Hub Group Inc (HUBG) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello and welcome to the Hub Group fourth quarter 2023 earnings conference call. Phil Jaeger, Hub's President and CEO; Brian Alexander, Hub's Chief Operating Officer; and Kevin Beth, Hub's, CFO, are joining me on the call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation.

您好，歡迎參加 Hub Group 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。Phil Jaeger，Hub 總裁兼執行長； Hub 營運長 Brian Alexander； Hub 的財務長 Kevin Beth 也加入了我的電話會議。此時，所有參與者都處於只聽模式。正式演講後將舉行簡短的問答環節。

In order for everyone to have an opportunity to participate, please limit your inquiries to one primary and one follow-up question. Any forward-looking statements made during the course of the call or contained in the release, represent the company's best good-faith judgment as to what may happen in the future. Statements that are forward looking can be identified by the use of words such as believe, expect, anticipate and project, and variations of these words. Please review the cautionary statements in the release.

為了讓每個人都有機會參與，請將您的詢問限制為一項主要問題和一項後續問題。電話會議期間所做的或新聞稿中包含的任何前瞻性陳述均代表本公司對未來可能發生的情況的最佳善意判斷。前瞻性陳述可以透過使用「相信」、「期望」、「預期」和「預測」等詞語以及這些詞語的變體來識別。請查看新聞稿中的警告聲明。

In addition, you should refer to the disclosures in the company's Form 10-K and other SEC filings regarding factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to your host, Phil Yeager. You may now begin.

此外，您還應參考公司 10-K 表格和其他 SEC 文件中揭露的有關可能導致實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述中預測的結果有重大差異的因素的資訊。提醒一下，本次會議正在錄製中。現在我很高興將電話轉給主持人 Phil Yeager。你現在可以開始了。

Good afternoon and thank you for joining Hub Group's fourth quarter earnings call. Joining me today are Brian Alexander, Hub Group's Chief Operating Officer; and Kevin Beth, our Chief Financial Officer. I am proud of the way our organization executed to support our customers and one another in 2023, while also delivering the second best financial performance in our company's history, in a challenging year. We faced difficult market conditions with higher inventory levels, excess capacity, and flowing import demand.

下午好，感謝您參加 Hub Group 第四季財報電話會議。今天加入我的是 Hub Group 營運長 Brian Alexander；和我們的財務長凱文貝斯 (Kevin Beth)。我對我們的組織在 2023 年為客戶和彼此提供支援的方式感到自豪，同時在充滿挑戰的一年中實現了我們公司歷史上第二好的財務業績。我們面臨庫存水準較高、產能過剩和進口需求流動等困難的市場狀況。

Despite the challenging fundamentals that are more transactional service lines, however, our execution of our strategy over the last several years of delivering world-class service, investing in equipment and technology to drive productivity, diversification of our service offerings to deepen our value to our customers, and maintaining cost discipline, enabled us to successfully manage through those challenging conditions and deliver strong results. We completed several key strategic priorities this past year that will pay dividends for years to come. We improved our rail and chassis agreements, providing us with expanded reach and flexibility, while enhancing our cost structure.

儘管交易性服務線的基本面具有挑戰性，但是，我們在過去幾年中執行了我們的策略，提供世界一流的服務，投資設備和技術以提高生產力，使我們的服務產品多樣化，以加深我們的價值客戶，並保持成本紀律，使我們能夠成功應對這些充滿挑戰的條件並取得強勁的成果。去年我們完成了幾項關鍵策略重點，這將在未來幾年帶來紅利。我們改進了鐵路和底盤協議，為我們提供了更大的覆蓋範圍和靈活性，同時增強了我們的成本結構。

We treat a record level of share of our controlled rate, enabling improved service and costs. We continued our diversification strategy, closing an accretive acquisition that helps us build scale and capabilities in the big and bulky Final Mile space. And finally, we completed our capital allocation plan, delivering a clear growth and returns oriented investment strategy.

我們的受控費率份額達到創紀錄水平，從而改善服務和成本。我們繼續實施多元化策略，完成了一項增值收購，幫助我們在龐大的「最後一哩路」領域建立規模和能力。最後，我們完成了資本配置計劃，提供了明確的成長和回報導向的投資策略。

These are just a few of the many strategic initiatives we executed on this past year which we delivered, while prioritizing our team and customers positioning us for long-term success. We are leveraging the momentum at the end of last year to deliver for our customers and shareholders again in 2024. We believe that the current global supply chain disruption and the normalization of inventory levels will lead to increased shipping demand and West Coast import, which along with accelerated capacity exits, will progressively lead to improved industry fundamentals.

這些只是我們在過去一年中執行的眾多策略舉措中的一部分，同時優先考慮我們的團隊和客戶，使我們能夠取得長期成功。我們將利用去年年底的勢頭，在 2024 年再次為我們的客戶和股東提供服務。我們認為，當前全球供應鏈中斷和庫存水準正常化將導致航運需求和西海岸進口增加，加上產能加速退出，將逐步改善產業基本面。

In ICS, we have a great deal of momentum in bid season, as we are providing significant savings versus truck, while executing an excellent service credits. We believe that with our improvements in service and productivity, as well as our enhanced partnership, we will be in a position to deliver strong volume growth this year. Our initial results have shown the quality of our value proposition, and we will continue our focus on enhanced balanced velocity and productivity throughout this season. We've also driven incremental growth and dedicated onboarding new wins with existing customers based on our service quality and scale.

在 ICS 中，我們在投標季節有很大的動力，因為我們比卡車節省大量成本，同時執行出色的服務積分。我們相信，隨著我們在服務和生產力方面的改進以及我們加強的合作夥伴關係，我們今年將能夠實現強勁的銷售成長。我們的初步結果顯示了我們價值主張的質量，我們將在整個賽季中繼續專注於提高平衡速度和生產力。我們也根據我們的服務品質和規模，推動了增量成長，並致力於與現有客戶取得新的勝利。

We believe these factors will lead to improved performance in our ITS segment as the year progressed. In logistics, we are in the process of integrating our recent Final Mile acquisition and are excited about the initial results. We are taking effective approach and finding significant cross selling cost synergies that will allow us to accelerate growth in the business. In brokerage, after a strong year where we increased total volume count, we are seeing some signs of improvement in the market, which, along with our continued cross selling, high-quality service and productivity enhancements, will lead to improved performance.

我們相信，隨著時間的推移，這些因素將導致我們的 ITS 部門的表現有所改善。在物流方面，我們正在整合最近收購的 Final Mile，並對初步結果感到興奮。我們正在採取有效的方法並尋找顯著的交叉銷售成本協同效應，這將使我們能夠加速業務成長。在經紀業務領域，經過強勁的一年，我們增加了總交易量，我們看到市場出現一些改善的跡象，再加上我們持續的交叉銷售、高品質的服務和生產力的提高，將帶來業績的改善。

Finally, within managed transportation and consolidation, our value proposition, trend of service technology, and savings is resonating with our customers, and we have a solid pipeline of new onboarding that will support growth in 2024. Despite a challenging industry backdrop, we executed on our strategy and are positioned for continued long-term success. We are focused on having a great year in 2024 through delivering best-in-class service, investing in the business through long term, maintaining our cost discipline, and deepening our value to our clients. This focus will position us as a provider of choice for our customers and will accelerate profitable growth, as market conditions shift. With that, I'll hand the call over to Brian to discuss our segment results.

最後，在管理運輸和整合方面，我們的價值主張、服務技術趨勢和節省與我們的客戶產生了共鳴，我們擁有堅實的新入職管道，將支持 2024 年的成長。儘管行業背景充滿挑戰，我們仍然執行我們的策略，並做好了持續長期成功的準備。我們致力於透過提供一流的服務、長期投資業務、維持我們的成本紀律以及深化我們為客戶提供的價值，在 2024 年度過美好的一年。這一重點將使我們成為客戶的首選供應商，並將隨著市場條件的變化加速獲利成長。這樣，我會將電話轉交給布萊恩，討論我們的部門結果。

Thank you, Phil. I will now discuss our reportable segments, starting with intermodal and transportation solutions. ITS revenue declined 28% in the fourth quarter, driven by softer intermodal volumes that declined 11.6%. Transcon volume was close to flat, local leased volume declined 8%, and leocal leased declined 17%. While year-over-year volume declined in the fourth quarter, we drove sequential trans-con in local leased volume growth. This momentum and shorter length of haul, is a good early indicator of truckload volume converting back to intermodal.

謝謝你，菲爾。我現在將討論我們的可報告部分，從聯運和運輸解決方案開始。由於多式聯運量下降 11.6%，第四季 ITS 營收下降了 28%。Transcon 成交量接近持平，本地租賃量下降 8%，leocal 租賃量下降 17%。儘管第四季度同比交易量有所下降，但我們推動了本地租賃量的環比增長。這種勢頭和較短的運輸距離是卡車裝載量轉換回聯運的良好早期指標。

In addition to this, the sequential improvement is showing the early results of the enhancements that we have made with the local lease and our disciplined focus on margin per load day that will continue to drive Transcon growth. We continue to improve our cost structure in ITS that drove a 30-basis-point improvement in sequential operating income, excluding acquisition related fees. We continue to implement several cost controls that will accelerate in 2024 and better position us to compete while maintaining yield disciplines. From a cost perspective, our new rail agreements are moving with the market and improved rail service has helped us better manage our equipment costs.

