ArcBest’s asset-light segment reported mixed Q3 results as productivity improvements clashed with a weakening freight market.
The unit, which includes managed transportation, intermodal and warehousing among other services, achieved record shipments per day, executives said during the company’s Nov. 5 earnings call. The segment’s shipments per person per day rose 33% year over year — the highest in its history — driving a 13% reduction in selling, general and administrative expenses and a 1% improvement in cost per shipment YoY.
Those efficiency gains weren’t enough to overcome sluggish freight demand, however. Asset-light’s revenue per shipment fell nearly 11% due to continued slowness in the housing market and softness in manufacturing. The segment’s revenue fell almost 8% YoY to $356 million.
ArcBest expects its asset-light business to post an operating loss between $1 million to $3 million in Q4, as market conditions remain weaker than usual.
“We did see some softness in October, and that is similar to what our peers have been reporting,” president and incoming CEO Seth Runser said during the call. “We always see that step down sequentially from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, but it has been below our normal expectations.”
Runser and outgoing CEO Judy McReynolds emphasized that ArcBest’s investments in automation and digital tools — such as its carrier portal and AI-supported quoting systems — enable the company to move more shipments with fewer resources. The strategy is designed to preserve margins and position the business to scale rapidly once demand rebounds.
“We are automating scheduling and booking loads, and that allows the team to focus on more complex work,” Runser said. “We started to implement truckload quote augmentation, which uses AI to load, build, quote and email responses to customers much quicker than a human can do, and focus on those more challenging things.”
Still, the persistent freight recession continues to pressure ArcBest’s top line. Overall, Q3 revenue slipped by 1.4% YoY. The company’s asset-based business — largely ABF Freight System — reported revenue growth of more than 2%.
