Dive Brief:
- PAMT reduced its operating loss to the closest level of profitability in six quarters, but it also reached a $30 million legal settlement in Q1 and sold property in Texas.
- The auto supply chain and Walmart carrier posted a Q1 operating loss of $271,000 on May 1. Before that the carrier’s quarterly operating losses beginning in Q4 2024 though Q4 2025 ranged between $5.7 million and $38.1 million.
- The carrier did, however, sell property in Laredo, Texas, gaining $12.7 million to essentially break even.
Dive Insight:
The trucking freight recession has lingered for four years, according to trucking CEOs, and volumes are still sluggish.
“We are still skeptical that van freight will benefit much from volume growth,” FTR VP of Trucking Avery Vise said in a monthly report for March.
At the same time, PAMT is also paying $26.5 million for a legal settlement, most of which the company will absorb in 2026, according to a securities filing.
The fatal crash on Dec. 29, 2024 in Georgia involved a PAMT-owned tractor-trailer and Honda Civic both northbound on I-85 in northeast Atlanta, according to a Gwinnett County lawsuit. The company denied wrongdoing.
The parties reached a $30 million settlement in Q1, according to the securities filing.
PAMT’s last quarter with operating income was Q3 2024.
Last year, former CEO Joe Vitiritto left the company in June for family reasons, prompting Chairman Matthew Moroun to step into the role on an interim basis. The company later promoted then-CFO Lance Stewart to lead the business.
Vitiritto later became president of Knight Transportation in February.
PAMT listed General Motors and Ford among its biggest customers in 2025. The auto manufacturers faced multibillion-dollar net losses in Q4 2025.
