Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (ODFL Quick QuoteODFL - Free Report) has issued an update on the performance of its less-than-truckload (LTL) segment, the major revenue driver.

LTL tons per day dipped 5.2% year over year in February  due to 3.7% decrease in LTL shipments per day and a 1.5% slip in LTL weight per shipment. Consequently, revenue per day declined 1% in the month. However, LTL revenue per hundredweight registered an increase.

On a quarter-to-date basis, LTL revenue per hundredweight and LTL revenue per hundredweight excluding fuel surcharges rose 4.3% and 4.5%, respectively.

Notably, Old Dominion has been hurt by sluggish LTL demand for quite some time. As an evidence, LTL tonnage slid 4.4% in 2019 from 2018-levels. This adversity was due to lower volumes on account of soft freight demand.  LTL shipments slipped 2.2% in 2019.

In a separate development, the company recently announced a 35.3% hike in quarterly dividend to 23 cents per share (annualized 92 cents).  Apart from Old Dominion, other transportation companies having raised their respective dividend payouts this year include Alaska Air Group ((ALK Quick QuoteALK - Free Report) ), J.B. Hunt Transport (JBHT Quick QuoteJBHT - Free Report) and GATX Corporation (GATX Quick QuoteGATX - Free Report) .

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