51.5% increase in load counts, and a 44.4% increase in revenue per load.
•Contributor — $31.2 million of operating income through ACT and MME activities, recognized within our LTL segment in 2021.
•Contributor — $43.0 million increase in operating income within our Intermodal segment driven by a 21.8% increase in revenue per load, partially offset by a 3.7% decrease in load count.
•Contributor — $47.5 million improvement in operating results within our non-reportable segments, driven by revenue growth of 62.2% related to our expanded services to third-party carriers.
•Contributor — $17.7 million improvement in "Other income, net," primarily due to unrealized gains recognized from our investment in Embark and an increase in unrealized gains recognized from other investments within our portfolio.
•Offset — $81.2 million increase in consolidated income tax expense, primarily due to an increase in income before income taxes which was partially offset by a reduction in the state deferred tax liability due to our recent acquisitions and adjustments to state tax rates and apportionment. All these factors resulted in a 2021 effective tax rate of 23.7% and a 2020 effective tax rate of 26.7%.
See additional discussion of our operating results within "Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses" below.
2021 Liquidity and Capital — During 2021, we generated $1.2 billion in operating cash flows, we paid down $48.2 million in cash on our operating lease liabilities (gross of $73.8 million of lease modifications and leases obtained through acquisitions), paid down our finance lease liabilities by $108.2 million, used $282.0 million for capital expenditures (net of equipment sales proceeds), spent $1.5 billion on four acquisitions (net of cash balances acquired), and returned $57.2 million in share repurchases and $63.5 million in dividends to our stockholders. We ended the year with $261.0 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, $260.0 million outstanding on the 2021 Revolver, $1.2 billion outstanding on the 2021 Term Loans, and $6.5 billion of stockholders' equity. We remain committed to a strong capital structure.
We do not foresee material liquidity constraints or any issues with our ongoing ability to meet our debt covenants.
See discussion under "Liquidity and Capital Resources" for additional information.
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Results of Operations — Segment Review
The Company has four reportable segments: Truckload, Logistics, LTL, and Intermodal, as well as certain non-reportable segments. Refer to Note 25 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for descriptions of our segments. Refer to Part I, Item 1, "Business – Our Mission and Company Strategy" of this Annual Report for discussion related to our segment operating strategies.
Consolidating Tables for Total Revenue and Operating Income (Loss)
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue: | (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Truckload | $ | 4,098,005 | 68.3 | % | $ | 3,786,030 | 81.0 | % | |||||
| Logistics | $ | 817,003 | 13.6 | % | $ | 375,841 | 8.0 | % | |||||
| LTL | $ | 396,308 | 6.6 | % | $ | — | — | % | |||||
| Intermodal | $ | 458,867 | 7.7 | % | $ | 391,462 | 8.4 | % | |||||
| Subtotal | $ | 5,770,183 | 96.2 | % | $ | 4,553,333 | 97.4 | % | |||||
| Non-reportable segments | $ | 306,414 | 5.1 | % | $ | 188,882 | 4.0 | % | |||||
| Intersegment eliminations | $ | (78,578) | (1.3 | %) | $ | (68,352) | (1.4 | %) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 5,998,019 | 100.0 | % | $ | 4,673,863 | 100.0 | % |
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating income (loss): | (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Truckload | $ | 784,436 | 81.2 | % | $ | 578,512 | 102.5 | % | |||||
| Logistics | $ | 93,920 | 9.7 | % | $ | 20,245 | 3.6 | % | |||||
| LTL | $ | 31,169 | 3.2 | % | $ | — | — | % | |||||
| Intermodal | $ | 42,060 | 4.4 | % | $ | (943) | (0.2 | %) | |||||
| Subtotal | $ | 951,585 | 98.5 | % | $ | 597,814 | 105.9 | % | |||||
| Non-reportable segments | $ | 14,112 | 1.5 | % | $ | (33,376) | (5.9 | %) | |||||
| Operating income | $ | 965,697 | 100.0 | % | $ | 564,438 | 100.0 | % |
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Operating Statistics
Our chief operating decision makers monitor the GAAP results of our reportable segments, as supplemented by certain non-GAAP information. Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for more details. Additionally, we use a number of primary indicators to monitor our revenue and expense performance and efficiency.
| Operating Statistic | Relevant Segment(s) | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Revenue per Tractor | Truckload | Measures productivity and represents revenue (excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions) divided by average tractor count | ||
| Total Miles per Tractor | Truckload | Total miles (including loaded and empty miles) a tractor travels on average | ||
| Average Length of Haul | Truckload, LTL | Average miles traveled with loaded trailer cargo per order | ||
| Non-paid Empty Miles Percentage | Truckload | Percentage of miles without trailer cargo | ||
| Shipments per Day | LTL | Average number of shipments completed each business day | ||
| Weight per Shipment | LTL | Total weight (in pounds) divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue per shipment | LTL | Total revenue divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue xFSR per shipment | LTL | Total revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, divided by total shipments | ||
| Revenue per hundredweight | LTL | Measures yield and is calculated as total revenue divided by total weight (in pounds) times 100 | ||
| Revenue xFSR per hundredweight | LTL | Total revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, divided by total weight (in pounds) times 100 | ||
| Average Tractors | Truckload, LTL, Intermodal | Average tractors in operation during the period, including company tractors and tractors provided by independent contractors | ||
| Average Trailers | Truckload, LTL | Average trailers in operation during the period | ||
| Average Revenue per Load | Logistics, Intermodal | Total revenue (excluding intersegment transactions) divided by load count | ||
| Gross Margin Percentage | Logistics | Logistics gross margin (revenue, excluding intersegment transactions, less purchased transportation expense, excluding intersegment transactions) as a percentage of logistics revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | ||
| Average Containers | Intermodal | Average containers in operation during the period | ||
| GAAP Operating Ratio | Truckload, Logistics, LTL, Intermodal | Measures operating efficiency and is widely used in our industry as an assessment of management's effectiveness in controlling all categories of operating expenses. Calculated as operating expenses as a percentage of total revenue, or the inverse of operating margin | ||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio | Truckload, Logistics, LTL, Intermodal | Measures operating efficiency and is widely used in our industry as an assessment of management's effectiveness in controlling all categories of operating expenses. Consolidated and segment Adjusted Operating Ratios are reconciled to their corresponding GAAP operating ratios under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures," below |
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Segment Review
Truckload Segment
We generate revenue in the Truckload segment primarily through irregular route, dedicated, refrigerated, flatbed, expedited, and cross-border service offerings, with 13,058 irregular route tractors and 4,961 dedicated route tractors in use during 2021. Generally, we are paid a predetermined rate per mile or per load for our trucking services. Additional revenues are generated by charging for tractor and trailer detention, loading and unloading activities, dedicated services, and other specialized services, as well as through the collection of fuel surcharge revenue to mitigate the impact of increases in the cost of fuel. The main factors that affect the revenue generated by our Truckload segment are rate per mile from our customers, the percentage of miles for which we are compensated, and the number of loaded miles we generate with our equipment.
