Knight-Swift shares slip as trucking giant warns of softer demand

Investing.com — Shares in Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE:) slipped on Wednesday after the trucking company warned that consolidated second-quarter results will be lower than it previously expected.

In a statement, the Arizona-based group — one of the largest U.S. freight carriers — flagged that it has seen “persistently soft demand” in the full truckload market, which placed greater pressure on volumes and pricing than it had originally anticipated. Costs, meanwhile, remain stable on a sequential basis, Knight-Swift said.

As a result, it expects to see an estimated 1,100 – 1,200 basis point degradation in operating margins for the quarter.

Elsewhere, Knight-Swift announced that it had closed its $808 million acquisition of rival U.S. Xpress Enterprises after the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based group’s board approved the deal on June 29.

Knight-Swift noted that it expects to update its annual earnings guidance to reflect both the “current operating conditions and outlook” as well as the inclusion of U.S. Xpress for the back half of 2023.

The firm is scheduled to release its latest earnings on July 20.