Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
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Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We are a leading, less-than-truckload (“LTL”), union-free motor carrier providing regional, inter-regional and national LTL service and other logistics services from a single integrated organization. In addition to our core LTL services, we offer a broad range of value-added services including international freight forwarding, ground and air expedited transportation, container delivery, truckload brokerage, supply chain consulting, warehousing and consumer household pickup and delivery. More than 90% of our revenue has historically been derived from transporting LTL shipments for our customers, whose demand for our services is generally tied to industrial production and the overall health of the U.S. domestic economy.
In analyzing the components of our revenue, we monitor changes and trends in the following key metrics:
| • | Revenue Per Hundredweight - This measurement reflects the application of our pricing policies to the services we provide, which are influenced by competitive market conditions and our growth objectives. Generally, freight is rated by a class system, which is established by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc. Light, bulky freight typically has a higher class and is priced at higher revenue per hundredweight than dense, heavy freight. Fuel surcharges, accessorial charges, revenue adjustments and revenue for undelivered freight are included in this measurement. Revenue for undelivered freight is deferred for financial statement purposes in accordance with our revenue recognition policy; however, we believe including it in our revenue per hundredweight metrics results in a better indicator of changes in our yields by matching total billed revenue with the corresponding weight of those shipments. |
Revenue per hundredweight is a commonly-used indicator of pricing trends, but this metric can be influenced by many other factors, such as changes in fuel surcharges, weight per shipment, length of haul and the class, or mix, of our freight. As a result, changes in revenue per hundredweight do not necessarily indicate actual changes in underlying base rates.
| • | Weight Per Shipment – Fluctuations in weight per shipment can indicate changes in the mix of freight we receive from our customers, as well as changes in the number of units included in a shipment. Generally, increases in weight per shipment indicate higher demand for our customers' products and overall increased economic activity. Increases in weight per shipment may also reflect growth of our container delivery services, as the weight for a container shipment is significantly higher than a traditional LTL shipment. Changes in weight per shipment generally have an inverse effect on our revenue per hundredweight, as an increase in weight per shipment will typically cause a decrease in revenue per hundredweight. |
| • | Average Length of Haul – We consider lengths of haul less than 500 miles to be regional traffic, lengths of haul between 500 miles and 1,000 miles to be inter-regional traffic, and lengths of haul in excess of 1,000 miles to be national traffic. This metric is used to analyze our tonnage and pricing trends for shipments with similar characteristics, and also allows comparison with other transportation providers serving specific markets. By analyzing this metric, we can determine the success and growth potential of our service products in these markets. Changes in length of haul generally have a direct effect on our revenue per hundredweight, as an increase in length of haul will typically cause an increase in revenue per hundredweight. |
Our primary revenue focus is to increase “density,” which is shipment and tonnage growth within our existing infrastructure that is measured by our revenue per service center. Increases in density allow us to maximize our asset utilization and labor productivity, which we measure over many different functional areas of our operations including linehaul load factor, pickup and delivery (“P&D”) stops per hour, P&D shipments per hour, platform pounds handled per hour and platform shipments per hour. In addition to our focus on density and operating efficiencies, it is critical for us to obtain an appropriate yield on the shipments we handle. We manage our yields by focusing on individual account profitability. We believe yield management and improvements in efficiency are key components in our ability to produce profitable growth.
Our primary cost elements are direct wages and benefits associated with the movement of freight; fuel and equipment repair expenses; and depreciation of our equipment fleet and service center facilities. We gauge our overall success in managing these costs by monitoring our operating ratio, a measure of profitability calculated by dividing total operating expenses by revenue, which also allows industry-wide comparisons with our competition.