The most significant expenses in the Truckload segment are primarily variable and include fuel and fuel taxes, driving associate-related expenses (such as wages, benefits, training, and recruitment), and costs associated with independent contractors primarily included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Maintenance expense (which includes costs for replacement tires for our revenue equipment) and insurance and claims expenses have both fixed and variable components. These expenses generally vary with the miles we travel, but also have a controllable component based on safety, fleet age, efficiency, and other factors. The main fixed costs in the Truckload segment are depreciation and rent expenses from leasing and acquiring revenue equipment and terminals, as well as compensating our non-driver employees.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per tractor data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 4,098,005 | $ | 3,786,030 | 8.2 | % | ||||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions | $ | 3,681,271 | $ | 3,480,621 | 5.8 | % | ||||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 784,436 | $ | 578,512 | 35.6 | % | ||||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 | $ | 785,772 | $ | 593,085 | 32.5 | % | ||||||
| Average revenue per tractor 2 | $ | 204,299 | $ | 188,672 | 8.3 | % | ||||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 80.9 | % | 84.7 | % | (380 | bps) | ||||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 78.7 | % | 83.0 | % | (430 | bps) | ||||||
| Non-paid empty miles percentage 2 | 13.4 | % | 13.1 | % | 30 | bps | ||||||
| Average length of haul (miles) 2 | 403 | 425 | (5.2 | %) | ||||||||
| Total miles per tractor 2 | 81,629 | 90,993 | (10.3 | %) | ||||||||
| Average tractors 2 3 | 18,019 | 18,448 | (2.3 | %) | ||||||||
| Average trailers 2 4 | 67,606 | 57,722 | 17.1 | % |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined within "Operating Statistics" above.
3Includes 16,166 and 16,379 company-owned tractors for 2021 and 2020, respectively.
4Includes 6,388 trailers related to our leasing activities recognized within the non-reportable segments for 2021.
2021 Compared to 2020 — The Adjusted Operating Ratio improved by 430 basis points to 78.7% in 2021, leading to a 32.5% improvement in Adjusted Operating Income. We grew revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions by 5.8% in 2021. Shipping demand remains strong, leading to more project business opportunities this year, which contributed to a 21.1% increase in revenue per loaded mile, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions. Total miles per tractor decreased by 10.3%, due in part to a 5.2% shorter length of haul.
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Logistics Segment
The Logistics segment is less asset-intensive than the Truckload and LTL segments and is dependent upon capable non-driver employees, modern and effective information technology, and third-party capacity providers. Logistics revenue is generated by its brokerage operations. We generate additional revenue by offering specialized logistics solutions (including, but not limited to, trailing equipment, origin management, surge volume, disaster relief, special projects, and other logistic needs). Logistics revenue is mainly affected by the rates we obtain from customers, the freight volumes we ship through third-party capacity providers, and our ability to secure third-party capacity providers to transport customer freight.
The most significant expense in the Logistics segment is purchased transportation that we pay to third-party capacity providers, which is a primarily variable cost, and is included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Variability in this expense depends on truckload capacity, availability of third-party capacity providers, rates charged to customers, current freight demand, and customer shipping needs. Fixed Logistics operating expenses primarily include non-driver employee compensation and benefits recorded in "Salaries, wages, and benefits" and depreciation and amortization expense recorded in "Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per load data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 817,003 | $ | 375,841 | 117.4 | % | ||||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | $ | 798,689 | $ | 365,099 | 118.8 | % | ||||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 93,920 | $ | 20,245 | 363.9 | % | ||||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 2 | $ | 94,685 | $ | 20,245 | 367.7 | % | ||||||
| Revenue per load 2 | $ | 2,439 | $ | 1,689 | 44.4 | % | ||||||
| Gross margin percentage 2 | 18.1 | % | 14.5 | % | 360 | bps | ||||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 88.5 | % | 94.6 | % | (610 | bps) | ||||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 88.1 | % | 94.5 | % | (640 | bps) |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined under "Operating Statistics" above.
2021 Compared to 2020 — Demand for our logistics service offering continued to grow throughout the year, as we continue to leverage our fleet of approximately 70,000 trailers for our Power-only service offering. Logistics revenue, excluding intersegment transactions increased 118.8% as we grew load count by 51.5%, while increasing revenue per load by 44.4%. The Adjusted Operating Ratio improved to 88.1%, resulting in a 367.7% increase in Adjusted Operating Income. Gross margin was 18.1% in 2021, compared to 14.5% in 2020.
Within our Power-only service offering, which excludes the operations of our intermodal, drayage, and port services, revenue grew by 314.3% as a result of a 104.2% increase in load volumes. Our Power-only service offering represented approximately 32.8% of brokerage load volumes during 2021. During 2021, through our Select platform, we digitally matched an average of approximately 5,500 carriers per quarter to available loads.
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LTL Segment
Our LTL segment was established in 2021 by the ACT and MME acquisitions and consists of regional motor carriers headquartered in Dothan, Alabama and Bismarck, North Dakota. We provide regional direct service and serve our customers' national transportation needs by utilizing key partner carriers for coverage areas outside of our network. We primarily generate revenue by transporting freight for our customers through our core LTL services.
Our revenues are impacted by shipment volume and tonnage levels that flow through our network. Additional revenues are generated through fuel surcharges and accessorial services provided during transit from shipment origin to destination. We focus on the following multiple revenue generation factors when reviewing revenue yield: revenue per hundredweight, revenue per shipment, weight per shipment, and length of haul. Fluctuation within each of these metrics is analyzed when determining the revenue quality of our customers' shipment density.
Our most significant expense is related to direct costs associated with the transportation of our freight moves including; direct salary, wage and benefit costs, fuel expense, and depreciation expense associated with revenue equipment costs. Other expenses associated with revenue generation that can fluctuate and impact operating results are insurance and claims expense as well as maintenance costs of our revenue equipment. These expenses can be influenced by multiple factors including our safety performance, equipment age, and other factors. A key component to lowering our operating costs is labor efficiency within our network. We continue to focus on technological advances to improve the customer experience and reduce our operating costs.
Note: In accordance with the accounting treatment applicable to the ACT and MME acquisitions, the LTL segment's reported results do not include the operating results of the acquired entities prior to the respective acquisition dates.
| 2021 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per shipment and per hundredweight data) | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 396,308 | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge | $ | 345,785 | ||||
| GAAP: Operating income | $ | 31,169 | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income 1 | $ | 38,293 | ||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 92.1 | % | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 88.9 | % | ||||
| Shipments per day 2 | 16,438 | |||||
| Weight per shipment 2 | 1,111 | |||||
| Average length of haul (miles) 2 | 518 | |||||
| Revenue per shipment 2 | $ | 161.66 | ||||
| Revenue xFSR per shipment 2 | $ | 141.57 | ||||
| Revenue per hundredweight 2 | $ | 14.55 | ||||
| Revenue xFSR per hundredweight 2 | $ | 12.75 | ||||
| Average tractors 2 3 | 2,735 | |||||
| Average trailers 2 4 | 7,413 |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined under "Operating Statistics," above.
3Includes 667 tractors from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2021.
4Includes 860 trailers from ACT's and MME's dedicated and other businesses for 2021.
