-9% in pre-market, -0.9% towards end of session – Expeditors Q3 23 EPS $1.16 vs $1.28 (expected)... volumes plummet

– Diluted Net Earnings Attributable to Shareholders per share (EPS¹) decreased 54% to $1.16

– Net Earnings Attributable to Shareholders decreased 59% to $171 million

– Operating Income decreased 59% to $216 million

– Revenues decreased 50% to $2.2 billion

– Airfreight tonnage volume decreased 14% and ocean container volume decreased 15%

“As expected, the deceleration in demand that we have seen since the second half of 2022 continued in the comparable third quarter of 2023,” said Jeffrey S. Musser, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Additionally, rates generally remained soft while capacity exceeded demand in most lanes. The shipping industry has been undergoing a great unwinding of so many of the drivers that led up to the massive mismatch of supply and demand that occurred during the pandemic. As a result, air and ocean capacity is now mostly plentiful and at rates that remain well below the pandemic period. We have also experienced declines in the number of customs brokerage transactions we handled, even as we benefited from lower costs resulting from the gradual clearing of pandemic-related port congestion. In addition, shippers continue to pivot back to ocean freight to reduce costs in an uncertain economy. We have seen shippers generally move smaller volumes in a marketplace that is defined by inflation, high energy costs, an increasingly tentative consumer, and now significant and growing geopolitical uncertainty.

“While we have been through many industry cycles of expansion and contraction before, the pace and extent of this unwinding has been as unpredictable and disruptive as the dislocations that drove our market to such unprecedented peaks in pricing and volumes. We are meeting these conditions head-on and have been re-balancing operations for an environment that is now more like the way things were prior to the COVID disruptions. We have made very deliberate efforts to control costs and to carefully manage our headcount; we do not know how long this cycle of cautious demand and soft rates will last in this uncertain economic environment. While not all markets are soft and rates have even increased in certain lanes, we have yet to see signs of a widespread improvement in rates. Nevertheless, we are encouraged by indications that tonnage and volumes are perhaps flattening or improving. While we continue to adjust for the current environment, we also need to be prepared for the longer term when pricing and capacity conditions stabilize and demand begins to consistently trend higher.”

Bradley S. Powell, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, added, “As the market recalibrates, we are encouraged that both tonnage and volumes increased from the June quarter, marking the first sequential quarterly growth in both tons and volumes since the third quarter of 2022. So long as the economic environment remains uncertain, we will continue to focus on aligning headcount and overhead expenses commensurate with our transactions and volumes. We remain dedicated to improving efficiency, while also preparing for the time when demand shows signs of a sustained recovery. Since December 31, we have decreased headcount by 8%. We also continue to be very mindful of our strong cash position, having now returned more than $2 billion to shareholders in repurchased stock and dividends over the past 12 months.”

Mr. Powell noted that other overhead expenses increased $18 million in the quarter, primarily a result of $14 million in expenses related to indirect tax and other contingencies, compared to a recovery of $11 million in the third quarter of 2022 of costs incurred earlier that year as a result of the February 2022 cyber-attack.

Expeditors is a global logistics company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The Company employs trained professionals in 176 district offices and numerous branch locations located on six continents linked into a seamless worldwide network through an integrated information management system. Services include the consolidation or forwarding of air and ocean freight, customs brokerage, vendor consolidation, cargo insurance, time-definite transportation, order management, warehousing and distribution and customized logistics solutions.

The full release is here.