We continually upgrade our technological capabilities to improve our customer service and lower our operating costs. Our technology provides our customers with visibility of their shipments throughout our network, increases the productivity of our workforce and provides key metrics from which we can monitor our processes.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth, for the years indicated, expenses and other items as a percentage of revenue from operations:
| 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |||||||
| Revenue from operations (1) | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | |||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||
| Salaries, wages and benefits | 50.1 | 50.0 | 50.2 | ||||||
| Operating supplies and expenses | 16.5 | 17.7 | 18.7 | ||||||
| General supplies and expenses | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.6 | ||||||
| Operating taxes and licenses | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | ||||||
| Insurance and claims | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | ||||||
| Communication and utilities | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.0 | ||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 5.4 | 5.2 | 4.8 | ||||||
| Purchased transportation (1) | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.4 | ||||||
| Building and office equipment rents | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.7 | ||||||
| Miscellaneous expenses, net | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | ||||||
| Total operating expenses | 85.5 | 86.6 | 87.7 | ||||||
| Operating income | 14.5 | 13.4 | 12.3 | ||||||
| Interest expense, net (2) | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | ||||||
| Other expense, net | — | — | — | ||||||
| Income before income taxes | 14.1 | 12.8 | 11.6 | ||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 5.3 | 4.9 | 4.3 | ||||||
| Net income | 8.8 | % | 7.9 | % | 7.3 | % |
| (1) | Our prior-period results have been adjusted for an immaterial correction related to how we present the costs of purchased transportation for certain truckload brokerage and international freight forwarding services. For more information on these adjustments, see Note 1 to the Financial Statements included in Item 8, "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data" below. |
| (2) | For the purpose of this table, interest expense is presented net of interest income. |
2013 Compared to 2012
Key financial and operating metrics for 2013 and 2012 are presented below:
| 2013 | 2012 | Change | % Change | ||||||||||||
| Work days | 254 | 254 | — | — | |||||||||||
| Revenue (in thousands) | $ | 2,337,648 | $ | 2,134,579 | $ | 203,069 | 9.5 | ||||||||
| Operating ratio | 85.5 | % | 86.6 | % | |||||||||||
| Net income (in thousands) | $ | 206,113 | $ | 169,452 | $ | 36,661 | 21.6 | ||||||||
| Diluted earnings per share | $ | 2.39 | $ | 1.97 | $ | 0.42 | 21.3 | ||||||||
| Total tons (in thousands) | 7,385 | 6,875 | 510 | 7.4 | |||||||||||
| Total shipments (in thousands) | 8,279 | 7,765 | 514 | 6.6 | |||||||||||
| Weight per shipment (lbs.) | 1,784 | 1,771 | 13 | 0.7 | |||||||||||
| Revenue per hundredweight | $ | 15.85 | $ | 15.53 | $ | 0.32 | 2.1 | ||||||||
| Revenue per shipment | $ | 282.78 | $ | 274.92 | $ | 7.86 | 2.9 | ||||||||
| Average length of haul (miles) | 936 | 941 | (5 | ) | (0.5 | ) |
Our financial results for 2013 reflect the continued execution and success of our long-term strategies. We increased our revenue 9.5% in 2013 primarily through increased market share, as we continued to win share by providing a value proposition consisting of superior service at a fair and equitable price. With a focus on yield management and operating efficiencies, we were able to improve our margins, which increased earnings per diluted share 21.3%. As a result, our operating ratio improved by over 100 basis points for the fourth straight year to 85.5%, which is the best annual operating ratio our Company has ever produced.
Revenue
Our revenue increased $203.1 million, or 9.5% during 2013, which was a result of increases in both tonnage and price. As compared to 2012, tonnage increased 7.4% primarily due to a 6.6% increase in shipments and a 0.7% increase in weight per shipment. Our tonnage growth in 2013 was primarily due to increased market share, as our growth exceeded both the growth rate of the U.S. economy as well as the growth rate for the LTL industry.
Revenue per hundredweight increased 2.1% to $15.85 in 2013, which reflects our disciplined yield management process and a stable pricing environment. We believe that revenue per hundredweight is a good indicator of pricing trends; however, we manage our yield by focusing on individual customer profitability due to the influence of various factors on revenue per hundredweight, such as changes in fuel surcharges, weight per shipment, length of haul and mix of freight. The impact of these factors can result in changes to revenue per hundredweight that do not necessarily indicate actual changes in underlying rates.
Our fuel surcharges are designed to offset fluctuations in the cost of petroleum-based products and are one of the many components included in the overall negotiated price we charge for our services. Fuel surcharge revenue decreased to 16.1% of revenue in 2013 from 16.5% in 2012, primarily due to a slight decrease in the average price per gallon for diesel fuel. Most of our tariffs and contracts provide for a fuel surcharge, which is recorded as additional revenue, as diesel fuel prices increase above stated levels. These levels are generally indexed to the DOE’s published fuel prices that reset each week. We regularly monitor the components of our pricing, including base freight rates and fuel surcharges. We also address any individual account profitability issues with our customers as part of our effort to minimize the negative impact on our profitability that would likely result from a rapid and significant change in any of our operating expenses.
Operating Costs and Other Expenses
Salaries, wages and benefits increased $104.2 million, or 9.8% in 2013 due to a $72.2 million increase in the costs for salaries and wages and a $32.0 million increase in benefit costs. Of the total increase in salaries and wages, our direct labor costs for drivers, platform employees and fleet technicians increased $56.8 million, or 10.0% in 2013 as compared to 2012. The increase in the costs for our salaries and wages, excluding benefits, was due primarily to a 7.5% increase in average full-time employees over 2012 and the impact of wage increases provided to employees in September 2012 and 2013. We primarily increased our headcount in 2013 due to our increased volume of shipments as well as to ensure sufficient labor capacity for future revenue growth. We also hired additional drivers in the second half of 2013 to address inefficiencies that resulted from changes to the FMCSA’s hours-of-service regulations. Although our salaries and wages, excluding benefits, increased during 2013, these costs decreased as a percent of revenue to 37.2% from 37.4% in 2012 as a result of increased efficiencies within our operations. Our platform pounds handled per hour, P&D stops per hour and P&D shipments per hour improved 1.0%, 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively, over the prior-year period.