Our LTL segment operates across approximately 100 facilities with a door count of over 4,200. We generated $345.8 million in revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and an 88.9% Adjusted Operating Ratio during 2021 within the LTL segment. Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge, per hundredweight was $12.75, while revenue per shipment, excluding fuel surcharge, was $141.57.
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Intermodal Segment
The Intermodal segment complements our regional operating model, allows us to better serve customers in longer haul lanes, and reduces our investment in fixed assets. Through the Intermodal segment, we generate revenue by moving freight over the rail in our containers and other trailing equipment, combined with revenue for drayage to transport loads between railheads and customer locations. The most significant expense in the Intermodal segment is the cost of purchased transportation that we pay to third-party capacity providers (including rail providers), which is primarily variable and included in "Purchased transportation" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Purchased transportation varies as it relates to rail capacity, freight demand, and customer shipping needs. The main fixed costs in the Intermodal segment are depreciation of our company tractors related to drayage, containers, and chassis, as well as non-driver employee compensation and benefits.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands, except per load data) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 458,867 | $ | 391,462 | 17.2 | % | ||||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | $ | 458,583 | $ | 391,098 | 17.3 | % | ||||||
| GAAP: Operating income (loss) | $ | 42,060 | $ | (943) | 4,560.2 | % | ||||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) 1 2 | $ | 42,060 | $ | (830) | 5,167.5 | % | ||||||
| Average revenue per load 2 | $ | 2,852 | $ | 2,342 | 21.8 | % | ||||||
| GAAP: Operating ratio 2 | 90.8 | % | 100.2 | % | (940 | bps) | ||||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Operating Ratio 1 2 | 90.8 | % | 100.2 | % | (940 | bps) | ||||||
| Load count | 160,774 | 166,977 | (3.7 | %) | ||||||||
| Average tractors 2 3 | 597 | 577 | 3.5 | % | ||||||||
| Average containers 2 | 10,847 | 10,604 | 2.3 | % |
1Refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
2Defined within "Operating Statistics" above.
3Includes 543 and 518 company-owned tractors for 2021 and 2020, respectively.
2021 Compared to 2020 — Revenue grew by 17.2% while the Adjusted Operating Ratio improved from 100.2% in 2020 to 90.8% in 2021, resulting in a $42.9 million increase in Adjusted Operating Income. Continued rail congestion and rail allocations resulted in a reduction of load count, but contributed to a 21.8% increase in revenue per load.
We anticipate operational improvements in cost structure and network design as we continue to transition to a new western rail partner in the first quarter of 2022. To position Intermodal for continued growth, we are in the process of growing our container count and plan to add approximately 2,000 containers during the year. Our long-term structural improvements in the margins of our business are ultimately expected to lead to an Adjusted Operating Ratio in the high-80s to mid-90s. We expect load volumes to increase in the back half of the year.
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Non-reportable Segments
The non-reportable segments include support services provided to our customers and independent contractors (including repair and maintenance shop services, equipment leasing, warranty services, and insurance), trailer parts manufacturing, warehousing, and certain driving academy activities, as well as certain corporate expenses (such as legal settlements and accruals, certain impairments, and $46.1 million in annual amortization of intangibles related to the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions).
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 306,414 | $ | 188,882 | 62.2 | % | ||||||
| Operating income (loss) | $ | 14,112 | $ | (33,376) | 142.3 | % |
2021 Compared to 2020 — Strong demand for the services within our non-reportable segments led to 62.2% revenue growth, which resulted in operating income improving by 142.3%. The revenue growth was primarily related to expanded services to third-party carriers (including insurance through Iron Truck Services), increased demand for our equipment leasing services, and revenue improvement within our warehousing activities. In 2020, profitability was negatively impacted by the $6.7 million of expense associated with the change in fair value of a deferred earnout related to the 2020 acquisition of a warehousing company and a $4.0 million impairment of an investment related to alternative fuel technology.
Results of Operations — Consolidated Operating and Other Expenses
Consolidated Operating Expenses
The following tables present certain operating expenses from our consolidated statements of comprehensive income, including each operating expense as a percentage of total revenue and as a percentage of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge. Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge revenue can be volatile and is primarily dependent upon the cost of fuel, rather than operating expenses unrelated to fuel. Therefore, we believe that revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge is a better measure for analyzing many of our expenses and operating metrics.
Note: In accordance with accounting treatment applicable to each of our recent acquisitions, Knight-Swift's reported results do not include the operating results of the acquired entities prior to the respective acquisition dates. Accordingly, comparisons between the Company's 2021 results and prior periods may not be meaningful. Refer to Note 1 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for a list of our recent acquisitions.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Salaries, wages, and benefits | $ | 1,771,772 | $ | 1,483,188 | 19.5 | % | ||||||
| % of total revenue | 29.5 | % | 31.7 | % | (220 | bps) | ||||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 32.0 | % | 33.9 | % | (190 | bps) |
Salaries, wages, and benefits expense is primarily affected by the total number of miles driven by company driving associates, the rates we pay our company driving associates, and employee benefits, including healthcare, workers' compensation and other benefits. To a lesser extent, non-driver employee headcount, compensation, and benefits affect this expense. Driving associate wages represent the largest component of salaries, wages, and benefits expense.
Several ongoing market factors have reduced the pool of available driving associates, contributing to a challenging driver sourcing market, which we believe will continue. Having a sufficient number of qualified driving associates is our biggest headwind, although we continue to seek ways to attract and retain qualified driving associates, including heavily investing in our recruiting efforts, our driving academies, technology, our equipment, and terminals that improve the experience of driving associates. We expect driving associate pay to remain inflationary, which we expect will result in additional driving associate pay increases in the future, thereby increasing our salaries, wages, and benefits expense.
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2021 Compared to 2020 — The increase in consolidated salaries, wages, and benefits includes $222.8 million from the results of ACT. The remaining increase pertained to driving associate pay rates and non-driver salaries and wages, partially offset by an 11.6% decrease in miles driven by company driving associates, excluding ACT.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Fuel | $ | 546,256 | $ | 416,307 | 31.2 | % | ||||||
| % of total revenue | 9.1 | % | 8.9 | % | 20 | bps | ||||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 9.9 | % | 9.5 | % | 40 | bps |
Fuel expense consists primarily of diesel fuel expense for our company-owned tractors and fuel taxes. The primary factors affecting our fuel expense are the cost of diesel fuel, the fuel economy of our equipment, and the miles driven by company driving associates.
Our fuel surcharge programs help to offset increases in fuel prices, but apply only to loaded miles and typically do not offset non-paid empty miles, idle time, and out-of-route miles driven. Typical fuel surcharge programs involve a computation based on the change in national or regional fuel prices. These programs may update as often as weekly, but typically require a specified minimum change in fuel cost to prompt a change in fuel surcharge revenue for our Truckload segment. Therefore, many of these programs have a time lag between when fuel costs change and when the change is reflected in fuel surcharge revenue. Due to this time lag, our fuel expense, net of fuel surcharge, negatively impacts our operating income during periods of sharply rising fuel costs and positively impacts our operating income during periods of falling fuel costs. We continue to utilize our fuel efficiency initiatives such as trailer blades, idle-control, management of tractor speeds, fleet updates for more fuel-efficient engines, management of fuel procurement, and driving associate training programs that we believe contribute to controlling our fuel expense.
