Marten Transport (CCJ Top 250, No. 40) grew third-quarter net income by 30.7% year over year, but soaring diesel prices and rising health insurance costs offset a sharp rise in truckload rates.
Randolph L. Marten, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, said the freight market is in the early stages of an upcycle.
“The truckload freight market has sharply tightened since earlier this year as renewed and enhanced enforcement of federal and state law is removing a meaningful amount of noncompliant and unqualified driver capacity from the marketplace,” Marten said.
He said the carrier is winning higher pricing for its premium service while improving freight quality across its network. Truckload average rate per total mile, net of fuel surcharges, rose 14.1% over the same period last year.
Marten said fuel and health insurance costs held back earnings. Compared with the average quarterly levels during the first half of the year, net fuel expense rose $3.5 million, and health insurance costs, within salaries, wages and benefits, rose $2.0 million.
A higher driver pay rate cost another $1.0 million, while a larger gain on equipment sales provided a $1.5 million offset. Together, those items cut third-quarter net income by $3.7 million, 4.5 cents per share.
The CEO added that the company focused on mitigating the impact of the rise of diesel fuel prices through fuel expense and surcharge management.
“The margin pressure results primarily from the timing lag inherent in truckload industry surcharge programs relative to rapidly rising diesel fuel costs, as well as the higher fuel consumption associated with our temperature-controlled operations,” Marten said.
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The Mondovi, Wisconsin-based carrier reported net income of $2.9 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from $2.2 million in the same period of 2025. Net income fell from the second quarter, when Marten posted $5.3 million.
For the first nine months of 2026, net income totaled $9.6 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with $13.7 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier.
Operating revenue for the third quarter rose to $223.2 million from $220.5 million. Excluding fuel surcharges, revenue fell to $184.2 million from $194.0 million. Marten noted that its intermodal operations, which it sold to HUB Group in 2025, contributed $9.9 million to the year-ago quarter. Fuel surcharge revenue jumped from $39.0 million for the 2026 quarter from $26.5 million in the year-ago quarter.
Operating revenue for the first nine months of the year slipped to $650.3 million compared from $673.5 million in the same period last year. Fuel surcharge revenue for the period increase to $103.7 million from $80.0 million.
Marten Transport’s consolidated operating ratio — operating expenses as a percentage of operating revenue — improved to 98.6% from 98.8% a year earlier. Net of fuel surcharges, the ratio improved to 98.3% from 98.6%. For the first nine months of 2026, the ratio rose to 98.2% from 97.3%. A lower operating ratio indicates better efficiency and profitability.
By segment, third-quarter revenue, net of fuel surcharges, included:
- Truckload: $94.1 million, up 4.3% from $90.1 million. Operating ratio improved to 100.2% from 101.9%.
- Dedicated: $51.4 million, down 9.2% from $56.7 million. Operating ratio rose to 98.1% from 94.9%.
- Brokerage: $38.7 million, essentially flat from $38.8 million. Operating ratio improved to 94.8% from 95.9%.
Truckload revenue per tractor per week, net of fuel surcharges, rose to $4,749 from $4,129, even as the average truckload tractor count fell to 1,507 from 1,661. Marten ended the quarter with 2,501 total tractors, down from 2,823 a year earlier.
The carrier ended September with $91.5 million in cash, up from $43.3 million at the end of 2025, and with no debt. Marten said the position gives the company the “financial flexibility to continue investing in our technology and modern fleet, while positioning the company to capitalize on attractive opportunities for profitable organic growth.”