Employee benefit costs increased $32.0 million as a result of the increase in the number of full-time employees eligible for benefits; however, we also experienced a significant increase in the costs per employee for our group health and dental plans during 2013. Our group health and dental costs increased $14.5 million, or 14.7% in 2013 as compared to 2012, with the majority of the increase occurring in the second half of the year. We experienced significant increases in both the number of claims and the average severity per claim during 2013. We believe there will be additional costs associated with the ongoing implementation of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and consequently, we believe our group health and dental costs may continue to increase in future periods. Our employee benefit costs also increased for certain retirement benefit plans directly linked to the improvement in our net income and the share price of our common stock. Employee benefit costs as a percent of salaries and wages increased to 34.6% for 2013 from 33.7% for 2012.
Operating supplies and expenses increased $6.7 million in 2013 as compared to 2012. These costs as a percent of revenue improved to 16.5% of revenue in 2013 from 17.7% in 2012. This improvement is primarily due to a 100 basis point decrease as a percent of revenue for our cost of diesel fuel, excluding fuel taxes, which is the largest component of operating supplies and expenses, and can vary based on both consumption and average price per gallon. Much of this improvement is due to our diesel fuel consumption increasing only 3.5% as compared to the 6.3% increase in our intercity miles in 2013. Our consumption trends have improved due to a focus on improving our average miles per gallon, which has benefited from certain operational initiatives and the increased use of new fuel-efficient equipment. The average price per gallon of diesel fuel also decreased 2.3% as compared to 2012. We do not use diesel fuel hedging instruments and are therefore subject to market price fluctuations.
General supplies and expenses increased $10.9 million in 2013 primarily due to an overall increase in our marketing activities, which include costs to support our brand and services. Our other general supplies and expenses remained relatively consistent as a percent of revenue.
Depreciation and amortization expense increased to 5.4% of revenue in 2013 as compared to 5.2% in 2012. This increase was primarily due to additional depreciation recorded on the tractors and trailers purchased as part of our 2012 and 2013 capital expenditure plans. Our capital expenditure plan for 2014 is projected to be higher than 2013, and we expect depreciation costs to increase in future periods as a result. While our investments can increase costs in the short term, we believe these investments are necessary to support our long-term growth initiatives.
Purchased transportation expense increased $11.9 million in 2013 as compared to 2012. Our purchased transportation expense is primarily related to our use of third-party transportation providers to support our container drayage, truckload brokerage and international freight forwarding operations. Growth in these services has resulted in the increase in our purchased transportation costs for 2013. To a lesser extent, we utilized purchased transportation in our LTL operations, consisting primarily of rail and truckload providers, to maximize the efficient movement of freight between our service centers.
Miscellaneous expenses, net, was impacted primarily by an increase of $5.7 million in gains recognized on the sale of operating assets. Our other miscellaneous expenses remained relatively consistent as a percent of revenue.
Our effective tax rate for 2013 was 37.3% as compared to 38.0% in 2012. Our effective tax rate in 2013 was favorably impacted by various tax credits, including credits for the use of alternative fuel in operations provided by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. These alternative fuel tax credits expired on December 31, 2013. Our effective tax rate generally exceeds the federal statutory rate of 35% due to the impact of state taxes, and to a lesser extent, certain other non-deductible items.
2012 Compared to 2011
Key financial and operating metrics for 2012 and 2011 are presented below:
| 2012 | 2011 | Change | % Change | ||||||||||||
| Work days | 254 | 254 | — | — | |||||||||||
| Revenue (in thousands) | $ | 2,134,579 | $ | 1,903,800 | $ | 230,779 | 12.1 | ||||||||
| Operating ratio | 86.6 | % | 87.7 | % | |||||||||||
| Net income (in thousands) | $ | 169,452 | $ | 139,470 | $ | 29,982 | 21.5 | ||||||||
| Diluted earnings per share | $ | 1.97 | $ | 1.63 | $ | 0.34 | 20.9 | ||||||||
| Total tons (in thousands) | 6,875 | 6,397 | 478 | 7.5 | |||||||||||
| Total shipments (in thousands) | 7,765 | 7,256 | 509 | 7.0 | |||||||||||
| Weight per shipment (lbs.) | 1,771 | 1,763 | 8 | 0.5 | |||||||||||
| Revenue per hundredweight | $ | 15.53 | $ | 14.88 | $ | 0.65 | 4.4 | ||||||||
| Revenue per shipment | $ | 274.92 | $ | 262.43 | $ | 12.49 | 4.8 | ||||||||
| Average length of haul (miles) | 941 | 952 | (11 | ) | (1.2 | ) |
Our 2012 financial results were driven by strong growth in our revenue, which exceeded $2.0 billion for the first time in our Company's history. We experienced strong growth in both tonnage and revenue per hundredweight, while also improving the efficiency of our operations, all of which led to margin improvement over the previous year. As a result, our operating ratio improved to 86.6% and net income increased 21.5% to $169.5 million for 2012.