2021 Compared to 2020 — The increase in consolidated fuel expense includes $33.7 million of fuel expense from ACT's results. The remaining difference is primarily due to an increase in the average DOE fuel price to $3.29 per gallon in 2021 from $2.56 per gallon in 2020, partially offset by an 11.6% reduction in the total miles driven by company driving associates, excluding ACT.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Operations and maintenance | $ | 313,505 | $ | 275,290 | 13.9 | % | ||||||
| % of total revenue | 5.2 | % | 5.9 | % | (70 | bps) | ||||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 5.7 | % | 6.3 | % | (60 | bps) |
Operations and maintenance expense consists of direct operating expenses, such as driving associate hiring and recruiting expenses, equipment maintenance, and tire expense. Operations and maintenance expenses are primarily affected by the age of our company-owned fleet of tractors and trailers and the miles driven. We expect the driver market to remain competitive in 2022, which could increase future driving associate development and recruiting costs and negatively affect our operations and maintenance expense. We expect to continue refreshing our fleet in the coming quarters to maintain or improve the average age of our equipment.
2021 Compared to 2020 — The increase in consolidated operations and maintenance expense includes $18.8 million in operations and maintenance expense from ACT's results. The remaining increase was attributed to higher driving associate hiring expenses and was partially offset by the decrease in miles driven by company driving associates discussed above.
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| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Insurance and claims | $ | 275,378 | $ | 192,840 | 42.8 | % | ||||||
| % of total revenue | 4.6 | % | 4.1 | % | 50 | bps | ||||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 5.0 | % | 4.4 | % | 60 | bps |
Insurance and claims expense consists of premiums for liability, physical damage, and cargo, and will vary based upon the frequency and severity of claims, our level of self-insurance, and premium expense. In recent years, insurance carriers have raised premiums for many businesses, including transportation companies, and as a result, our insurance and claims expense could increase in the future, or we could raise our self-insured retention limits or reduce excess coverage limits when our policies are renewed or replaced. In 2021, we expanded our insurance offerings to third-party carriers, earning additional premium revenues, which were partially offset by increased insurance reserves. Insurance and claims expense also varies based on the number of miles driven by company driving associates and independent contractors, the frequency and severity of accidents, trends in development factors used in actuarial accruals, and developments in large, prior-year claims. In future periods, our higher self-insured retention limits or lower excess coverage limits may cause increased volatility in our consolidated insurance and claims expense.
2021 Compared to 2020 — Consolidated insurance and claims expense increased partially due to the inclusion of $15.8 million of insurance and claims expense from ACT's results. The remaining increase was primarily due to insurance reserves incurred through our third-party carrier insurance program.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Operating taxes and licenses | $ | 98,784 | $ | 87,422 | 13.0 | % | ||||||
| % of total revenue | 1.6 | % | 1.9 | % | (30 | bps) | ||||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 1.8 | % | 2.0 | % | (20 | bps) |
Operating taxes and licenses include state franchise taxes, state and federal highway use taxes, property taxes, vehicle license and registration fees, fuel and mileage taxes, among others. The expense is impacted by changes in the tax rates and registration fees associated with our tractor fleet and regional operating facilities.
2021 Compared to 2020 — The increase in consolidated operating taxes and licenses expense is primarily due to the inclusion of $13.5 million of operating taxes and licenses expense from ACT's results.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Communications | $ | 22,486 | $ | 19,596 | 14.7 | % | ||||||
| % of total revenue | 0.4 | % | 0.4 | % | — | bps | ||||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 0.4 | % | 0.4 | % | — | bps |
Communications expense is comprised of costs associated with our tractor and trailer tracking systems, information technology systems, and phone systems.
2021 Compared to 2020 — The increase in consolidated communications expense is primarily due to the inclusion of $2.0 million of communications expense from ACT's results.
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| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment | $ | 522,596 | $ | 460,775 | 13.4 | % | ||||||
| % of total revenue | 8.7 | % | 9.9 | % | (120 | bps) | ||||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 9.4 | % | 10.5 | % | (110 | bps) |
Depreciation relates primarily to our owned tractors, trailers, buildings, ELDs, other communication units, and other similar assets. Changes to this fixed cost are generally attributed to increases or decreases to company-owned equipment, the relative percentage of owned versus leased equipment, and fluctuations in new equipment purchase prices, which have historically been precipitated in part by new or proposed federal and state regulations. Depreciation can also be affected by the cost of used equipment that we sell or trade, and the replacement of older used equipment. Management periodically reviews the condition, average age, and reasonableness of estimated useful lives and salvage values of our equipment and considers such factors in light of our experience with similar assets, used equipment market conditions, and prevailing industry practice.
2021 Compared to 2020 — The increase in consolidated depreciation and amortization of property and equipment includes $24.8 million of expense from ACT's results. The remaining increase is primarily due to an increase in owned versus leased equipment.
We expect consolidated depreciation and amortization of property and equipment to increase both in total and as a percentage of consolidated revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge, as we currently do not plan to use operating leases as a primary means of funding our equipment purchases in 2022.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Amortization of intangibles | $ | 55,299 | $ | 45,895 | 20.5 | % | ||||||
| % of total revenue | 0.9 | % | 1.0 | % | (10 | bps) | ||||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 1.0 | % | 1.1 | % | (10 | bps) |
Amortization of intangibles relates to intangible assets identified with the 2017 Merger, ACT Acquisition and other acquisitions. See Note 4 and Note 10 in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report for further details regarding the Company's intangible assets, historical amortization, and anticipated future amortization.
2021 Compared to 2020 — The increase in consolidated amortization of intangibles for 2021 is attributed to the ACT, MME, UTXL, and Eleos acquisitions in 2021. See Note 4 in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report for more details regarding our acquisitions.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Rental expense | $ | 55,161 | $ | 86,640 | (36.3 | %) | ||||||
| % of total revenue | 0.9 | % | 1.9 | % | (100 | bps) | ||||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 1.0 | % | 2.0 | % | (100 | bps) |
Rental expense consists primarily of payments for tractors and trailers financed with operating leases. The primary factors affecting the expense are the size of our revenue equipment fleet and the relative percentage of owned versus leased equipment.
2021 Compared to 2020 — The decrease in consolidated rental expense was primarily due to increasing our ratio of owned versus leased equipment.
We expect consolidated rental expense to continue to decrease both in total and as a percentage of consolidated revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge, as we currently do not plan to use operating leases as a primary means of funding our equipment purchases in 2022.
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| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Purchased transportation | $ | 1,320,888 | $ | 936,649 | 41.0 | % | ||||||
| % of total revenue | 22.0 | % | 20.0 | % | 200 | bps | ||||||
| % of revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 23.9 | % | 21.4 | % | 250 | bps |
Purchased transportation expense is comprised of payments to independent contractors in our trucking operations, as well as payments to third-party capacity providers related to logistics, freight management, and non-trucking services in our logistics and intermodal businesses. Purchased transportation is generally affected by capacity in the market as well as changes in fuel prices. As capacity tightens, our payments to third-party capacity providers and to independent contractors tend to increase. Additionally, as fuel prices increase, payments to third-party capacity providers and independent contractors increase.
