TFI's Truckload Income Nearly Doubles as Specialized Freight Pays Off

TFI International Chairman, President and CEO Alain Bédard said the performance reflected the company's strategy of investing in specialised freight and diversifying across industrial markets. "Our Truckload performance is particularly gratifying, with double digit top line growth despite fewer trucks and operating income that nearly doubled," he said.

That last detail is the one that matters most for drivers watching the big carriers: TFI grew the top line with fewer trucks. Fewer trucks, more specialized freight, wider margins — the opposite of the volume-at-any-price model that has been bleeding smaller carriers dry.

The result helped lift TFI International's total third-quarter revenue by 13 percent, while group operating income increased 17 percent. Net income rose 25 percent, while adjusted net income increased 38 percent.

The company's Logistics business also recorded growth, with third-quarter revenue increasing 22 percent and operating income rising 59 percent. Less-Than-Truckload revenue increased seven percent, although operating income declined 43 percent and included a non-cash impairment charge — the one soft spot in an otherwise strong quarter.

For Canadian drivers, TFI is the home-team example of what is working right now: specialized freight, diversified industrial markets, and discipline on fleet size. The general-freight bloodbath is real, but it is not the whole story.