除此之外，連續的改善顯示了我們在當地租賃方面所做的改進的早期結果，以及我們對每個裝載日利潤率的嚴格關注，這將繼續推動 Transcon 的成長。我們持續改善 ITS 成本結構，帶動營業收入較上季提高 30 個基點（不包括收購相關費用）。我們繼續實施多項成本控制，這些成本控制將在 2024 年加速實施，使我們在保持產量紀律的同時更好地競爭。從成本角度來看，我們新的鐵路協議正在與市場同步發展，改善的鐵路服務幫助我們更好地管理設備成本。

In the West, we're implementing a new hub controlled chassis program in the first quarter of 2024 that will improve our cost and service reliability. Our in-sourced rate held steady at 80% throughout Q4 compared to 69% in the previous year. And with improved driver productivity initiatives, we have the capability to further improve our cost per dray as we grow volume in 2024. We're seeing a slow start to the year in weather events that impacted January volume.

在西方，我們將於 2024 年第一季實施新的輪轂控制底盤計劃，這將提高我們的成本和服務可靠性。第四季我們的內包率穩定在 80%，而去年為 69%。透過提高駕駛員生產力計劃，我們有能力在 2024 年隨著產量的增長而進一步降低每輛拖車的成本。我們發現，今年影響一月成交量的天氣事件開局緩慢。

But we are focused on returning to growth in intermodal this year, which will be driven by truckload conversions back to intermodal, inventory destocking and normalization, increased West Coast import and transload activity, our adjustments to our bid approach with a focus on regaining velocity in balance in our network, and improved bid realization. We feel confident in our timing and disciplined approach for the 2024 bid season and are already seeing incremental wins that will ramp in late Q1 and early Q2. Our dedicated trucking team finished the year strong with a great growth story in yield expansion.

但今年我們的重點是恢復多式聯運的成長，這將受到卡車裝載轉換回多式聯運、庫存去庫存和正常化、西海岸進口和轉運活動增加、我們對投標方法的調整（重點是恢復速度）的推動。我們的網絡中的平衡，並提高了投標實現。我們對 2024 年申辦季的時機和嚴格的方法充滿信心，並且已經看到增量勝利將在第一季末和第二季初逐步增加。我們的專業卡車運輸團隊在產量擴張方面取得了巨大的成長，為這一年帶來了強勁的業績。

We are entering 2024 well positioned for further growth, with a strong pipeline of organic and new customer opportunities. While the near-term ITS results are impacted by low volume, we are confident that our actions will position us for growth and deliver high levels of service for our customers with sustainable profitability. Now turning to our logistics segment, I wanted to start by welcoming our new Final Mile team to the Hub Group. The integration into our existing Final Mile operation is well underway.

進入 2024 年，我們已做好進一步成長的準備，擁有強大的有機和新客戶機會。雖然近期 ITS 業績受到銷售低迷的影響，但我們相信，我們的行動將使我們實現成長，並為客戶提供高水準的服務，並實現可持續獲利。現在轉向我們的物流部門，我想先歡迎我們新的 Final Mile 團隊加入 Hub 集團。與我們現有的「最後一哩路」營運的整合正在順利進行。

We are now positioned as one of the top Final Mile providers, with a diverse offering that now includes appliance deliveries and a larger network of locations. These locations numbering our hub network to 11 million square feet strategically placed in 75 locations, to service our customers' supply chain needs. We have a strong pipeline of cross-selling opportunities that are quickly materializing into wind that will launch in early Q2. Our brokerage team continues to be an industry stand up, as they thrive through a challenging rate year and grew volume while improving team member productivity.

我們現在被定位為頂級「最後一哩路」供應商之一，提供多樣化的服務，其中包括設備交付和更大的地點網路。這些地點使我們的樞紐網路達到 1,100 萬平方英尺，策略性地分佈在 75 個地點，以滿足客戶的供應鏈需求。我們擁有強大的交叉銷售機會，這些機會正迅速落實到第二季初啟動的風能領域。我們的經紀團隊仍然是業界的佼佼者，他們在充滿挑戰的利率年度中蓬勃發展，交易量不斷增長，同時提高了團隊成員的生產力。

We have well-planned IT initiatives set to roll out in 2024 to further enhance our brokerage technology, while we stay true to our Hub values of innovating with a purpose. 2024 is off to a good start for brokerage, and we are seeing early signs of smart pricing inflation that will support volume and yield expansion. For the long tail of hub customers to cross-sell, we are excited for our brokerage team to continued profitable growth in 2024. While we continue our logistics growth, we're also improving our cost as we leverage our close to $1 billion in LTL under management.

我們計劃於 2024 年推出周密的 IT 計劃，以進一步增強我們的經紀技術，同時我們仍忠於有目的創新的中心價值觀。 2024 年對經紀業來說是一個良好的開端，我們看到了智慧定價通膨的早期跡象，這將支持交易量和收益率的擴張。對於樞紐客戶的長尾交叉銷售，我們很高興我們的經紀團隊能夠在 2024 年繼續實現獲利成長。在我們持續實現物流成長的同時，我們也利用管理的近 10 億美元的零擔來降低成本。

This leverage improves our LTL buying power, increase density to support consolidations, which helped drive a 16% increase in our fourth quarter LTL volume. We are also continuing to enable our multipurpose logistics locations, to support our continued growth of our LTL, Final-Mile, e-commerce, and warehouse solutions, while also supporting inbound and outbound multimodal hub volume to service our customers' supply chain needs. With that, I'll hand it over to Kevin to discuss our financial performance.

這種槓桿提高了我們的零擔購買力，增加了密度以支持整合，這有助於推動我們第四季零擔量成長 16%。我們也繼續啟用我們的多功能物流地點，以支援我們的零擔、最後一哩路、電子商務和倉庫解決方案的持續成長，同時也支援進出多式聯運樞紐的數量，以滿足客戶的供應鏈需求。接下來，我將把它交給凱文來討論我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Brian. Before I start with the results, just a quick reminder that the EPS amounts presented are after the 2-for-1 stock split. Despite a continuing challenging freight market, Hub generated revenue of $4.2 billion for the year and $1 billion for the quarter. Our GAAP operating income margin for the full-year was 5.1% and 3% for the quarter. During the quarter, we incurred $5.1 million or $0.08 per share of acquisition related expenses.

謝謝你，布萊恩。在開始介紹結果之前，請先快速提醒一下，所提供的每股盈餘是在 2 比 1 股票分割之後的。儘管貨運市場持續充滿挑戰，Hub 全年營收達 42 億美元，本季營收達 10 億美元。我們全年的 GAAP 營業利潤率為 5.1%，本季為 3%。本季度，我們發生了 510 萬美元或每股 0.08 美元的收購相關費用。

Without the acquisition related expenses, the quarter operating margin was 3.5%. The acquisition costs were allocated to both segments based on revenue, along with our standard corporate expenses. Without the acquisition related expenses, ITS margin was 2.6% and our logistics segment was 4.4%. Our diluted earnings per share presented post-split for the quarter was $0.46 and $2.62 for the year.

扣除收購相關費用後，該季營業利益率為 3.5%。收購成本根據收入以及我們的標準公司費用分配給兩個部門。如果不考慮收購相關費用，ITS 利潤率為 2.6%，我們的物流部門利潤率為 4.4%。分拆後本季攤薄後每股收益為 0.46 美元，全年攤薄後每股收益為 2.62 美元。

Adjusting for the acquisition related expense, EPS of $0.54 for the quarter and $2.68 for the year. In the fourth quarter, purchase transportation and warehousing costs decreased compared to prior year, due to lower volumes and cost management efforts. Salaries and benefits decreased from prior year as our non-driver headcount decreased by 15%, and we had less incentive compensation expense. Depreciation and amortization expense increased as compared to prior year, due to growth oriented investments in equipment and technology, as well as acquisitions.

調整收購相關費用後，本季每股收益為 0.54 美元，全年每股收益為 2.68 美元。第四季度，由於數量減少和成本管理工作，採購運輸和倉儲成本較去年同期下降。由於我們的非司機人數減少了 15%，薪資和福利較前一年下降，而且我們的激勵補償費用也減少了。由於設備和技術的成長型投資以及收購，折舊和攤提費用較上年增加。

Insurance and claims costs decreased by $7.5 million due to improved claims experiences. G&A costs increased by over $2 million due to the previously-mentioned $5.1 million in acquisition-related expenses. Gain on sale was minimal this quarter, whereas the prior year benefited strong used truck rates. Turning our focus to our balance sheet and capital allocation.

由於索賠體驗的改善，保險和索賠成本減少了 750 萬美元。由於前面提到的 510 萬美元的收購相關費用，一般管理費用增加了超過 200 萬美元。本季銷售收益微乎其微，而前一年則受惠於強勁的二手卡車價格。將我們的重點轉向資產負債表和資本配置。

Fourth quarter capital expenditures totaled $35 million, with full year amount of $140 million. We purchased $21 million of tractors during the quarter, $7 million of containers, with the remaining $7 million related to technology projects and warehouse equipment. For 2024, we expect capital expenditures to be between $55 million and $75 million, as we have no additional container purchases planned and lower tractor replacement.