2021 Compared to 2020 — The increase in consolidated purchased transportation expense is primarily due to payments made to third-party carriers, partially offset by a 14.0% decrease in miles driven by independent contractors.
We expect consolidated purchased transportation will increase as a percentage of revenue if we grow our logistics and intermodal businesses faster than our full truckload and LTL businesses. The increase could be partially offset if independent contractors exit the market due to regulatory changes.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Impairments | $ | 299 | $ | 5,335 | (94.4 | %) |
2021 Compared to 2020 — In 2021, we incurred impairment charges associated with revenue equipment held for sale and trailer tracking systems (within our Truckload and non-reportable segments). During 2020, impairments were related to investments in certain alternative fuel technology (within the non-reportable segments), certain tractors (within the Truckload segment), certain legacy trailers (within the non-reportable segments) as a result of a softer used equipment market, and trailer tracking equipment (within the Truckload segment).
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Miscellaneous operating expenses | $ | 49,898 | $ | 99,488 | (49.8 | %) |
Miscellaneous operating expenses primarily consists of legal and professional services fees, general and administrative expenses, and other costs, net of gain on sales of equipment.
2021 Compared to 2020 — Net consolidated miscellaneous operating expenses includes $16.9 million of additional expense in 2021 from ACT's operating results. Excluding the results of ACT, the expense decreased by $66.5 million, primarily due to a year-over-year increase in gain on sales of equipment.
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Consolidated Other Expenses, net
The following table summarizes fluctuations in certain non-operating expenses, included in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income:
| 2021 | 2020 | 2021 vs. 2020 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | Increase (decrease) | |||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | (1,173) | $ | (1,928) | (39.2 | %) | ||||||
| Interest expense | $ | 21,140 | $ | 17,309 | 22.1 | % | ||||||
| Other income, net | $ | (28,905) | $ | (11,254) | 156.8 | % | ||||||
| Income tax expense | $ | 230,887 | $ | 149,676 | 54.3 | % |
Interest income — Interest income includes interest earned from financing revenue equipment to independent contractors, as well as interest earned from our investments.
2021 Compared to 2020 — The decrease in consolidated interest income is primarily due to the rebalancing of our portfolio to cash and cash equivalents investments, due to lower yields from other types of short-term investments during 2021.
Interest expense — Interest expense is comprised of debt and finance lease interest expense as well as amortization of deferred loan costs.
2021 Compared to 2020 — Consolidated interest expense increased due to higher overall debt balances from the 2021 Debt Agreement which was entered into on September 3, 2021 and replaced the July 2021 Term Loan and 2017 Debt Agreement. See Note 15 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for further information related to the 2021 Debt Agreement and related interest rates and deferred loan costs.
Other income, net — Other income, net is primarily comprised of income from unrealized gains and (losses) from our various equity investments, including our Embark and TRP investments, as well as certain other non-operating income and expense items that may arise outside of the normal course of business. See Note 6 in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report.
2021 Compared to 2020 — The increase in consolidated other income is primarily due to unrealized gains recognized from our investment in Embark and an increase in unrealized gains recognized from other investments within our portfolio.
Income tax expense — In addition to the discussion below, Note 13 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report provides further analysis related to income taxes.
2021 Compared to 2020 — The increase in consolidated income tax expense was primarily due to an increase in income before income taxes which was partially offset by a reduction in the state deferred tax liability due to our recent acquisitions and adjustments to state tax rates and apportionment. All these factors resulted in a 2021 effective tax rate of 23.7% and a 2020 effective tax rate of 26.7%.
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Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The terms "Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift," "Adjusted EPS," "Adjusted Operating Income," "Adjusted Operating Ratio", and "Free Cash Flows," as we define them, are not presented in accordance with GAAP. These financial measures supplement our GAAP results in evaluating certain aspects of our business. We believe that using these measures improves comparability in analyzing our performance because they remove the impact of items from our operating results that, in our opinion, do not reflect our core operating performance. Management and the Board focus on Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Ratio, and Free Cash Flows as key measures of our performance, all of which are reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measures and further discussed below. We believe our presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is useful because it provides investors and securities analysts the same information that we use internally for purposes of assessing our core operating performance.
Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift, Adjusted EPS, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Ratio, and Free Cash Flows are not substitutes for their comparable GAAP financial measures, such as net income, cash flows from operating activities, operating income, operating margin, or other measures prescribed by GAAP. There are limitations to using non-GAAP financial measures. Although we believe that they improve comparability in analyzing our period to period performance, they could limit comparability to other companies in our industry if those companies define these measures differently. Because of these limitations, our non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered measures of income generated by our business or discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. Management compensates for these limitations by primarily relying on GAAP results and using non-GAAP financial measures on a supplemental basis.
Pursuant to the requirements of Regulation G, the following tables reconcile GAAP consolidated net income attributable to Knight-Swift to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted Net Income attributable to Knight-Swift, GAAP consolidated earnings per diluted share to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted Earnings per Diluted Share, GAAP consolidated operating ratio to non-GAAP consolidated Adjusted Operating Ratio, GAAP reportable segment operating income to non-GAAP reportable segment Adjusted Operating Income, and GAAP reportable segment operating ratio to non-GAAP reportable segment Adjusted Operating Ratio.
Note regarding presentation: A discussion in changes in our results of operations from 2019 to 2020 has been omitted from this Annual Report, but may be found in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of our 2020 Annual Report filed with the SEC on February 25, 2021.
Non-GAAP Reconciliation:
Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||
| GAAP: Net income attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 743,388 | $ | 410,002 | ||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Income tax expense attributable to Knight-Swift | 230,887 | 149,676 | ||||
| Income before income taxes attributable to Knight-Swift | 974,275 | 559,678 | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | 55,299 | 45,895 | ||||
| Change in fair value of deferred earnout 2 | — | 6,730 | ||||
| Impairments 3 | 299 | 5,335 | ||||
| Legal accruals 4 | (2,481) | 6,160 | ||||
| COVID-19 incremental costs 5 | — | 12,259 | ||||
| Transaction fees 6 | 4,445 | — | ||||
| Write-off of deferred debt issuance costs 7 | 1,024 | — | ||||
| Adjusted income before income taxes | 1,032,861 | 636,057 | ||||
| Provision for income tax expense at effective rate | (244,680) | (169,910) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift | $ | 788,181 | $ | 466,147 |
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Note: Since the numbers reflected in the table below are calculated on a per share basis, they may not foot due to rounding.
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP: Earnings per diluted share | $ | 4.45 | $ | 2.40 | ||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Income tax expense attributable to Knight-Swift | 1.38 | 0.88 | ||||
| Income before income taxes attributable to Knight-Swift | 5.83 | 3.28 | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | 0.33 | 0.27 | ||||
| Change in fair value of deferred earnout 2 | — | 0.04 | ||||
| Impairments 3 | — | 0.03 | ||||
| Legal accruals 4 | (0.01) | 0.04 | ||||
| COVID-19 incremental costs 5 | — | 0.07 | ||||
| Transaction fees 6 | 0.03 | — | ||||
| Write-off of deferred debt issuance costs 7 | 0.01 | — | ||||
| Adjusted income before income taxes | 6.18 | 3.73 | ||||
| Provision for income tax expense at effective rate | (1.46) | (1.00) | ||||
| Non-GAAP: Adjusted EPS | $ | 4.72 | $ | 2.73 |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in the 2017 Merger, the July 5, 2021 ACT Acquisition, and other acquisitions.