We believe our success in 2012 was primarily the result of our ability to win market share by providing shippers with a value proposition that consists of providing "best-in-class" on-time and claims-free service at a fair and equitable price. Our commitment to this value proposition should allow us to continue to increase our tonnage and market share.
Revenue
Our revenue growth during 2012 of 12.1% was driven by increased tonnage and pricing. Tonnage increased 7.5% primarily due to a 7.0% increase in shipments and a 0.5% increase in weight per shipment for the periods compared. We believe the increase in shipments during the year was primarily due to increased market share, as our growth exceeded reported industry levels.
Revenue per hundredweight increased 4.4% to $15.53 in 2012. This increase reflects our disciplined yield management process as well as an improved pricing environment in 2012. Revenue per hundredweight is a good indicator of pricing trends, but this metric is influenced by many other factors, such as changes in fuel surcharges, weight per shipment, length of haul and mix of freight; therefore, changes in revenue per hundredweight do not necessarily indicate actual changes in underlying rates. Our revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharges, increased 4.0% in 2012 despite the negative influence of the increase in weight per shipment and decrease in length of haul.
Fuel surcharge revenue increased to 16.5% of revenue in 2012 from 16.2% in 2011, primarily due to a slight increase in the average price per gallon for diesel fuel. Most of our tariffs and contracts provide for a fuel surcharge, which is recorded as additional revenue, as diesel fuel prices increase above stated levels. These levels are generally indexed to the DOE’s published fuel prices that reset each week. The fuel surcharge is one of many components included in the overall negotiated price for our transportation services with our customers, although it is generally considered to be a measure of the increase in cost of all petroleum products we use. We regularly monitor the components of our pricing, including base freight rates and fuel surcharges. We also address any individual account profitability issues with our customers as part of our effort to minimize the negative impact on our profitability that would likely result from a rapid and significant change in any of our operating expenses.
Operating Costs and Other Expenses
Salaries, wages and benefits increased $110.5 million, or 11.6% in 2012 due to a $72.8 million increase in the costs for salaries and wages and a $37.7 million increase in benefit costs. The increase in the costs for our salaries and wages, excluding benefits, was due primarily to a 6.9% increase in average full-time employees over 2011 and the impact of wage increases provided to employees in September 2011 and 2012. The increase in our headcount was necessary to ensure adequate labor capacity for the increase in shipments during 2012 as well as for projected growth. As a result, our direct labor costs for drivers, platform employees and fleet technicians increased $55.2 million, or 10.8% in 2012 as compared to 2011. Although these costs increased during 2012, our salaries and wages as a percent of revenue improved to 37.4% from 38.1% in 2011 as a result of the increased density and efficiency in our operations. Our platform pounds handled per hour, P&D stops per hour and P&D shipments per hour improved 4.0%, 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively, over the prior-year period.
Employee benefit costs increased $37.7 million primarily due to an increase in the number of full-time employees eligible for benefits, an increase in paid time off for employees and an increase in the cost per employee for our group health and dental plans. As a percentage of salaries and wages, employee benefit costs increased to 33.7% in 2012 from 31.9% in 2011.
Operating supplies and expenses increased $23.3 million in 2012 primarily due to the increases in the costs of diesel fuel, excluding fuel taxes, which represents the largest component of operating supplies and expenses. Diesel fuel costs can vary based on both consumption and average price per gallon, both of which increased over 2011. Gallons consumed and average price per gallon increased 5.1% and 2.4%, respectively, in 2012 as compared to 2011. Although we saw increases in these costs, operating supplies and expenses decreased as a percent of revenue to 17.7% in 2012 from 18.7% in 2011. We attribute this improvement primarily to certain operational initiatives and the increased use of newer, more fuel-efficient equipment during 2012. We do not use diesel fuel hedging instruments and are therefore subject to market price fluctuations.
Depreciation and amortization expense increased to 5.2% of revenue in 2012 as compared to 4.8% in 2011. This increase was primarily due to the increase in our capital expenditure program for 2012, which included a significant increase in the number of tractors and trailers purchased. In addition, our unit costs for tractors have increased significantly, due primarily to the impact of increasingly stringent emission standard requirements. Since 2002, the average cost of a new tractor in our fleet has increased approximately $45,000, or 85%. Although our capital expenditure plan for 2013 was lower than 2012, we expect our continued growth and investments to increase depreciation costs in future periods.