第四季資本支出總額為3,500萬美元，全年資本支出為1.4億美元。我們在本季購買了 2,100 萬美元的拖拉機、700 萬美元的貨櫃，其餘 700 萬美元用於技術項目和倉庫設備。到 2024 年，我們預計資本支出將在 5,500 萬美元至 7,500 萬美元之間，因為我們沒有計劃購買額外的貨櫃，且拖拉機更換量較低。

We are expecting our typical technology capital spend to be in the $20 million range. We anticipate 2025 CapEx to be in a similar range as the 2024. During the quarter, we continued generating strong operating cash flow while, deploying $262 million of cash for the strategic acquisition within our Final Mile business and an additional $26 million on stock buyback at a weighted average price of $76 per share.

我們預計我們的典型技術資本支出將在 2000 萬美元範圍內。我們預計 2025 年的資本支出將與 2024 年的範圍相似。本季度，我們繼續產生強勁的營運現金流，同時部署了 2.62 億美元現金用於「最後一哩路」業務的策略性收購，並以每股 76 美元的加權平均價格回購了 2,600 萬美元的股票。

For the full year, we purchased 143 million of stock, at a weighted average price of $77 a share. At the end of the year, we had cash on hand of approximately $187 million. Our net debt is $156 million, which is 0.4 times EBITDA. We are below our stated net debt to EBITDA range of 0.75 to 1.25 times, and expect EBITDA less cash expenditures in 2024 to be greater than the $257 million generated in 2023.

全年我們買了 1.43 億股股票，加權平均價格為每股 77 美元。截至年底，我們手頭現金約為 1.87 億美元。我們的淨債務為 1.56 億美元，是 EBITDA 的 0.4 倍。我們的淨負債與 EBITDA 的比率低於我們規定的 0.75 至 1.25 倍範圍，預計 2024 年 EBITDA 減去現金支出將高於 2023 年產生的 2.57 億美元。

This shows Hub cash resiliency, as we expect cash earnings growth in a challenging freight environment. Additionally, we are confident in our ability to execute on our capital allocation plan, which includes paying our first dividend later this quarter, repurchasing more stock, and continuing to be active in M&A. After Hub's second highest annual EPS, we turn our attention to 2024. Our EPS guidance is $2 to $2.50 a share, with revenue guidance of $4.6 billion to $5 billion.

這顯示了 Hub 的現金彈性，因為我們預期現金收入在充滿挑戰的貨運環境中會成長。此外，我們對執行資本配置計劃的能力充滿信心，其中包括在本季度稍後支付首次股息、回購更多股票以及繼續積極進行併購。繼 Hub 的年度每股收益第二高之後，我們將注意力轉向 2024 年。我們的 EPS 指引為每股 2 至 2.50 美元，營收指引為 46 億至 50 億美元。

A few things to note as we come out of 2023 and into 2024: the middle of the range assumes ITF volume growth of low double digits as OTR conversions occur based on continued strong rail service. Pricing in the first half of the year is assumed down, but then rebounding to low single digit increases in the second half of the year, as truckload capacity exit and the repricing of lower third quarter contractual rates occur. There is upside potential in our guidance as retail inventory decline, leading to restocking demand and more physical shipping pattern, including the traditional intermodal peak season and surcharge revenue during the peak season.

走出 2023 年並進入 2024 年時，需要注意以下幾點：該範圍的中間部分假設 ITF 銷量增長為低兩位數，因為 OTR 轉換是基於持續強勁的鐵路服務而發生的。假設今年上半年的定價會下降，但隨著卡車運力的退出和第三季較低的合約費率的重新定價，下半年的定價會反彈至較低的個位數成長。由於零售庫存下降，導致補貨需求和更多的實體運輸模式，包括傳統的多式聯運旺季和旺季的附加費收入，我們的指引存在上升潛力。

Another market condition that would cause results to the high end of guidance is intermodal volume growth, driven by OTR conversion, based on continue and sustain further global improvements. In our logistics segment, we are assuming growth due to the addition of the appliance Final Mile business, low to mid double-digit growth in managed transportation, driven by new customer wins and increased demand, as well as mid single digit growth for our consolidation and fulfillment and brokerage businesses. Additional guidance upside would result from the tightening of the truckload market with capacity exiting, resulting in an increase in intermodal and truckload rates.

另一個導致績效達到指導上限的市場狀況是，在持續和維持全球進一步改善的基礎上，由 OTR 轉換推動的多式聯運量成長。在我們的物流領域，我們預計由於增加了「最後一哩路」設備業務而實現成長，受新客戶贏得和需求增加的推動，託管運輸業務將實現中低兩位數成長，以及我們的整合將實現中個位數成長以及履行和經紀業務。隨著運力退出，卡車裝載市場趨緊，從而導致多式聯運和卡車裝載率上升，從而帶來額外的指導上行空間。

For the 2024 guidance, we are assuming a normalized annual tax rate of 24% versus the lower 2023 tax rate of 20%. In 2023 Hub had very minimal incentive compensation expense. The 2024 guidance includes a more normalized incentive compensation expense. Another assumed headwinds in the guidance is gain on sale. We assumed minimal gains in 2024.

對於 2024 年指導，我們假設標準化年稅率為 24%，而 2023 年稅率較低為 20%。2023 年，Hub 的激勵補償費用非常少。2024 年指導意見包括更規範的激勵補償費用。指南中另一個假設的阻力是銷售收益。我們假設 2024 年收益最小。

Our current average age of our tractor fleet was 2.6 years, which is within the lower range of our optimal replacement cycle. As such, we will be replacing less tractors than previous year. Additionally, we are not seeing improvement in the used tractor market, thus, we expect minimal gains as we replace older tractors. With these assumptions, we expect challenges that we have experienced the last few quarter continuing during the first half of 2024.

目前，我們拖拉機機隊的平均車齡為 2.6 年，處於最佳更換週期的較低範圍內。因此，我們更換的拖拉機將比去年少。此外，我們沒有看到二手拖拉機市場的改善，因此，我們預計更換舊拖拉機時收益微乎其微。根據這些假設，我們預計過去幾季所經歷的挑戰將在 2024 年上半年繼續存在。

In the second half of the year, with normal seasonality, we anticipate sequential quarterly earnings growth. We expect earnings in Q1 to be a step down from Q4 2023, due to normal seasonality and continued pressure on intermodal and truckload pricing and the return to a normalized tax rate. I do want to mention that normalizing our tax rate, incentive compensation expense, and the gain on sale of equipment would add back approximately $0.49 to our midrange of the 2024 guidance, resulting in flat to slightly growing EPS in 2024. The change in the tax rate will have the largest impact from Q4 to Q1 as we had the low [3.3] tax rate in Q4 2023 and expect the tax rate in Q1 to return to approximately 24%.

下半年，在正常季節性的情況下，我們預期季度獲利將較上季成長。由於正常的季節性以及多式聯運和卡車裝載定價的持續壓力以及回歸正常化稅率，我們預計第一季的獲利將較 2023 年第四季下降。我確實想提一下，使我們的稅率、激勵補償費用和設備銷售收益正常化將使我們的 2024 年指導中位數增加約 0.49 美元，從而導致 2024 年每股收益持平或略有增長。稅率的變化將從第四季到第一季產生最大的影響，因為我們在 2023 年第四季的稅率較低 [3.3]，預計第一季的稅率將恢復到約 24%。

We expect the incentive compensation effect to grow during the year as our earnings grow. Finally, looking at our cash flow, Hub's cash EPS was $0.30 and $0.34 higher than our GAAP EPS in 2022 and 2023, respectively. We expect that spread to continue to grow in 2024. As generating cash as an important goal of management, we will be noting our cash EPS results going forward. This change is not the basis for guidance, but to highlight Hub's cash earnings power. With that, I'll turn it over to the operator to open the line to any questions.

我們預計隨著我們獲利的成長，激勵薪酬效應將在年內增強。最後，看看我們的現金流，Hub 2022 年和 2023 年的現金每股收益分別比我們的 GAAP 每股收益高出 0.30 美元和 0.34 美元。我們預計這一利差將在 2024 年繼續擴大。由於產生現金是管理層的重要目標，我們將關注未來的現金每股收益結果。這項變更並非指引依據，而是為了凸顯Hub的現金獲利能力。這樣，我會將其轉交給接線員，以便解答任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) Scott Group, Wolfe Research.

（操作員說明）Scott Group、Wolfe Research。

Hey, thanks, afternoon, guys. So I just wanted to get a little more color on the near-term earnings expectations, and then just thinking about like the cadence throughout the year. So you're saying a step down from Q4, should we adjust for the tax rate and get to something in the low 40s and then take it then apply normal seasonality or not? Any color on just how to think about Q1, I guess. And then the sequential build from there.

嘿，謝謝，下午，夥計們。所以我只是想對近期獲利預期有更多的了解，然後思考全年的節奏。所以你是說從第四季開始下降，我們是否應該調整稅率並達到 40 左右的水平，然後應用正常的季節性？我想，關於如何思考第一季的任何顏色。然後從那裡開始順序構建。

Sure. Thanks, Scott, for the question. Yes, definitely, you have a couple of headwinds that will run into here quickly in the first quarter. One is, definitely the tax rate going from the 3.3 to normalized 24. Additionally, we're going to have less interest income after spending the $262 million regarding the acquisition. So those are certainly the two biggest things I think in the first quarter that really aren't that management control.