2"Change in fair value of deferred earnout" reflects the expense for the change in fair value of a deferred earnout related to the acquisition of a warehousing company, which is recorded in "Miscellaneous operating expenses."
3"Impairments" reflects the following non-cash impairments:
•During 2021, impairments related to certain revenue equipment held for sale (within the non-reportable segments and the Truckload segment);
•During 2020, impairments related to investments in certain alternative fuel technology (within the non-reportable segments), certain tractors (within the Truckload segment), certain legacy trailers (within the non-reportable segments) as a result of a softer used equipment market, and trailer tracking equipment (within the Truckload segment).
4"Legal accruals" are included in "Miscellaneous operating expenses" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income and reflect the following:
•During 2021, the reversal of an accrued legal matter previously identified as probable in 2019 was based on a recent decision of the appellate court, resulting in a change to a remote likelihood that a loss was incurred. Additional 2021 legal costs relate to certain class action lawsuits arising from employee and contract related matters.
•During 2020, costs related to certain class action lawsuits arising from employee and contract related matters.
5"COVID-19 incremental costs" reflects costs incurred during 2020 that were directly attributable to the pandemic and were incremental to those incurred prior to the outbreak. These include payroll premiums paid to our driving associates and shop mechanics, additional disinfectants and cleaning supplies, and various other pandemic-specific items. The costs are clearly separable from our normal business operations and are not expected to recur once the pandemic subsides.
6"Transaction fees" consisted of legal and professional fees associated with the acquisitions of UTXL, ACT, and MME. The transaction fees are included within "Miscellaneous operating expenses" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
7"Write-off of deferred debt issuance costs" was incurred from replacing the 2017 Debt Agreement with the 2021 Debt Agreement.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted Operating Ratio
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 5,998,019 | $ | 4,673,863 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (5,032,322) | (4,109,425) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 965,697 | $ | 564,438 | ||
| Operating ratio | 83.9 | % | 87.9 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 5,998,019 | $ | 4,673,863 | ||
| Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | (466,129) | (304,656) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | 5,531,890 | 4,369,207 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 5,032,322 | 4,109,425 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Truckload and LTL fuel surcharge | (466,129) | (304,656) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (55,299) | (45,895) | ||||
| Change in fair value of deferred earnout 2 | — | (6,730) | ||||
| Impairments 3 | (299) | (5,335) | ||||
| Legal accruals 4 | 2,481 | (6,160) | ||||
| COVID-19 incremental costs 5 | — | (12,259) | ||||
| Transaction fees 6 | (4,445) | — | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 4,508,631 | 3,728,390 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 1,023,259 | $ | 640,817 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 81.5 | % | 85.3 | % |
1See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 1.
2See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 2.
3See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 3.
4See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 4.
5See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 5.
6See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 6.
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Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Reportable Segment Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted Operating Ratio
Truckload Segment
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 4,098,005 | $ | 3,786,030 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (3,313,569) | (3,207,518) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 784,436 | $ | 578,512 | ||
| Operating ratio | 80.9 | % | 84.7 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 4,098,005 | $ | 3,786,030 | ||
| Fuel surcharge | (415,606) | (304,656) | ||||
| Intersegment transactions | (1,128) | (753) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions | 3,681,271 | 3,480,621 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 3,313,569 | 3,207,518 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Fuel surcharge | (415,606) | (304,656) | ||||
| Intersegment transactions | (1,128) | (753) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (1,295) | (1,296) | ||||
| Impairments 2 | (41) | (1,131) | ||||
| COVID-19 incremental costs 3 | — | (12,146) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 2,895,499 | 2,887,536 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 785,772 | $ | 593,085 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 78.7 | % | 83.0 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in historical Knight acquisitions.
2See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 3.
3See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 5.
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Logistics Segment
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 817,003 | $ | 375,841 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (723,083) | (355,596) | ||||
| Operating income | $ | 93,920 | $ | 20,245 | ||
| Operating ratio | 88.5 | % | 94.6 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 817,003 | $ | 375,841 | ||
| Intersegment transactions | (18,314) | (10,742) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | 798,689 | 365,099 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 723,083 | 355,596 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Intersegment transactions | (18,314) | (10,742) | ||||
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (765) | — | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 704,004 | 344,854 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income | $ | 94,685 | $ | 20,245 | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 88.1 | % | 94.5 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified in the UTXL acquisition.
LTL Segment
| 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |
| Total revenue | $ | 396,308 |
| Total operating expenses | (365,139) | |
| Operating income | $ | 31,169 |
| Operating ratio | 92.1 | % |
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||
| Total revenue | $ | 396,308 |
| Fuel surcharge | (50,523) | |
| Revenue, excluding fuel surcharge and intersegment transactions | 345,785 | |
| Total operating expenses | 365,139 | |
| Adjusted for: | ||
| Fuel surcharge | (50,523) | |
| Amortization of intangibles 1 | (7,124) | |
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 307,492 | |
| Adjusted Operating Income | 38,293 | |
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 88.9 | % |
1"Amortization of intangibles" reflects the non-cash amortization expense relating to intangible assets identified with the ACT Acquisition and MME Acquisition.
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Intermodal Segment
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAAP Presentation | (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Total revenue | $ | 458,867 | $ | 391,462 | ||
| Total operating expenses | (416,807) | (392,405) | ||||
| Operating income (loss) | $ | 42,060 | $ | (943) | ||
| Operating ratio | 90.8 | % | 100.2 | % | ||
| Non-GAAP Presentation | ||||||
| Total revenue | $ | 458,867 | $ | 391,462 | ||
| Intersegment transactions | (284) | (364) | ||||
| Revenue, excluding intersegment transactions | 458,583 | 391,098 | ||||
| Total operating expenses | 416,807 | 392,405 | ||||
| Adjusted for: | ||||||
| Intersegment transactions | (284) | (364) | ||||
| COVID-19 incremental costs 1 | — | (113) | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Expenses | 416,523 | 391,928 | ||||
| Adjusted Operating Income (Loss) | $ | 42,060 | $ | (830) | ||
| Adjusted Operating Ratio | 90.8 | % | 100.2 | % |
1See Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Consolidated Adjusted Net Income Attributable to Knight-Swift and Adjusted EPS footnote 5.
Non-GAAP Reconciliation: Free cash flow
| 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| GAAP: Cash flows from operations | $ | 1,190,153 |
| Adjusted for: | ||
| Proceeds from sale of property and equipment, including assets held for sale | 252,080 | |
| Purchases of property and equipment | (534,096) | |
| Non-GAAP: Free cash flow | $ | 908,137 |
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
The following table presents our available sources of liquidity as of December 31, 2021:
| Source: | Amount | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents, excluding restricted cash | $ | 261,001 | |
| Availability under 2021 Revolver, due September 2026 1 | 775,969 | ||
| Availability under 2021 RSA, due April 2024 2 | 55,700 | ||
| Availability under 2021 Prudential Notes, issuance ending October 2023 3 | 80,000 | ||
| Total unrestricted liquidity | $ | 1,172,670 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents – restricted 4 | 89,022 | ||
| Restricted investments, held-to-maturity, amortized cost 4 | 5,866 | ||
| Total liquidity, including restricted cash and restricted investments | $ | 1,267,558 |
1As of December 31, 2021, we had $260.0 million in borrowings under our $1.1 billion 2021 Revolver. We additionally had $64.0 million in outstanding letters of credit (discussed below), leaving $776.0 million available under the 2021 Revolver.