Our effective tax rate for 2012 was 38.0% as compared to 36.6% in 2011. Our effective tax rate in 2011 was favorably impacted by tax credits related to our investment in alternative energy-producing assets and alternative fuel tax credits for the use of propane in our operations. These alternative fuel tax credits expired on December 31, 2011; however, Congress retroactively reinstated these credits for 2012 and extended the credits through December 31, 2013 by passing the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 on January 1, 2013. The impact of the retroactive application was recorded as a favorable discrete tax benefit during the first quarter of 2013.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
A summary of our cash flows is presented below:
| (In thousands) | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year | $ | 12,857 | $ | 75,850 | $ | 5,450 | ||||||
| Cash flows provided by (used in): | ||||||||||||
| Operating activities | 350,666 | 328,056 | 277,934 | |||||||||
| Investing activities | (284,371 | ) | (361,175 | ) | (245,332 | ) | ||||||
| Financing activities | (48,978 | ) | (29,874 | ) | 37,798 | |||||||
| Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | 17,317 | (62,993 | ) | 70,400 | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of year | $ | 30,174 | $ | 12,857 | $ | 75,850 |
The changes in our cash flows provided by operating activities for the periods presented above are due primarily to the significant improvement in our net income, which increased $36.7 million in 2013 and $30.0 million in 2012 over the comparable prior-year periods. These increases are more fully described above in “Results of Operations.” Depreciation and amortization expenses also increased $16.3 million in 2013 and $19.9 million in 2012 over the comparable prior year periods, which was primarily due to the ongoing execution of our capital expenditure programs that is more fully described below.
Other changes in our cash flows provided by operating activities are related to various fluctuations within our working capital accounts, which primarily include changes in customer receivables and certain accrued liabilities.
The changes in our cash flows used in investing activities are primarily due to fluctuations in our capital expenditure programs each year. The changes in our capital expenditure program are more fully described below in “Capital Expenditures.”
The changes in our cash flows from financing activities consists primarily of fluctuations in our senior unsecured revolving line of credit and scheduled principal payments under our long-term debt agreements. Additionally in 2011, we completed a $95.0 million private placement of senior notes, and we received aggregate net proceeds of $48.4 million resulting from the issuance of our common stock, both of which are discussed in more detail below.
We have three primary sources of available liquidity: cash and cash equivalents, cash flows from operations and available borrowings under our senior unsecured revolving credit agreement, which is described below. We believe we also have sufficient access to debt and equity markets to provide other sources of liquidity, if needed.
On January 3, 2011, we entered into a Note Purchase Agreement pursuant to which we issued $95.0 million of privately-placed senior notes. We entered into this Note Purchase Agreement to fund planned capital expenditures and for general corporate purposes. We used a portion of the proceeds to refinance existing indebtedness, including paying down the outstanding balance on our senior unsecured revolving credit agreement.
Pursuant to an automatic shelf registration statement previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), we filed a prospectus supplement and entered into an At-The-Market Equity Offering Sales Agreement on February 2, 2011 with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated (“Stifel Nicolaus Weisel”), under which we had the ability to issue and sell, from time to time over a 12-month period through or to Stifel Nicolaus Weisel, shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $100.0 million (the “ATM program”). From February 2, 2011 through December 31, 2011, we issued 2,274,568 shares of common stock pursuant to the ATM program at an average price of $21.79 per share, after adjusting for a three-for-two stock split effected on September 7, 2012. We received aggregate gross proceeds of $49.6 million and aggregate net proceeds of $48.4 million, after deducting commissions and other transaction costs of $1.2 million. There were no subsequent issuances pursuant to the ATM program through February 2, 2012, which was the date on which the ATM program expired. Our automatic shelf registration statement that provided us with the opportunity to offer and sell shares of common stock on a delayed or continuous basis at indeterminate prices expired in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Capital Expenditures
The table below sets forth our net capital expenditures for property and equipment, including those obtained through capital leases and nonmonetary exchanges, for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011:
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | |||||||||
| Land and structures | $ | 126,424 | $ | 143,701 | $ | 73,463 | ||||||
| Tractors | 59,317 | 113,257 | 69,837 | |||||||||
| Trailers | 70,042 | 83,405 | 62,326 | |||||||||
| Technology | 15,032 | 13,950 | 24,767 | |||||||||
| Other | 31,391 | 19,974 | 28,945 | |||||||||
| Less: Proceeds from sales | (11,235 | ) | (12,018 | ) | (5,436 | ) | ||||||
| Total | $ | 290,971 | $ | 362,269 | $ | 253,902 |
Our capital expenditure requirements are generally based upon the projected increase in the number and size of our service center facilities to support our plan for long-term growth, our planned tractor and trailer replacement cycle and forecasted tonnage growth. Expenditures for land and structures in 2013 and 2012 were significant due to the ongoing expansion of our service center network, the purchase of service centers in locations that were previously under lease and improvements to our existing service centers. Our capital expenditures for tractors and trailers decreased slightly in 2013, as we spent a higher amount in 2012 to reduce the average age of our fleet. We generally spend 6% to 8% of total revenue on tractors and trailers each year to support our projected tonnage growth as well as to replace equipment being retired through our normal replacement cycle. We expect to continue to maintain a high level of capital expenditures in order to support our long-term plan for market share growth.