當然。謝謝斯科特提出這個問題。是的，當然，第一季很快就會遇到一些阻力。一是稅率肯定會從 3.3 升至標準化的 24。此外，在花費 2.62 億美元進行收購後，我們的利息收入將會減少。因此，我認為第一季最重要的兩件事確實不是管理控制。

In addition to that, we will have some offsetting. We're expecting to start to see margins return and get to at leased the pre adjusted or the post adjusted numbers, excuse me. And then as the year grows, we'll be seeing those price increases, as well as volume increases that will sequentially increase EPS during the year.

除此之外，我們還會有一些抵消。我們預期利潤率會開始回升，並至少達到調整前或調整後的數字，請原諒。然後，隨著時間的推移，我們將看到價格上漲，以及銷量增加，導致年內每股收益增加。

I'd just add, Scott. I think obviously, there's a bit of a tailwind here from the acquisition we just completed in December from a revenue basis. We're anticipating some sequential improvement in intermodal volumes. We saw that show up in January despite some some weather issues. But to Kevin's point, operating margin percentage being relatively consistent with Q4 on the adjusted basis, and then the tax headwind are really the big things to call out.

我想補充一點，史考特。我認為顯然，從收入的角度來看，我們 12 月剛完成的收購有一些推動作用。我們預期聯運量將出現連續改善。儘管存在一些天氣問題，我們還是在一月份看到了這種情況。但就凱文的觀點而言，調整後的營業利潤率與第四季相對一致，而且稅收逆風確實是值得關注的大問題。

Okay. And then, so you're saying take the adjusted intermodal ITS margin of [two six] and you think hold that fairly steady from Q4 to Q1?

好的。然後，您是說調整後的多式聯運 ITS 利潤為 [二六]，您認為從第四季度到第一季保持相當穩定？

Yeah.

是的。

And as you think about your rail contracts and what you're expecting for price, is it in aggregate for the year? Is intermodal price cost a tailwind or a headwind?

當您考慮鐵路合約以及您對價格的預期時，是今年的總計嗎？多式聯運價格成本是順風還是逆風？

Yes, this is Phil. I would say it's a tailwind. Our earnings structure and certainly helped us through this more challenging environment with the structure that moves up and down. Obviously, with some of the challenges we've seen in the market. It does have a bit of a lagging effect. And I think that's important to call out as we see more stabilized pricing in the broader market, as well as an inflection positive.

是的，這是菲爾。我想說這是順風。我們的獲利結構無疑幫助我們度過了這個更具挑戰性的環境，其結構上下波動。顯然，我們在市場上看到了一些挑戰。它確實有一點滯後效應。我認為這一點很重要，因為我們看到更廣泛市場的定價更加穩定，並且出現積極的轉折點。

You'll see more flow through for Hub. I think Brian mentioned some really good things we're doing on the other side, the cost in implementing our new chassis program in the West. I think in Q4, we saw drayage costs down 25% on a cost per trade basis. So we're doing a really nice job there. And then we're very focused on layering in growth that will help really drive down our cost structure as well.

您將看到 Hub 的流量更多。我認為布萊恩提到了我們在另一邊所做的一些非常好的事情，即在西方實施我們的新底盤計劃的成本。我認為在第四季度，我們看到每筆交易的拖運成本下降了 25%。所以我們在那裡做得非常好。然後我們非常注重分層成長，這也將有助於真正降低我們的成本結構。

And just maybe just last question, so you guys used to give us quarterly OpEx guidance. I guess, it's a bigger business now, but you want to take a shot at trying to help us think about costs going forward?

也許只是最後一個問題，你們過去常常給我們提供季度營運支出指引。我想，現在這是一個更大的業務，但你想嘗試幫助我們考慮未來的成本嗎？

We're not prepared to do that for you in the individual segments. But I would say, again, we would be looking at increases, first quarter, and like I said, similar to the after adjusted amounts and then going back up to more standard with a little bit of growth into the second-half of the year.

我們不准備在各個細分市場中為您做到這一點。但我想說，我們將關注第一季的成長，就像我說的，與調整後的金額類似，然後回到更高的標準，並在下半年略有成長。

And I think headcount will stay relatively similar. We're going to have obviously merit-based increases and some increase in incentive compensation in Q1. And then, gain on sale will be a little bit of a headwind Q4 to Q1 as well.

我認為員工人數將保持相對相似。我們將在第一季進行明顯的基於績效的成長和激勵性薪酬的一些增加。然後，銷售收益也將成為第四季到第一季的一點阻力。

All right. Thank you, guys.

好的。感謝你們。

Jon Chappell, Evercore.

喬恩·查佩爾，Evercore。

So on the big year guidance ranges, the revenue number is substantially higher than street expectations, so a fair amount of upside there, but the EPS is actually lower. So I'm just curious on the margin cadence for this year. Is this strictly just the pricing weakness at intermodal in the first-half of the year before things start to ramp? Or is there more of a structural lower margin for the entire enterprise as you're diversifying your businesses, especially with growth in the logistics market?

因此，在大的年度指導範圍內，收入數字大大高於市場預期，因此存在相當大的上升空間，但每股收益實際上較低。所以我只是對今年的保證金節奏感到好奇。這只是今年上半年多式聯運價格開始走軟前的疲軟表現？或者，隨著業務多元化，特別是隨著物流市場的成長，整個企業的利潤率是否會出現結構性下降？

So I think what we've shown over this past year is the logistic margins are going to be relatively more stable. We think that there is upside within that as we see the brokerage market normalize, but we didn't really want to place a bet on exactly when that's going to occur within ITS. I think we've also stated that is going to have some lower lows, but also some higher highs and a little bit more fluctuation. We're currently in the lower end of that and believe that that's going to sequentially improve throughout the year.

因此，我認為我們在過去一年中所表現出的物流利潤將相對更加穩定。我們認為，當我們看到經紀市場正常化時，這有上行空間，但我們並不想押注 ITS 內這種情況何時會發生。我想我們也說過，將會有一些較低的低點，但也會有一些較高的高點和更多的波動。我們目前處於這一水平的低端，並相信這一情況將在全年中逐步改善。

So I don't believe that we're at a structurally lower operating margin going forward, but we're certainly navigating through some more challenging market conditions and wanted to be conservative in our approach. One item that we didn't include in the guidance is any share repurchases. Obviously, we have a $250 million authorization, which could be upside, and we'll be opportunistic within that at around capital deployment.

因此，我不認為我們未來的營業利潤率在結構上會降低，但我們肯定正在應對一些更具挑戰性的市場條件，並希望在我們的方法上保持保守。我們沒有納入指南的一項內容是任何股票回購。顯然，我們獲得了 2.5 億美元的授權，這可能是有利的，我們將在資本部署方面抓住機會。

Okay, that's helpful. And then for Brian, I think it was last quarter, maybe two quarters ago, but probably last quarter, you said you maybe held the line on price a little bit longer at the expense of volume, and I feel like you've shifted there. You had some positive things to say about incremental wins in bid season? Is it that same policy you're sticking with now, and maybe for the first six months of the year to trying to get more volume on the network, doubled efficiency, et cetera, at the expense of price? And when do you maybe expect a better balance of volume and price is that just purely market related?

好的，這很有幫助。然後對於布萊恩來說，我認為那是上個季度，也許是兩個季度前，但可能是上個季度，你說你可能會以犧牲銷量為代價，在價格上保持更長的時間，我覺得你已經轉移到那裡了。對於申辦季的增量勝利，您有一些正面的看法嗎？您現在是否堅持同樣的政策，也許在今年的前六個月，試圖以犧牲價格為代價來獲得更多的網路容量、雙倍的效率等等？什麼時候可能期望數量和價格更好的平衡？這純粹是與市場相關的嗎？

Sure. Yeah, no, I appreciate that, John. Were we are getting the early wins in the bid season and what we're seeing is that we're positioned well now to defend our incumbency to capture more share and get the over the road conversions that we needed to do.

當然。是的，不，我很感激，約翰。如果我們在投標季節中取得了早期勝利，那麼我們現在看到的是，我們現在處於有利位置，可以捍衛我們的現有地位，以獲取更多份額並獲得我們需要做的路上轉換。

As I mentioned in the previous calls, we needed to make some adjustments, structurally, to target balance and velocity. And I think seeing the bid realization and some of those inventory normalization has helped us plan that demand in that forecast. But we saw transcon, I mentioned that in the prepared remarks, the sequential growth there. And when we look at January over December, we saw a 10% sequential growth in transcon.

正如我在先前的電話會議中提到的，我們需要在結構上進行一些調整，以達到平衡和速度的目標。我認為看到投標實現和其中一些庫存正常化有助於我們在預測中規劃需求。但我們看到了 transcon，我在準備好的發言中提到了那裡的連續增長。當我們觀察 1 月與 12 月的情況時，我們發現傳輸量較上月增加了 10%。

And that's really up focusing on margin per load day and seeing some of that spot inflation start to drive more of those over the road conversions. And it's the same thing in the local leased, we saw sequential improvement there in the local leased. In January, we saw that consistent and getting more momentum at about 10% over December. And that's a lot of capture from over the road conversions. So we think that we've timed it well.

