Expeditors aims to cut costs as profit drops in uncertain freight market

Expeditors International of Washington

20/02/2024 14:56

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Logistics firm Expeditors
International of Washington  EXPD.N  said on Tuesday it would
seek to cut more costs to combat a downturn in freight demand
that pressured its fourth-quarter results.
    "Despite the company reducing headcount in each quarter of
2023 .... expenses are still high when compared to our
efficiency target," CFO Bradley Powell said.
    The Seattle, Washington-based company reported a profit of
$1.09 per share, missing analysts' estimates of $1.23 per share,
according to LSEG data. 
    The post-pandemic shift in U.S. consumer spending from goods
to services, combined with global shipping delays, have left
freight companies straddled with reduced transport volumes.
    "We continue to face further market uncertainty due to the
current conflicts in the Middle East and on the Red Sea,"
Expeditors CEO Jeffrey Musser said.
    Profit at Expeditors also took a hit from available
transportation capacity exceeding market demand.
    The company reported quarterly revenue of $2.28 billion,
below estimates of $2.31 billion.
    Revenue at the company's air freight segment fell to $866.1
million from $1.20 billion last year, while its ocean freight
segment reported a revenue of $511.9 million, compared with
$1.12 billion a year earlier.

 (Reporting by Abhinav Parmar; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
 ((Abhinav.Parmar@thomsonreuters.com;))