We currently estimate capital expenditures will be approximately $342.0 million for the year ending December 31, 2014. Approximately $132.0 million is allocated for the purchase of service center facilities, construction of new service center facilities or expansion of existing service center facilities, subject to the availability of suitable real estate and the timing of construction projects; approximately $163.0 million is allocated for the purchase of tractors, trailers and other equipment; and approximately $47.0 million is allocated for investments in technology and other assets. We expect to fund these capital expenditures primarily through cash flows from operations, our existing cash and cash equivalents and the use of our senior unsecured revolving credit facility, if needed. We believe our current sources of liquidity will be sufficient to satisfy our expected capital expenditures.
We anticipate that there will be additional environmental regulations and legislation resulting from the increased regulatory focus on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. At this time, we cannot predict the requirements of any future regulations. However, any limitations on the emission of greenhouse gases or other environmental legislation could increase our future capital expenditures and have an adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.
Financing Agreements
We have a five-year, $200.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility pursuant to the terms of a second amended and restated credit agreement dated August 10, 2011 (the “Credit Agreement”), with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (“Wells Fargo”) serving as administrative agent for the lenders. Of the $200.0 million line of credit commitments, $150.0 million may be used for letters of credit and $20.0 million may be used for borrowings under the Wells Fargo Sweep Plus Loan Program. We utilize the sweep program to manage our daily cash needs, as the sweep program automatically initiates borrowings to cover overnight cash requirements up to an aggregate of $20.0 million. In addition, we have the right to request an increase in the line of credit commitments up to a total of $300.0 million in minimum increments of $25.0 million.
At our option, revolving loans under the facility bear interest at either: (a) the Applicable Margin Percentage for Base Rate Loans plus the higher of Wells Fargo’s prime rate, the federal funds rate plus 0.5% per annum, or the one month LIBOR Rate plus 1.0% per annum; (b) the LIBOR Rate plus the Applicable Margin Percentage for LIBOR Loans; or (c) the LIBOR Market Index Rate (“LIBOR Index Rate”) plus the Applicable Margin Percentage for LIBOR Market Index Loans. The Applicable Margin Percentage is determined by a pricing grid in the Credit Agreement and ranges from 1.0% to 1.875% based upon the ratio of debt to total capitalization. The Applicable Margin Percentage was 1.0% and 1.125% at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, and ranged from 1.0% to 1.125% during 2013. Revolving loans under the sweep program bear interest at the LIBOR Index Rate.
The Credit Agreement contains customary covenants, including financial covenants that require us to observe a maximum ratio of debt to total capital and a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio. Any future wholly-owned subsidiaries of Old Dominion would be required to guarantee payment of all of our obligations under the facility. The amounts outstanding and remaining borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facilities are presented below:
| December 31, | ||||||||
| (In thousands) | 2013 | 2012 | ||||||
| Facility limit | $ | 200,000 | $ | 200,000 | ||||
| Line of credit borrowings | — | (10,000 | ) | |||||
| Outstanding letters of credit | (57,686 | ) | (52,423 | ) | ||||
| Total borrowing capacity | $ | 142,314 | $ | 137,577 |
Commitment fees ranging from 0.175% to 0.30% are charged quarterly in arrears on the aggregate unutilized portion of the Credit Agreement based upon the ratio of debt to total capitalization. Letter of credit fees equal to the applicable margin for Adjusted LIBOR Rate loans are charged quarterly in arrears on the daily average aggregate stated amount of all letters of credit outstanding during the quarter. The commitment fees ranged from 0.175% to 0.20% and letter of credit fees ranged from 1.0% to 1.125% during 2013. In addition, the Company will pay to Wells Fargo as issuer of letters of credit (i) a facing fee with respect to each letter of credit in an amount equal to 0.125% of the daily average aggregate Stated Amount thereof, payable quarterly in arrears and calculated on an actual/360-day basis and (ii) such fees and charges customarily charged in connection with the issuance and administration of such letters of credit. Wells Fargo, as administrative agent, also receives an annual administrative fee for providing such services.
