LTL carrier Old Dominion Freight Line more than doubled its net income in the first quarter, earning more than $2.24 million on $127.1 million in revenues, up from $1 million net income on revenue of $120.2 million in the first quarter of 2001.
Chairman & CEO Earl Congdon said the company's growth came from successful efforts to gain market share, with LTL shipments increasing 7.9% in the quarter. He added that Thomasville, NC-based Old Dominion benefited from a 1.4% growth in LTL revenue per hundredweight, despite the overall weakness in the transportation industry.
Also, the integration of Carter & Sons Freightways (purchased in February 2001) and Old Dominion's decision to expand full LTL coverage to 21 new states in the fourth quarter of 2000 helped increase revenue this quarter, though both of those actions increased short-term costs for the carrier in the first quarter of last year, Congdon said.
