Saia pointed to the uncertain macroeconomic environment and harsh winter weather as reasons for missing Q1 expectations. (Saia Inc.)
Saia Inc. weathered market headwinds to post a revenue increase of more than 4% during the first quarter of 2025, the company reported April 25.
The Johns Creek, Ga.-based less-than-truckload carrier posted net income of $49.8 million, or $1.86 a diluted share, for the three months ending March 31. That compared with $90.6 million, $3.38, during the same time the previous year. Total revenue increased 4.3% to $787.6 million from $754.8 million, but the results still missed company expectations.
“Primarily resulting from an uncertain macroeconomic environment, we did not see the typical sequential growth in shipments through the quarter, with March shipments flat to February, causing our first-quarter revenues to fall well below our expectations,” Saia CEO Fritz Holzgrefe said. “Additionally, while the first quarter is typically impacted by adverse weather events, unusually harsh winter weather in the southern part of the country prompted closures and limited operations in some of our most dense and most profitable regions.”
Saia noted in the report that LTL shipments during the quarter increased 2.9% to 2,170,000 from 2,108,000. This was bolstered by revenue per shipment increasing 1.5% to $355.48 from $350.18. LTL pounds per shipment increased 7.8% to 1,424 from 1,321. LTL revenue per hundredweight decreased 5.8% to $24.97 from $26.51.
“Despite these headwinds, we experienced shipment growth of 4.6% for the full quarter, led by terminals opened in the past three years, and we continue to be pleased with customer acceptance in these markets,” Holzgrefe said. “The combination of lower-than-expected revenues, the impact from adverse weather events, and labor and depreciation expenses related to our ongoing network expansion primarily drove our decline in operating income.”
Nationwide, Saia LTL Freight operates 213 terminals. The company views this network as critical to serving customers, so the company has made efforts to grow it and improve operations.
“While this quarter proved challenging, our now nationwide terminal network enabled us to serve the customer in ways that we previously would not have been able to accomplish,” Holzgrefe said. “As we progress through the remainder of 2025, we remain focused on serving and supporting our customers.”
Saia ranks No. 18 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and No. 6 on the LTL sector list.