這確實是在關注每個負載日的利潤，並看到一些現貨通膨開始推動更多的道路轉換。本地租賃也是如此，我們看到本地租賃連續改善。1 月份，我們看到了這一趨勢，並且比 12 月份增長了 10% 左右。這是從公路轉換中捕獲的大量數據。所以我們認為我們的時機把握得很好。

We have about 43% of our bids going live in Q1, and we positioned in Q4 to time it right. And then another 18% of those go live in Q2. And so that's going to drive a lot more of that volume and velocity that helps us cover the fixed expenses, but also staying disciplined on margins.

我們大約 43% 的出價在第一季生效，我們在第四季度進行了定位以把握正確的時機。其中另外 18% 將在第二季上線。因此，這將推動更多的數量和速度，幫助我們支付固定費用，同時也維持利潤率。

Great, that's very helpful. Thank you, Brian; thanks, Phil.

太好了，這非常有幫助。謝謝你，布萊恩；謝謝，菲爾。

Jason Seidl, Cowen and Company.

賈森·塞德爾，考恩公司。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, gentlemen. A couple of quick questions here for me: you mentioned that there is going to be some cost controls that accelerate as we move through the year. Can you give us some more details and maybe tell us where you expect that to show up in the P&L? And also, on the container side, you said you're going to basically pause anymore container purchases. Can you talk to us about where the fleets and what percent of the fleet is actually in use right now versus a big part?

謝謝你，接線生。早安，先生們。我想問幾個簡單的問題：您提到，隨著今年的進展，一些成本控制將會加速。您能否給我們更多詳細信息，並告訴我們您希望這些資訊出現在損益表中的什麼位置？此外，在貨櫃方面，您說您基本上將暫停更多的貨櫃購買。您能和我們談談機隊的位置以及機隊目前實際使用的比例與大部分機隊的比例是多少嗎？

Yeah, this is Phil. So from a container perspective, we have around 20% that's currently stacked. We're in the process of actually unstacking, as we've seen some momentum here. Brian mentioned some of the positive signs we're seeing December to January, and that's actually through some significant startup that we have over the next couple of weeks. So there's some unstacking.

是的，這是菲爾。因此，從容器的角度來看，我們目前堆疊的容器數量約為 20%。我們正處於真正的拆散過程中，因為我們已經看到了一些勢頭。Brian 提到了我們在 12 月到 1 月看到的一些積極跡象，這實際上是透過我們在接下來的幾週內進行的一些重大啟動而實現的。所以有一些拆垛。

We think that'll come down, sequentially, throughout the quarter. But given the amount that we have stacked, as well as the improvement in utilization that we can drive, we don't see any need to add any additional containers at this point. It's obviously going to drive some pretty significant free cash flow generation for the year on the cost side, and I'll let Brian and Kevin jump in here, we've done a really nice job on managing our overhead expenses. Our headcount down 15% on a year-over-year basis, and we'll be thoughtful around hiring and returning to growth there.

我們認為這一數字將在整個季度依次下降。但考慮到我們已經堆疊的數量，以及我們可以推動的利用率的提高，我們認為目前沒有必要添加任何額外的容器。顯然，這將在成本方面推動今年產生相當大的自由現金流，我會讓布萊恩和凱文跳到這裡，我們在管理管理費用方面做得非常好。我們的員工人數年減了 15%，我們將在招募和恢復成長方面進行深思熟慮。

But I want to make sure that we remain diligent as we've done a very nice job in resetting our cost structure for the current environment. I think we've also done a really nice job as well around reducing cost per dray, improving our purchasing. I mentioned that was down 25% year-over-year in the fourth quarter. We'll see that trend continue, not only as we in-source more and get more productivity out of our drivers, but we're also going to continue to be very diligent around third party drayage costs.

但我想確保我們保持勤奮，因為我們在針對當前環境重置成本結構方面做得非常好。我認為我們在降低每車成本、改善採購方面也做得非常好。我提到第四季同比下降了 25%。我們將看到這種趨勢繼續下去，不僅因為我們內包了更多司機並提高了司機的生產力，而且我們也將繼續在第三方拖運成本方面非常努力。

And then Brian also mentioned our new chassis agreement in the West. That's going to be very helpful from a margin perspective, and we'll start to see that really show up in the second quarter. It will be radically rolled out throughout the first quarter and start to show up there and the last piece I would just highlight is rail costs. We'll likely see some benefits sequentially as we head through Q1 as well as into Q2.

然後布萊恩也提到了我們在西方的新底盤協議。從利潤角度來看，這將非常有幫助，我們將開始看到它在第二季真正顯現出來。它將在整個第一季徹底推出，並開始出現在那裡，我要強調的最後一點是鐵路成本。當我們進入第一季和第二季時，我們可能會依次看到一些好處。

Yes, I'll just add one piece on specific the grocery trade. We've seen the volume growth there and it really industries stand out with, what they've done, we're really proud of that. But they've also improved their productivity their team productivity. We've got a good roadmap of IT initiatives that are set to roll out throughout the year that will further enhance that productivity within our brokerage and help control that cost.

是的，我將添加一篇關於具體雜貨貿易的文章。我們已經看到了那裡的銷售成長，它確實在行業中脫穎而出，他們所做的一切，我們對此感到非常自豪。但他們也提高了團隊的生產力。我們已經制定了良好的 IT 計劃路線圖，這些計劃將在全年推出，這將進一步提高我們經紀業務的生產力並幫助控製成本。

Well, that's good color. If I can go back, Phil, do you know the 20% that you said you had stacked and you said that number should come down with 43% of your bids going live in Q1 and 18% in Q2. What number should we see expect to see by the end of 2Q here on that 20%? Should it be down like 15% or could it go below that?

嗯，這個顏色不錯。如果我可以回去的話，菲爾，你知道你說你已經堆積了 20% 嗎？你說這個數字應該隨著第一季 43% 的出價和第二季度 18% 的出價而下降。到第二季末，我們應該會看到這 20% 的數字是多少？它應該下降 15% 還是可以低於這個水平？

It's a little unclear to me, I don't know exactly at this point. I would say on 15% is probably a good measure, but I think our goal is to get an improved utilization at the same time, right? And so we're really focusing on balance and trying to win the right business that fits our network. And so, a little tough for me to say exactly, might have some temporary imbalances where we increase repositioning costs, while we make a decision to stack or to unstack because we think the volume's going to be there longer term.

我有點不清楚，目前我還不太清楚。我想說 15% 可能是一個很好的衡量標準，但我認為我們的目標是同時提高利用率，對嗎？因此，我們真正注重平衡並努力贏得適合我們網路的業務。因此，我很難準確地說，可能會出現一些暫時的不平衡，我們會增加重新定位成本，同時我們會決定堆疊或取消堆疊，因為我們認為卷會長期存在。

So those are things we're weighing on a more tactical perspective, but it's a little a little difficult to say. But I would say likely you're talking about 15% or maybe a little bit under that.

所以這些是我們從戰術角度考慮的事情，但說起來有點困難。但我想說的是，你所說的可能是 15%，或者可能比這個數字低一點點。

Sounds good. Appreciate the time.

聽起來不錯。珍惜時間。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Bruce Chan, Stifel.

布魯斯·陳，斯蒂菲爾。

Thanks, operator, and good afternoon, everyone. Maybe just a follow-up here on the revenue growth side. I'm not sure if I missed some of it, but it sounds like you're off to a pretty healthy start for the year on the volume side. How should I think about kind of the cadence of low growth versus pricing growth in intermodal as we move through the year? Is the idea that we're higher on the volume side and maybe that subsides a little bit in the back half of the year and pricing accelerates there? So maybe just some commentary on how you'd have revenue growth proceeds through the year.

謝謝接線員，大家下午好。也許只是收入成長的後續行動。我不確定我是否錯過了其中的一些，但聽起來你今年在銷量方面有了一個相當健康的開始。當我們度過這一年時，我該如何思考多式聯運的低成長與定價成長的節奏？我們是否認為我們的銷售量較高，並且可能在今年下半年減弱，而定價會加速？因此，也許只是一些關於如何實現全年收入成長的評論。

Yes, Kevin, mentioned, I think when you look at ITS, volume is likely going to be down again year-over-year in Q1, be up in Q2, and then accelerate as we have both new wins coming on, but also lower comparable in Q3 and Q4. I think around that as well, we would certainly hope that in that kind of 31% that's coming out to bid in Q3 and we're getting positive price, which would be incremental. And then, certainly, we hope if there's any normal seasonality in Q3 and Q4 if we'd see some sort of surcharge revenue that's coming in there as well. That would certainly be upside to our to our revenue projection.

是的，凱文提到，我認為當你看 ITS 時，第一季的銷量可能會再次同比下降，第二季度會上升，然後隨著我們有新的勝利即將到來而加速，但也會下降第三季和第四季相當。我認為圍繞著這一點，我們當然希望在第三季出價的 31% 中，我們能夠獲得積極的價格，這將是增量的。當然，我們希望第三季和第四季是否有正常的季節性，如果我們也能看到某種附加費收入。這肯定有利於我們的收入預測。

And the other piece that is built-in there is onboarding and within our Logistics segment that we have good visibility to, as well as the Final Mile acquisition is adding some significant revenue as well. So those components together. reall.y are leading to the revenue guidance. Kevin or Brian, do you have anything to add?