We have three outstanding unsecured senior note agreements with an aggregate amount outstanding of $191.4 million at December 31, 2013. These notes call for periodic principal payments with maturities that range from 2015 to 2021, of which
$35.7 million is due in the next twelve months. Interest rates on these notes are fixed and range from 4.00% to 5.85%. The effective average interest rate on our outstanding senior note agreements was 4.99% and 5.07% at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.
With the exception of borrowings pursuant to the Credit Agreement, interest rates are fixed on all of our debt instruments. Therefore, short-term exposure to fluctuations in interest rates is limited to our line of credit facility. We do not currently use interest rate derivative instruments to manage exposure to interest rate changes.
Our Credit Agreement limits the amount of dividends that could be paid to shareholders to the greater of (i) $20.0 million, (ii) the amount of dividends paid in the immediately preceding fiscal year, or (iii) an amount equal to 25% of net income from the immediately preceding fiscal year. We did not declare or pay a dividend on our common stock in 2013 or 2012, and we have no plans to declare or pay a dividend in 2014.
A significant decrease in demand for our services could limit our ability to generate cash flow and affect profitability. Most of our debt agreements have covenants that require stated levels of financial performance, which if not achieved could cause acceleration of the payment schedules. As of December 31, 2013, we were in compliance with these covenants. We do not anticipate a significant decline in business levels or financial performance that would cause us to violate any such covenants in the future, and we believe the combination of our existing Credit Agreement along with our additional borrowing capacity will be sufficient to meet foreseeable seasonal and long-term capital needs.
Common Stock Split
On August 13, 2012, we announced a three-for-two common stock split for shareholders of record as of the close of business on the record date, August 24, 2012. On September 7, 2012 those shareholders received one additional share of common stock for every two shares owned. In lieu of fractional shares, shareholders received a cash payment based on the average of the high and low sales prices of our common stock on the record date.
All references in this report to shares outstanding, weighted average shares outstanding and earnings per share amounts have been restated retroactively to reflect this stock split.
Contractual Obligations
The following table summarizes our significant contractual obligations as of December 31, 2013:
| Payments due by period | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contractual Obligations (1) | Less than | More than | ||||||||||||||||||
| (In thousands) | Total | 1 year | 1-3 years | 3-5 years | 5 years | |||||||||||||||
| Long-term debt obligations, exclusive of interest | $ | 191,429 | $ | 35,715 | $ | 60,714 | $ | 50,000 | $ | 45,000 | ||||||||||
| Operating lease obligations | 58,789 | 15,931 | 18,341 | 10,307 | 14,210 | |||||||||||||||
| Purchase obligations | 122,270 | 122,270 | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 372,488 | $ | 173,916 | $ | 79,055 | $ | 60,307 | $ | 59,210 |
| (1) | Contractual obligations include long-term debt consisting of senior notes totaling $191.4 million; operating leases consisting primarily of real estate leases; and purchase obligations relating to non-cancellable purchase orders for equipment scheduled for delivery in 2014. Please refer to the information regarding interest rates and the balance on our revolving credit facility in this section above and also in Note 2 to the Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this report. |
Critical Accounting Policies
In preparing our financial statements, we apply the following critical accounting policies that we believe affect our judgments and estimates of amounts recorded in certain assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses. These critical accounting policies are further described in Note 1 of the Notes to the Financial Statements included in Item 8 of this report.
Revenue Recognition
We recognize revenue based upon when our transportation services have been completed in accordance with the bill of lading contract, our general tariff provisions or contractual agreements with our customers. Generally, this occurs when we complete the delivery of a shipment. For transportation services not completed at the end of a reporting period, we use a percentage of completion method to allocate the appropriate revenue to each separate reporting period. Under this method, we develop a factor for each uncompleted shipment by dividing the actual number of days in transit at the end of a reporting period by that shipment’s standard delivery time schedule. This factor is applied to the total revenue for that shipment and revenue is allocated between reporting periods accordingly.
Allowances for Uncollectible Accounts and Revenue Adjustments
We maintain an allowance for uncollectible accounts for estimated losses resulting from the failure of our customers to make required payments. We estimate this allowance by analyzing the aging of our customer receivables, our historical loss experience and other trends and factors affecting the credit risk of our customers. We determine customer receivables to be past due when payment has not been received by the invoice due date. Write-offs occur when we determine an account to be uncollectible and could differ from our allowance estimate as a result of factors such as changes in the overall economic environment or risks surrounding our customers. Additional allowances may be required if the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments. We periodically review the underlying assumptions in our estimate of the allowance for uncollectible accounts to ensure that the allowance reflects the most recent trends and factors.
We also maintain an allowance for estimated revenue adjustments resulting from future billing corrections, customer allowances, money-back service guarantees and other miscellaneous revenue adjustments. These revenue adjustments are recorded in our revenue from operations. We use historical experience, trends and current information to update and evaluate these estimates.
