Accident-related claims impact Landstar’s fourth quarter

Landstar System’s Q4 Performance: Flatbed Demand Offsets Weak Dry Van Market

Landstar System, a freight brokerage, reported that robust demand for flatbed services helped counterbalance ongoing softness in the dry van truckload sector during the fourth quarter. Notably, revenue per load exceeded typical seasonal patterns in December and continued this trend into January.

After markets closed on Wednesday, Landstar (NASDAQ: LSTR) announced fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.70, which was $0.61 lower than the same period last year. The results included $22 million ($0.49 per share) in adverse claims from separate serious vehicle accidents, as well as $2.1 million ($0.05 per share) in noncash impairment charges related to the sale of Landstar Metro.

(These items were previously disclosed, and the company intends to appeal a recent post-trial ruling.)

Overall revenue for the quarter reached $1.17 billion, representing a 3% year-over-year decrease, primarily due to a 40% drop in ocean shipping revenue.

Key Performance Metrics

Truck transportation revenue remained steady year over year at $1.08 billion. While total load volume dipped by 1%, revenue per load rose by 1%. The strength in flatbed shipments and pricing was offset by weaker dry van results. Flatbed revenue climbed 11% year over year to $401 million, with a 3% increase in loads and an 8% rise in revenue per load.

From October to December, total truck revenue per load increased by 6%, which Landstar attributed to reduced truck availability. Sequentially, this metric grew by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, outpacing normal seasonal trends by 50 basis points.

Landstar observed a slight decline in revenue from consumer durables (down 2% year over year), along with ongoing softness in automotive (down 7%) and construction (down 3%) segments. Flatbed demand was supported by growth in data center construction and a 6% increase in energy-related revenue.

Substitute linehaul revenue fell 15% year over year. Typically, linehaul revenue rises when the market tightens and truck capacity becomes scarce.

Revenue generated by business capacity owners (BCOs) grew 2% year over year to $458 million, as load volume increased 4% but revenue per load declined 2%.

(BCOs are independent owner-operators who primarily haul freight for Landstar.)

The number of trucks operated by BCOs dropped 4% year over year to 8,514 units, a decrease of 104 units from the previous quarter. The third quarter had marked the first sequential increase in BCO truck count since early 2022, with the previous peak at 11,935 units.

Retention among BCOs improved, and truck utilization rose 8% year over year, averaging nearly 24 loads per truck during the quarter.

BCO truck counts typically rise when truckload rates remain elevated for an extended period. Landstar anticipates its BCO fleet will expand in 2026.

Additional Financial Highlights

Landstar’s preferred measure for truckload pricing, BCO revenue per mile (which excludes diesel price fluctuations), declined 1% year over year in the fourth quarter for both dry van and flatbed shipments. Dry van revenue per mile decreased 1% month over month in October and November, but rebounded with a 3% increase in December, slightly outperforming seasonal expectations.

Chart: SONAR National Truckload Index (linehaul only – NTIL.USA) for 2026 (blue shaded area), 2025 (yellow line), 2024 (green line), and 2023 (pink line). The NTIL reflects the average of booked spot dry van loads across 250,000 lanes and is a seven-day moving average of linehaul spot rates, excluding fuel. Spot rates rose during peak season as driver availability tightened. Recent severe winter weather and constrained capacity have kept rates elevated.
For more information about SONAR, .

Outlook and Margins

While Landstar did not issue formal guidance, the company indicated that revenue may decline only slightly from the fourth to the first quarter. January truckload volumes are tracking with typical seasonal patterns (down 1% year over year), but revenue per load is up 4%, exceeding normal seasonal performance. Historically, Landstar experiences a mid- to high-single-digit sequential revenue decline in the first quarter.

The variable contribution margin (net revenue margin) improved by 40 basis points year over year to 14.1%. This metric represents the revenue remaining after deducting transportation costs and agent commissions.

Operating margin, measured as a percentage of variable contribution, dropped sharply to 17.8%. Insurance and claims expenses, as a percentage of BCO revenue, increased by 560 basis points year over year to 12.3%, reflecting recent claims activity.

Landstar’s stock (LSTR) slipped 1% in after-hours trading on Wednesday, following a 1.2% gain during the regular session.

Further Reading by Todd Maiden

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