另一個內建的部分是我們有良好可見性的入職和物流部門，以及最後一哩的收購也增加了一些可觀的收入。所以這些組件放在一起。確實，他們正在製定收入指引。凱文或布萊恩，你們還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Yeah, I agree with Phil. I think one thing to point out, Bruce, is we're definitely have some high comparable. We're looking at this year sort of the exact flip of last year where we started off with really high revenue amounts in ITS. And this year, you know, we're going to fill back up to those as opposed to starting with it. As the bid come about later in the year, we'll start to see that price increase year-over-year as those bids that went into the second half were priced at a lower amount to begin with.

是的，我同意菲爾的觀點。布魯斯，我認為需要指出的一件事是，我們肯定有一些高可比性。我們認為今年與去年完全相反，去年我們在智慧交通系統領域的收入非常高。今年，你知道，我們將補充這些內容，而不是從頭開始。隨著今年稍後的出價，我們將開始看到價格同比上漲，因為進入下半年的出價一開始定價較低。

Okay. That's really helpful. And maybe just as a quick follow-up here, of any comments around what you're seeing in terms of competitiveness in the marketplace? And I know you've got some boxes to unstack, some of your peers have some boxes to unstack. So maybe just what assumptions are built in from a pricing competitive standpoint in your assumptions for pricing this year?

好的。這真的很有幫助。也許只是作為一個快速跟進，關於您所看到的市場競爭力的任何評論？我知道你有一些盒子要拆開，你的一些同事也有一些盒子要拆。那麼，從定價競爭的角度來看，您今年的定價假設可能內建了哪些假設？

Sure. I'd say it's a competitive market, but we're very focused on our network needs and really driving that velocity and productivity and converting business from over the road. That's actually what we are seeing the majority of our wins in the shorter length of haul, which might be a negative mix impact to our revenue per load as the year progresses. But I think, at the same time, is a positive for velocity and the balance. So while it's competitive, we're not going to unstack containers unless we're getting a return on that.

當然。我想說這是一個競爭激烈的市場，但我們非常關注我們的網路需求，並真正推動速度和生產力，並從路上轉換業務。這實際上是我們在較短的運輸中看到的大部分勝利，隨著時間的推移，這可能會對我們的每次裝載收入產生負面的綜合影響。但我認為，同時，這對速度和平衡來說是積極的。因此，儘管它具有競爭力，但我們不會拆開貨櫃，除非我們能從中獲得回報。

And we still have a long way to go to get our fleet to running optimally and that the utilization levels that they should be. So there's capacity available even on the street today, but we also want to make sure we have ample capacity to support new onboarding, make sure that those are seamless, and that we're serving our customers appropriately as well.

要讓我們的機隊達到最佳運行狀態並達到應有的利用率水平，我們還有很長的路要走。因此，今天即使在街上也有可用的容量，但我們也希望確保我們有足夠的容量來支持新的入職，確保這些是無縫的，並且我們也為我們的客戶提供適當的服務。

That's great. Thanks for the time.

那太棒了。謝謝你的時間。

(Operator Instructions) Brian Ossenbeck, JPMorgan.

（操作員指示）Brian Ossenbeck，摩根大通。

All right. Thanks, guys, I appreciate taking the question. I just wanted to go back, make sure I understood the the cadence again. Like, where are you seeing contract renewals now to your point, you are holding the line a little bit too hard on on price or is pricing no down at this point? It sounds like, maybe, you're hoping for that to recover and turn positive market recovery and maybe comps at the same time. So I mean, if you can just start there and walk me through that again?

好的。謝謝，夥計們，我很高興提出這個問題。我只是想回去，確保我再次理解節奏。例如，你現在在哪裡看到合約續約，你在價格上堅持得有點太嚴格了，或者目前價格沒有下降？聽起來，也許，你希望這種情況能夠復甦並帶來正面的市場復甦，也許同時也能獲利。所以我的意思是，你是否可以從這裡開始並引導我再次完成這個過程？

Sure. And focusing on our incumbency, we are seeing slightly down renewals, I would say. And then what we're really trying to do is ensure that we're getting growth that is consistent with our network needs that help drive that balance, help reduce costs, and really spread our fixed costs a little bit more effectively.

當然。我想說，專注於我們的現任，我們看到續約略有下降。然後，我們真正想做的是確保我們的成長符合我們的網路需求，有助於推動這種平衡，幫助降低成本，並真正更有效地分散我們的固定成本。

And when you look at the last latter part of the year, Brian, that's where we mentioned that we held price a little too long and it's those contracts that are going to come due here in the second half, and we'll be able to price better and it happens are winning more volume at that time.

布萊恩，當你看看今年下半年的情況時，我們就提到我們持有價格的時間有點太長了，這些合約將在下半年到期，我們將能夠價格更好，而且當時恰好贏得了更多銷量。

Right. So then, I guess I'm just have a hard time with these gas prices too long in the back half of last year coming up this year when it flipped the other way and you'd lose some on lose more on price and get more on volume. Obviously, a lot can happen between now and then, but just wanted to make sure I understood what you were assuming in the outlook focused on the midpoint?

正確的。那麼，我想我在去年下半年的這些汽油價格上度過了一段艱難的時期，今年即將到來，當它轉向另一個方向時，你會在價格上損失更多並獲得更多的情況下損失一些關於音量。顯然，從現在到那時可能會發生很多事情，但只是想確保我理解您在關注中點的前景中的假設？

Yeah, we are taking a slightly down price in the current bid process, which is that 41% and 18% that are here in the first-half, right? So that's what we assumed on those renewals. And then we assume slightly up on the Q3, Q4. And as we bring that on, we would be hopeful that we are growing volumes during all of those bids. And that is what we are seeing, currently, right now, if you talk about the 41% that it's currently in bid, we are locking in our incumbency at that slightly down level, but then we're adding incremental volume, which, as you know, has a significant flow through for us.

是的，我們在目前的投標過程中稍微降低了價格，即上半年的 41% 和 18%，對嗎？這就是我們對這些續約的假設。然後我們假設第三季、第四季略有上升。當我們這樣做時，我們希望在所有這些投標中我們的銷量都能成長。這就是我們現在所看到的，如果你談論目前正在競標的 41%，我們將把我們的現有份額鎖定在稍微下降的水平，但隨後我們會增加增量，這就是你知道，這對我們來說有很大的影響。

And that's been the approach thus far. Obviously, we want the market to assist us. We want to see as there is some stabilization in the stock market. We haven't seen that necessarily translate into contract rates yet, but we're certainly hopeful we see the market really solidified and start to move upwards. And as you know, plate prices have large flow through for us and we'll certainly be as the market enables us to be going after rate as well.

這就是迄今為止的方法。顯然，我們希望市場能夠幫助我們。我們希望看到股市出現一定程度的穩定。我們還沒有看到這一定會轉化為合約利率，但我們當然希望看到市場真正鞏固並開始上漲。如您所知，板材價格對我們來說有很大的流動性，我們肯定會如此，因為市場使我們也能夠追求價格。

Yeah, I think one thing we didn't mention, Kevin, is on the upside of the guidance, the potential for some surcharges, and that has coming back. That was really muted, and in fact, there was no surcharge revenue that we experienced in 2023. So we can get back to the standard environments, we think we'll be able to get some surcharge revenue in the second-half of the year as well.

是的，凱文，我認為我們沒有提到的一件事是指導的好處，即可能收取一些附加費，而這種情況已經回來了。這確實很平靜，事實上，我們在 2023 年沒有經歷任何附加費收入。所以我們可以回到標準環境，我們認為下半年我們也能獲得一些附加費收入。

And I would just highlight, I think we based that on discussions with a lot of our customers who are having some concerns around the East Coast labor challenges that may be seen as we enter what is typically retail peak shipping season. And so, I do think you'll see a little bit more diversification back to West Coast ports.

我想強調的是，我認為我們的這一點是基於與許多客戶的討論，他們對東海岸勞動力挑戰感到擔憂，當我們進入典型的零售旺季時，這些挑戰可能會出現。因此，我確實認為您會看到西海岸港口更加多元化。

Okay, I appreciate all that. And just to follow-up on the current market conditions, it sounds like things are actually pretty strong, relatively speaking from December into January. I think Brian mentioned there's some signs of spot market strengths. Clearly not as strong as you'd like, and you just mentioned so. But what are you seeing now that gives you confidence and looking out for that so that back half recovery, is it too early to say we've turned the corner? Maybe specifically, since you're talking about truckload conversion just on rail service. Are shippers really willing to but meaningful volume to that? Or is it just kind of wait-and-see?

好吧，我很欣賞這一切。就目前的市場狀況而言，相對而言，從 12 月到 1 月，情況聽起來實際上相當強勁。我認為布萊恩提到有一些現貨市場走強的跡象。顯然沒有你想要的那麼強大，你剛才也提到了這一點。但是你現在所看到的是什麼給了你信心並期待著後半場恢復，現在說我們已經渡過難關還為時過早嗎？也許具體來說，因為您談論的是鐵路服務上的卡車裝載轉換。托運人真的願意這麼做，但數量有意義嗎？還是只是等待觀望？

Yeah, sure, Brian. I'll start with the quality of the bids that we're getting. And Phil mentioned some of the dialogues we're having with our shippers. They have a much better view what the normalized inventories, what their demands are going to be in each of the lanes, and some of that seasonality that comes with it. That helps us align with what to execute to, what price to, how to balance our network.