Claims and Insurance Accruals
Claims and insurance accruals reflect the estimated cost of claims not covered by insurance for cargo loss and damage, BIPD, workers’ compensation, long-term disability, group health and dental. The related costs are charged to insurance and claims expense except for workers’ compensation, long-term disability, group health and dental, which are charged to employee benefits expense.
Insurers providing excess coverage above retention levels adjust their premiums to cover insured losses and for other market factors. As a result, we periodically evaluate our self-insured retention levels to determine the most cost-efficient balance between our retention exposure and excess coverage.
In establishing accruals for claims and expenses, we evaluate and monitor each claim individually, and we use factors such as historical claims development experience, known trends and third-party estimates to determine the appropriate reserves for potential liability. We believe the assumptions and methods used to estimate these liabilities are reasonable; however, any changes in the severity of previously-reported claims, significant changes in medical costs and regulatory changes affecting the administration of our plans could significantly impact the determination of appropriate reserves in future periods.
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment are recorded at cost and depreciated on a straight-line basis over their estimated economic lives. We use historical experience, certain assumptions and estimates in determining the economic life of each asset. Periodically, we review property and equipment for impairment due to changes in operational and market conditions, and we adjust the carrying value and economic life of any impaired asset as appropriate.
Estimated economic lives for structures are 7 to 30 years; revenue equipment is 4 to 15 years; other equipment is 2 to 20 years; and leasehold improvements are the lesser of the economic life of the leasehold improvement or the remaining life of the lease. The use of different assumptions, estimates or significant changes in the resale market for our equipment could result in material changes in the carrying value and related depreciation of our assets.
Inflation
Most of our expenses are affected by inflation, which typically results in increased operating costs. In response to fluctuations in the cost of petroleum products, particularly diesel fuel, we generally include a fuel surcharge in our tariffs and contractual agreements. The fuel surcharge is designed to offset the cost of diesel fuel above a base price and increases as diesel fuel prices escalate over the base, which is generally indexed to the DOE’s published fuel prices that reset each week. Volatility in the price of diesel fuel, independent of inflation, has impacted our business, as described in this report. However, we do not believe inflation has had a material effect on our results of operations for each of the past three years.
Related Person Transactions
Family Relationships
Each of Earl E. Congdon, David S. Congdon and John R. Congdon, Jr. are related to one another and served in various management positions and/or on our Board of Directors during 2013. We have employment agreements with Earl E. Congdon and David S. Congdon, which are incorporated by reference as exhibits to our Annual Report on Form 10-K. We regularly disclose the amount of compensation that we pay to these individuals, as well as any of their family members employed by us and whose compensation from time to time may require disclosure, in the proxy statement for our Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
During 2012, John R. Congdon, who was the brother of Earl E. Congdon, resigned from his position as Senior Vice President. At that time, the Board of Directors and John R. Congdon mutually agreed to terminate his amended and restated employment agreement. He continued to be employed by the Company in a management position and as a member of our Board of Directors until his death in October 2013.
Transactions with Old Dominion Truck Leasing, Inc.
Old Dominion Truck Leasing, Inc. (“Leasing”) is a North Carolina corporation whose voting stock is beneficially owned by members of the Congdon family. Leasing is primarily engaged in the business of leasing tractors, trailers and other vehicles as well as providing contract dedicated fleet services. John R. Congdon served as Chairman of the Board of Leasing until October 2013 and was succeeded in that position by John R. Congdon, Jr. Earl E. Congdon and David S. Congdon currently serve as members of Leasing’s Board of Directors. Since 1986, we have combined our requirements with Leasing for the purchase of tractors, trailers, equipment, parts, tires and fuel. We believe that the termination of this arrangement would not have a material adverse impact on our financial results.
We purchased $299,000, $239,000 and $278,000 of maintenance and other services from Leasing in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. We intend to continue to purchase maintenance and other services from Leasing, provided that Leasing’s prices continue to be favorable to us.
We charged Leasing $18,000, $18,000 and $18,000 for the rental of property in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. No other services were provided to Leasing for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011.
Split-Dollar Life Insurance Policies
We owned two split-dollar life insurance contracts insuring the life of John R. Congdon that were terminated upon Mr. Congdon's death in October 2013. The death benefits under these policies totaled an aggregate of $9.3 million, of which we received $7.3 million in December 2013 and Mr. Congdon’s beneficiaries received $2.0 million. At December 31, 2012, the net cash surrender value for these policies totaled $6.8 million and was included on our Balance Sheet under the caption of “Other Assets.”
Audit Committee Approval
The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors reviewed and approved all of the related person transactions described above in accordance with our Related Person Transactions Policy.
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