2Based on eligible receivables at December 31, 2021, our borrowing base for the 2021 RSA was $400.0 million, while outstanding borrowings were $279.0 million. We additionally had $65.3 million in outstanding letters of credit (discussed below), leaving $55.7 million available under the 2021 RSA.
3As of December 31, 2021, we had $45.0 million outstanding principal on our shelf notes issued under our $125.0 million 2021 Prudential Notes, leaving $80.0 million available for issuance under the 2021 Prudential Notes.
4Restricted cash and restricted investments are primarily held by our captive insurance companies for claims payments. "Cash and cash equivalents – restricted" consists of $87.2 million, which is included in "Cash and cash equivalents — restricted" in the consolidated balance sheets and is held by Mohave and Red Rock for claims payments. The remaining $1.8 million is included in "Other long-term assets" and is held in escrow accounts to meet statutory requirements.
Uses of Liquidity
Our business requires substantial amounts of cash for operating activities, including salaries and wages paid to our employees, contract payments to independent contractors, insurance and claims payments, tax payments, and others. We also use large amounts of cash and credit for the following activities:
Capital Expenditures — When justified by customer demand, as well as our liquidity and our ability to generate acceptable returns, we make substantial cash capital expenditures to maintain a modern company tractor fleet, refresh our trailer fleet, expand our network of LTL service centers, and, to a lesser extent, fund upgrades to our terminals and technology in our various service offerings. We expect net cash capital expenditures, including net cash expenditures of our LTL segment, will be in the range of $550.0 to $600.0 million in 2022. The range provided excludes cash outlays for potential acquisitions. We believe we have ample flexibility with our trade cycle and purchase agreements to alter our current plans if economic or other conditions warrant.
Over the long-term, we will continue to have significant capital requirements, which may require us to seek additional borrowing, lease financing, or equity capital. The availability of financing or equity capital will depend upon our financial condition and results of operations as well as prevailing market conditions. If such additional borrowing, lease financing, or equity capital is not available at the time we need it, then we may need to borrow more under the 2021 Revolver (if not then fully drawn), extend the maturity of then-outstanding debt, rely on alternative financing arrangements, engage in asset sales, limit our fleet size, or operate our revenue equipment for longer periods.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain additional debt under our existing financial arrangements to satisfy our ongoing capital requirements. However, we believe the combination of our expected cash flows, financing available through operating and finance leases, available funds under our accounts receivable securitization, and availability under the 2021 Revolver will be sufficient to fund our expected capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months.
Refer to Note 18 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion of our short-term and long-term
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contractual payment obligations related to purchase commitments.
Principal and Interest Payments — As of December 31, 2021, we had debt, accounts receivable securitization, and finance lease obligations of $2.1 billion, which are discussed under "Material Debt Agreements," below. Certain cash flows from operations are committed to minimum payments of principal and interest on our debt and lease obligations. Additionally, when our financial position allows, we periodically make voluntary prepayments on our outstanding debt balances.
Prior to the maturity of our 2021 RSA, 2021 Term Loans, 2021 Revolver, Prudential Notes, and other debt, we expect to be contractually obligated to make interest payments of approximately $7.5 million, $46.7 million, $13.0 million, $4.5 million, and $0.2 million, respectively. Refer to Notes 14 and 15 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion of the principal payment obligations related to the 2021 RSA and 2021 Debt Agreement.
Refer to Note 16 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for additional discussion on our contractual principal and interest payment obligations for finance leases.
Letters of Credit — Pursuant to the terms of the 2021 Debt Agreement and the 2021 RSA, our lenders may issue standby letters of credit on our behalf. When we have letters of credit outstanding, it reduces the availability under our 2021 Revolver or 2021 RSA. Standby letters of credit are typically issued for the benefit of regulatory authorities, insurance companies and state departments of insurance for the purpose of satisfying certain collateral requirements, primarily related to our automobile, workers' compensation, and general insurance liabilities.
Share Repurchases — From time to time, and depending on free cash flow availability, debt levels, stock prices, general economic and market conditions, as well as Board approval, we may repurchase shares of our outstanding common stock. The 2020 Knight-Swift Repurchase Plan had $192.8 million available as of December 31, 2021. See further details regarding our share repurchases under Note 20 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Working Capital
We had working capital surpluses of $339.5 million as of December 31, 2021 and $83.7 million as of December 31, 2020, due to an increase in trade receivables, the April 2021 refinance of our accounts receivable securitization (resulting in a reclassification to a noncurrent liability), partially offset by the reclassification of our 2021 Term Loan A-1 to a current liability (due December 2022).
Material Debt Agreements
As of December 31, 2021, we had $2.1 billion in material debt obligations at the following carrying values:
•$199.7 million: 2021 Term Loan A-1, due December 2022, net of $0.3 million in deferred loan costs
•$199.6 million: 2021 Term Loan A-2, due September 2024, net of $0.4 million in deferred loan costs
•$798.4 million: 2021 Term Loan A-3, due September 2026, net of $1.6 million in deferred loan costs
•$278.5 million: 2021 RSA outstanding borrowings, net of $0.5 million in deferred loan costs
•$306.2 million: Finance lease obligations
•$260.0 million: 2021 Revolver, due September 2026
•$52.3 million: Other, net of $0.1 million in deferred loan costs
As of December 31, 2020, we had $913.6 million in material debt obligations at the following carrying values:
•$298.9 million: 2017 Term Loan, due October 2022, net of $1.1 million in deferred loan costs
•$213.9 million: 2018 RSA outstanding borrowings, due July 2021, net of $0.1 million in deferred loan costs
•$190.8 million: Finance lease obligations
•$210.0 million: 2017 Revolver, due October 2022
Key terms and other details regarding our material debt obligations and finance leases are discussed in Notes 14, 15, and 16 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, and are incorporated by reference herein.
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Cash Flow Analysis
| 2021 | 2020 | Change | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In thousands) | ||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 1,190,153 | $ | 919,645 | $ | 270,508 | ||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (1,816,733) | (480,712) | (1,336,021) | |||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 779,326 | (443,884) | 1,223,210 |
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities
2021 Compared to 2020 — The $270.5 million increase in net cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to $214.0 million in additional net cash provided by ACT's operating activities in 2021.
Net Cash Used in Investing Activities
2021 Compared to 2020 — Net cash used in investing activities increased by $1.3 billion, as we spent $1.5 billion on acquisitions in 2021, compared to $46.8 million in 2020.
Net Cash Provided By (Used in) Financing Activities
2021 Compared to 2020 — Net cash related to financing activities increased by $1.2 billion, primarily due to the $1.2 billion in proceeds from the 2021 Debt Agreement.