是的，當然，布萊恩。我將從我們收到的投標的品質開始。菲爾提到了我們與托運人進行的一些對話。他們可以更好地了解標準化庫存、每個通道的需求以及隨之而來的一些季節性。這有助於我們調整執行內容、價格以及如何平衡我們的網路。

And so, the quality of the bids are coming out really well. And so we mentioned some of the early wins in the bid season that have already started to materialize here. We've seen the early signs of that in January. I'd had mentioned some of the sequential growth that we've seen, not just in intermodal, but also when we look at our brokerage, sequential January over December was up 9% and up 4% year-over-year.

因此，投標的品質非常好。因此，我們提到了申辦季節的一些早期勝利，這些勝利已經開始在這裡實現。我們在一月份就看到了這種情況的早期跡象。我曾提到我們看到的一些環比增長，不僅是在多式聯運方面，而且當我們查看我們的經紀業務時，1 月份環比增長 9%，同比增長 4%。

And we think those are good indicators. And within that brokerage piece and over the road that we did see some spot price inflation, we'd like to see some more of that continue through the quarter. And we think it will as we start to see some of that spring restocking and as we go through March and into April. So I think that's a big part of it.

我們認為這些都是很好的指標。在該經紀業務中，我們確實看到了一些現貨價格上漲，我們希望看到更多這種情況在本季度繼續下去。我們認為，當我們開始看到一些春季補貨以及從三月進入四月時，情況就會如此。所以我認為這是其中很重要的一部分。

As far as the rail services, Brian, go, throughout 2023, we saw continuous quarter-over-quarter service improvements from both of our rail partners. And they're at a very good place, they're continuing that improvement, that's compounding over the fourth quarter into this year. I'd say, in addition to the consistency that we've seen in their rail service, we're also seeing them be more nimble and quicker to respond to disruptions, whether it be weather and they recover very quick. So shippers are noticing that as well and becoming more confident in those conversions.

就鐵路服務而言，布萊恩，在 2023 年全年，我們看到我們兩個鐵路合作夥伴的服務持續逐季度改善。他們處於一個非常好的位置，他們正在繼續這種改進，這種改進在今年第四季開始復合。我想說，除了我們在他們的鐵路服務中看到的一致性之外，我們還看到他們更靈活、更快地應對幹擾，無論是天氣原因，還是恢復得很快。因此，托運人也注意到了這一點，並對這些轉換變得更有信心。

And I think, we're using the most recent winter weather disruption of the rebound in service, those are very quick as proof point for a lot of our customers. And I think a lot of many of our customers are thinking about how they want to lock in capacity right now as well, and that there likely will be an inflection at some point this year. I don't think anybody is calling a change in the market, and that's not really built into our guidance. But we're certainly hopeful that we're seeing the positive trends that will lead to that.

我認為，我們正在利用最近的冬季天氣中斷服務的反彈，這些對我們的許多客戶來說都是非常快速的證據。我認為我們的許多客戶現在也正在考慮如何鎖定產能，今年的某個時候可能會出現轉折點。我認為沒有人呼籲市場發生變化，這也沒有真正納入我們的指導中。但我們當然希望看到能實現這一目標的正面趨勢。

Okay. I appreciate all that. Thanks for the time.

好的。我很感激這一切。謝謝你的時間。

Bascome Majors, Susquehanna.

巴斯科姆專業，薩斯奎哈納。

It sounds like the intermodal outlook for the second-half, you're expecting slightly positive pricing, slightly favorable calls for nice price cost spread. I'm curious if the pricing comes in more neutral with cost for a breakeven spread there, do you still think the low end of your guidance could hold if that's what the second half gives us? Thank you.

聽起來像是下半年的多式聯運前景，您預計定價會略有積極，對價格成本價差的預期會略有有利。我很好奇定價是否更加中性，並且成本與盈虧平衡價差相同，如果下半年給我們帶來的結果是這樣的話，您是否仍然認為您的指導的低端可以保持？謝謝。

Yeah, absolutely. We did not build this guidance with a large market improvement in mind. As I mentioned, there's some upside factors as well in there around share repurchases. And certainly, if we don't see the market stabilize, we have levers we can pull to continue to improve our overall cost structure, so absolutely.

是的，絕對是。我們制定本指南時並沒有考慮到市場的大幅改善。正如我所提到的，股票回購也存在一些上行因素。當然，如果我們沒有看到市場穩定下來，我們可以利用槓桿來繼續改善我們的整體成本結構，所以絕對如此。

Yeah, I think the cost, both the dynamic rail contract that we have will help allow for that [Bascome], as well as some of our. In 14 of the dredge and and the new chassis agreement also help a deal to allow for for hitting that low end of the guidance.

是的，我認為成本，我們擁有的動態鐵路合約將有助於實現這一點[巴斯科姆]，以及我們的一些。挖泥機的 14 和新的底盤協議也有助於達成協議，以允許達到指導的低端。

And in your prepared remarks, you talked about in recent years, cash EPS being, call it $0.35 higher than reported EPS. And clearly, that goes up with the acquisition this year. Do you have a preliminary purchase price allocation sense of what that gap will be in 2024?

在您準備好的演講中，您談到了近年來的現金每股收益，稱其比報告的每股收益高 0.35 美元。顯然，這一數字隨著今年的收購而增加。您對 2024 年的差距有多大有初步的購買價格分配意識嗎？

Yeah, we think preliminary in a low teens, is that part of the additional amortization from. Now, certainly, that's not not done yet and probably won't be done for the end of the quarter. But yeah, that's our preliminary.

是的，我們認為初步來看，這部分是額外攤銷的一部分。當然，現在這還沒有完成，而且可能在本季末也不會完成。但是，是的，這就是我們的初步準備。

I'm sorry, low teens? Do you mean like 10 to $0.15 or 10% or $0.35?

對不起，低齡青少年？您的意思是 10 比 0.15 美元、10% 或 0.35 美元嗎？

Oh, yeah, sorry. No, I was actually speaking in actual dollars. So about $12million $15 million of amortization at this time. Its higher amortization expense acquisitions. Is that what you're looking for?

哦，是的，抱歉。不，我實際上是用實際美元說話的。因此，此時攤銷費用約為 1200 萬美元和 1500 萬美元。其收購的攤銷費用較高。這就是您要找的嗎？

I'm sorry. Thank you for the time.

對不起。謝謝你的時間。

[Brady Layers] of Stephens.

史蒂芬斯的[布雷迪層]。

Okay, great, thanks. This is Brady on for Justin. I wanted to ask if you could share what your guidance is assuming for margins and logistics. And maybe if you could just share any color on the cadence of margins in that segment in 1Q, and then as we as we move through the year?

好的，太好了，謝謝。這是布雷迪替補賈斯汀。我想問您是否可以分享您對利潤和物流的指導假設。也許您可以分享第一季該細分市場以及我們全年的利潤節奏的任何顏色？

Sure, Brady. I think, actually, similar to what we've been talking about with ITS, it's going to start off a little lower than we would certainly like it, just due to lower transactional volume. But, the spot market and the brokerage pricing right now is a tough headwind to battle. But we expected that to increase as our contractual rates on the truck market improve. And also, as the Final Mile, the integration that happens, but we have a lot of upside there as well to help with the BOI of the logistics segment.

當然，布雷迪。我認為，實際上，與我們一直在談論的 ITS 類似，它的起點會比我們希望的低一些，只是由於交易量較低。但是，目前現貨市場和經紀定價是一個難以應付的阻力。但我們預計，隨著卡車市場合約費率的提高，這一數字將會增加。而且，作為最後一英里，整合正在發生，但我們也有很多優勢可以幫助物流部門的 BOI。

Yeah, I would think about it as adjusted operating margin percent from Q4. It's probably relatively flattish yet to Q1. And we would anticipate, sequentially, improving.

是的，我將其視為第四季度調整後的營業利潤率。與第一季相比，情況可能相對穩定。我們預計會逐步改善。

Okay, great. Thanks. Very helpful. And maybe you could just talk about the growth that you're assuming on an organic basis and logistics? And maybe, any updated thoughts on what you view as a normalized margin for the segment, including the recent acquisition?

好的，太好了。謝謝。很有幫助。也許您可以只談談您在有機基礎和物流方面所假設的成長？也許，關於您認為該細分市場正常化利潤率（包括最近的收購）的任何最新想法？

Sure, yeah, this is Brian. I'll talk a little bit about that. I think what we've seen obviously is in our logistics segment is our brokerage standing out and continuing to grow volume. We expect that volume to grow into the double digits, low double digits, as we go into this year. Like I said, we've already seen that in January starting to materialize.

當然，是的，這是布萊恩。我會稍微談一下這一點。我認為我們在物流領域明顯看到的是我們的經紀業務脫穎而出並持續成長。我們預計，隨著今年的到來，這一數量將增長到兩位數，並低兩位數。就像我說的，我們在一月就已經看到這一點開始實現。

I think, also, within our brokerage of what we're seeing is their ability to cross-sell across all of Hub Group and they're adding new logos. And then those logos are cross-selling throughout logistics. Within our Final Mile, we've added those appliance capabilities, but we've also seen that cross-sell pipeline open very quickly, with materializing wins ready to onboard in Q2. So that will be another good piece of that revenue stream.

