Freight Forwarders

Strong Q2 results for Expeditors

Strong air freight division tonnage performance was one of the factors powering Expeditors International’s strong financial figures in the second quarter (Q2) of this year.

The Seattle headquartered freight forwarder moved four per cent more air freight volumes in Q2 compared to Q2 last year and in May and June it saw six per cent YOY gains. Ocean freight tonnage in contrast only increased by one per cent in Q2 as the company struggled with pricing issues.

Overall operating income in Q2 increased year-on-year (YOY) by nine per cent to $184 million and revenues rose YOY in Q2 by 17 per cent to $2 billion.

Expeditors president and chief executive officer, Jeffrey S. Musser said: “We continued to add profitable growth from new and existing customers during the quarter, particularly in air and some of our differentiated, best-in-class services, such as brokerage, Transcon, and order management.

“Similar to the first quarter of this year, we remained disciplined on pricing in this strong economy. We experienced strong performance in our ocean forwarding and order management businesses, but ocean freight net revenues were down 5% on a 1% increase in volumes, as carriers took steps to mitigate the impact of volatile pricing, excess capacity, and higher fuel costs.

“We are continuing to invest in people and assets in the development and support of profitable revenue growth, most notably during Q2 in Europe and North America.

“While we have yet to see changes to supply chains as a result of possible trade wars, we are confident in the capabilities of our people throughout our global network to help our customers navigate the potential impact of new tariffs.”

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