Inflation
Most of our operating expenses are inflation-sensitive, with inflation generally leading to increased costs of operations. Price increases in manufacturer revenue equipment has impacted the cost for us to acquire new equipment. Cost increases have also impacted the cost of parts for equipment repairs and maintenance. The qualified driver shortage experienced by the trucking industry overall has had the effect of increasing compensation paid to our driving associates. We have also experienced inflation in insurance and claims cost related to health insurance and claims as well as auto liability insurance and claims. Prolonged periods of inflation could cause interest rates, fuel, wages, and other costs to increase as well. Any of these factors could adversely affect our results of operations unless freight rates correspondingly increase.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that impact the amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Therefore, the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, and associated disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities are affected by these estimates and assumptions. We evaluate these estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis, utilizing historical experience, consultation with experts, and other methods considered reasonable in the particular circumstances. Nevertheless, actual results may differ significantly from our estimates and assumptions, and it is possible that materially different amounts could be reported using differing estimates or assumptions. We consider our critical accounting estimates to be those that require us to make more significant judgments and estimates when we prepare our financial statements.
Note 2 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report describes the Company's accounting policies. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Note 2, as it presents uncertainties involved in applying the accounting policies, and provides insight into the quality of management's estimates and variability in the amounts recorded for these critical accounting estimates. Our critical accounting estimates include the following:
Claims Accruals — Insurance and claims expense varies as a percentage of total revenue, based on the frequency and severity of claims incurred in a given period, as well as changes in claims development trends. The actual cost to settle our self-insured claim liabilities may differ from our reserve estimates due to legal costs, claims that have been incurred but not reported, and various other uncertainties, including the inherent difficulty in estimating the severity of the claim and the potential judgment or settlement amount to dispose of the claim. If
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claims development factors that are based upon historical experience had increased by 10%, our claims accrual as of December 31, 2021 would have potentially increased by $36.3 million.
Refer to Note 12, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the claims accrual balance.
Goodwill and Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets — The test of goodwill requires judgment, including the identification of reporting units, assigning assets (including goodwill) and liabilities to reporting units and determining the fair value of each reporting unit. Fair value of the reporting unit is determined using a combination of comparative valuation multiples of publicly traded companies, internal transaction methods, and discounted cash flow models. Estimating the fair value of reporting units includes several significant assumptions, including future cash flow estimates, determination of appropriate discount rates, and other assumptions that management believed reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and/or goodwill impairment for each reporting unit.
Knight-Swift evaluated its goodwill associated with the 2017 Merger and various acquisitions as of June 30, 2021 and 2020. The evaluations were completed using fair value measurement guidance prescribed in ASC 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other. The fair value of the goodwill was established using an equal weighting of both the income and market approaches. In evaluating this quantitative analysis, the Company determined that it was more likely than not that fair value exceeded carrying value for the Company's reporting units as of June 30, 2021 and 2020.
The test of indefinite-lived intangible assets consists of a comparison of the estimated fair value of certain trade names to their carrying values. The determination of the fair value of the trade names requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions related to forecasts of future revenues, discount rates, and royalty rates. Changes in these assumptions could materially affect the determination of the fair value of the trade names, the amount of any trade names impairment charge, or both. Management evaluated trade names for impairment as of June 30, 2021 and 2020 noting that the fair value exceeded carrying value for the trade name.
Refer to Note 10, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible asset balances.
Depreciation and Amortization — Selecting the appropriate accounting method requires management judgment, as there are multiple acceptable methods that are in accordance with GAAP, including straight-line, declining-balance, and sum-of-the-years' digits. As discussed in Note 2 included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, property and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis and intangible customer relationships are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. We believe that these methods properly spread the costs over the useful lives of the assets. Management judgment is also involved when determining estimated useful lives of the Company's long-lived assets. We determine useful lives of our long-lived assets, based on historical experience, as well as future expectations regarding the period we expect to benefit from the asset. Factors affecting estimated useful lives of property and equipment may include estimating loss, damage, obsolescence, and company policies around maintenance and asset replacement. Factors affecting estimated useful lives of long-lived intangible assets may include legal, contractual, or other provisions that limit useful lives, historical experience with similar assets, future expectations of customer relationships, among others.
Refer to Note 10, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the impact of the amortization of definite-lived intangibles on our results for 2021 and 2020.
Impairments of Long-lived Assets — Fair value is determined through various valuation techniques, including discounted cash flow models, quoted market values, and third-party independent appraisals, as necessary. Estimating fair value includes several significant assumptions, including future cash flow estimates, determination of appropriate discount rates, and other assumptions that management believed reasonable under the circumstances. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could materially affect the determination of fair value and/or impairment.
Refer to Note 23, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in long-lived assets and the impact on our results for 2021 and 2020.
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Income Taxes — Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes and in determining whether deferred tax assets will be realized in full or in part. We periodically assess the likelihood that all or some portion of deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income. To the extent we believe the likelihood of recovery is not sufficient, a valuation allowance is established for the amount determined not to be realizable. Management judgment is necessary in determining the frequency at which we assess the need for a valuation allowance, the accounting period in which to establish the valuation allowance, as well as the amount of the valuation allowance. We believe that we have adequately provided for our future tax consequences based upon current facts and circumstances and current tax law. However, should our tax positions be challenged, different outcomes could result and have a significant impact on the amounts reported in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
Management judgment is also required regarding a variety of other factors including the appropriateness of tax strategies. We utilize certain income tax planning strategies to reduce our overall income taxes. It is possible that certain strategies might be disallowed, resulting in an increased liability for income taxes. Significant management judgments are involved in assessing the likelihood of sustaining the strategies and determining the likely range of defense and settlement costs, in the event that tax strategies are challenged by taxing authorities. An ultimate result worse than our expectations could adversely affect our results of operations.
Refer to Note 13, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in the balances of deferred taxes assets and related valuation allowances.
Leases — At the inception of a lease, management judgment is involved in the determination of the discount rate, the determination of whether a contract contains a lease, classification of operating versus finance lease, assessment of useful lives, and estimation of residual values. Discounted future minimum lease payments are used in determining the lease classification represent the present value of minimum rental payments called for over the lease term, inclusive of residual value guarantees (if applicable) and amounts that would be required to be paid, if any, by the Company upon default for leases containing subjective acceleration or cross default clauses.
Refer to Note 16, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the changes in balance of operating leases.
Stock-based Compensation — We issue several types of stock-based compensation, including awards that vest, based on service conditions, performance conditions, or a combination of service and performance conditions. Determining the appropriate amount to expense in each period is based on likelihood and timing of achievement of the stated targets for performance-based awards, and requires judgment, including forecasting future financial results and market performance. The estimates are revised periodically, based on the probability and timing of achieving the required performance targets, and adjustments are made as appropriate. There is also some judgement involved with estimating expected forfeiture rates as we have opted to net the benefit of expected forfeitures against our stock-based compensation expense.
Refer to Note 21, in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for discussion about the assumptions related to these awards and the impact on our results for 2021 and 2020.
Legal Settlements and Reserves — See Note 19 in Part II Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 3 in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, which is incorporated herein by reference, for recently issued accounting pronouncements that could have an impact on our consolidated financial statements.