我還認為，在我們的經紀業務中，我們看到的是他們在整個 Hub Group 之間進行交叉銷售的能力，並且他們正在添加新的標誌。然後這些標誌在整個物流中交叉銷售。在我們的「最後一哩路」中，我們加入了這些設備功能，但我們也看到交叉銷售管道的開放速度非常快，並準備在第二季上線。因此，這將是該收入來源的另一個重要組成部分。

And then, as we think about our network, which I've mentioned is 11 million square feet, that helps enable our cross-selling and our growth, with strong pipelines for that network as well as our managed trends. And I've also indicated, too, as we've done this, we do see a higher retention rate of our customers. How we see them being less price sensitive and a higher rate of return with those solutions that we deliver across our logistics offerings.

然後，當我們考慮我們的網路時，我提到的網路面積為 1100 萬平方英尺，這有助於我們的交叉銷售和成長，為該網路提供強大的管道以及我們管理的趨勢。我還指出，當我們這樣做時，我們確實看到了更高的客戶保留率。我們如何看待他們透過我們在物流產品中提供的解決方案對價格不那麼敏感並獲得更高的回報率。

Yeah, obviously, the higher growth rate would be in Final Mile, given the incremental revenues there. I would say following that would be managed trend because we have some locked-in wins that are starting up actually in February. So we're excited about that. Brokerage, we didn't assume a massive amount of growth, just given we don't know exactly how the market's going to look.

是的，顯然，考慮到最後一英里的收入增量，成長率會更高。我想說的是，接下來的趨勢將是可控的，因為我們有一些鎖定的勝利，這些勝利實際上是在二月開始的。所以我們對此感到興奮。經紀業務，我們並沒有假設會有大幅成長，只是因為我們不知道市場到底會是什麼樣子。

And then with the consolidation, we said things would be a little bit more muted, but maybe just some organic growth in overall volume and velocity. So not anything massive, but actually up year-over-year.

然後，隨著整合，我們說事情會變得更加平靜，但也許只是總體數量和速度的一些有機增長。所以並不是什麼巨大的事情，但實際上是逐年上升的。

Okay, great. Thanks, guys. I'll leave it there.

好的，太好了。多謝你們。我會把它留在那裡。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thanks, Brady.

謝謝，布雷迪。

Thomas Wadewitz, UBS.

托馬斯‧瓦德維茨，瑞銀集團。

Yeah, good afternoon. I wanted to ask a little bit about what's behind the optimism on volume growth in intermodal and just think about where is this shippers are really interested in the conversion and the better backup on rail service gives you that momentum? Is it the share gain or the improved volume performance? Is that really at the expense of truck? Or are you thinking about maybe competing better against some of the other intermodal player system or perspective about the improvement in intermodal volume is looking at '24?

是的，下午好。我想問一下對多式聯運數量增長的樂觀情緒背後的原因是什麼，想一想托運人對轉換真正感興趣的地方以及更好的鐵路服務備份給您帶來了這種動力？是市佔率增加還是銷量表現提升？這真的是以卡車為代價嗎？或者您正在考慮與其他一些多式聯運參與者係統更好地競爭，或者對多式聯運量改善的看法是著眼於“24”？

Yeah, we are very focused on unless again finding the right business is going to fit our network. But yeah, we are very focused on returning to growth. As we mentioned, we don't think Q1 is going to be a positive year-over-year volume growth, but that it will improve on growth rates as we go through the year. One is, low comparable in the back-half.

是的，我們非常關注，除非再次找到適合我們網路的合適業務。但是，是的，我們非常注重恢復成長。正如我們所提到的，我們認為第一季的銷售不會出現年比正成長，但隨著全年的成長，成長率將會有所提高。一是後半區的可比較性較低。

So that's certainly an aspect of it. But at the same time, discussions with our clients around incremental wins that we're actually receiving and then their forecasts for the year as well. And with the service levels we're providing, we're winning a lot of awards and positioned ourselves to really take advantage of the market upswing here. And so, it's a mix of comparable that I confirmed wins and discussions with our customers around how they see their supply chains adapting throughout the year.

所以這肯定是它的一個面向。但與此同時，與我們的客戶圍繞我們​​實際收到的增量勝利以及他們對今年的預測進行討論。憑藉我們提供的服務水平，我們贏得了許多獎項，並使自己能夠真正利用這裡的市場上升趨勢。因此，這是我確認的勝利以及與我們的客戶圍繞他們如何看待他們的供應鏈全年適應的討論的結合。

Do you think it's more share gain from truck or competing better versus some of the other intermodal players?

您認為卡車帶來的份額更高，還是與其他一些多式聯運參與者相比，競爭更好？

We're targeting track. I mean, we're winning a lot of short-haul business right now. Sometimes it's more challenging to tell exactly where it comes from. But but I think our main target is truck.

我們的目標是軌道。我的意思是，我們現在贏得了許多短途業務。有時，要準確地說出它來自哪裡更具挑戰性。但我認為我們的主要目標是卡車。

Right, okay. That makes sense. One more, you've built a nice portfolio of services. You can offer you talked a little bit about cross-selling. What do you think is the best hook with the customer when you go in something they really want and is helpful for cross selling, and perhaps an area that you might want to build out additional capability?

對了，好吧。這就說得通了。此外，您還建立了一套不錯的服務組合。您可以提供一些有關交叉銷售的資訊。當您進入客戶真正想要的東西並有助於交叉銷售時，您認為最能吸引客戶的是什麼？也許是您可能想要建立額外功能的領域？

Yes, we're able to really open the door with any customer base and our intermodal capabilities and our service reputation. I think that's certainly our way in. Once we're there, it's about finding the right solution for what their supply chain requires. That could be anything from something as simple as transactional brokerage to a consolidation program to a full outsource or just managing their LTL.

是的，我們能夠真正向任何客戶群、我們的聯運能力和服務聲譽敞開大門。我想這肯定是我們的出路。一旦我們到達那裡，我們的任務就是為他們的供應鏈需求找到正確的解決方案。這可以是任何簡單的事情，從交易經紀到整合計劃，再到完全外包或只是管理零擔。

We find that our managed transportation capabilities, we can come in with, especially given the inflation that has been taken place in the LTL market with what we can do with consolidation and managing their LTL spend, that they are very sticky and strong service offering. But when we combine that with our warehousing capabilities, that becomes even stickier, as Brian mentioned. So it really does depend on the customer and their specific supply chain. But when I think about where we're at now, I think we have the right set of capabilities.

我們發現我們可以利用我們的管理運輸能力，特別是考慮到零擔市場已經發生的通貨膨脹，我們可以透過整合和管理零擔支出來做到這一點，他們提供的服務非常具有黏性和強大性。但正如布萊恩所提到的，當我們將其與我們的倉儲能力結合時，這變得更加棘手。所以這確實取決於客戶及其特定的供應鏈。但當我想到我們現在所處的位置時，我認為我們擁有正確的能力。

It's about building specializations and scale within them and finding the right cultural fit that will help us continue to drive that growth. So I think you'll see us continue to be active in non-asset logistics, M&A, but also be very thoughtful around our approach in adding to those core capabilities that we've developed.

這是關於在其中建立專業化和規模，並找到合適的文化契合度，這將幫助我們繼續推動這種成長。因此，我認為您會看到我們繼續活躍在非資產物流、併購領域，但也會對我們的方法進行深思熟慮，以增加我們已經開發的核心能力。

Okay, great. Thanks for your time.

好的，太好了。謝謝你的時間。

Christyne McGarvey, Morgan Stanley.

克里斯蒂娜·麥加維，摩根士丹利。

Hi, thanks, this is Christine McGarvey on for Ravi Shanker. Just going to take a step back a little bit. You guys issued some long-term targets a couple of years ago now and it seems we're quickly approaching 2025. So maybe you can talk about confidence and path to some of those long-term targets. And if I can maybe -- as we approach them, how you guys are thinking about the next and benchmarks that you guys are looking to to benchmark against?

大家好，謝謝，我是拉維尚克的克莉絲汀麥加維。只是要後退一步。你們幾年前就發布了一些長期目標，現在看來我們很快就要到 2025 年了。所以也許你可以談談信心和實現其中一些長期目標的道路。如果我可以的話，當我們接近他們時，你們如何考慮下一步以及你們希望進行基準測試的基準？

Yeah, we're not ready to publish any new targets. Certainly, we're very focused on the 2025 targets with that. We have some work to do on the revenue side, but I think our guidance shows that where we think will be is relatively consistent and what the opportunity to achieve that target. We operated this year and the prior year within and above the range on operating margin, but I think our guidance is also within the range, obviously. And we think that with a positive inflection in the market, we'll be well within that. So certainly our focus is on achieving both of them and we think both very doable.

是的，我們還沒有準備好發布任何新目標。當然，我們非常關注 2025 年的目標。我們在收入方面還有一些工作要做，但我認為我們的指導表明我們的想法是相對一致的，以及實現該目標的機會是什麼。我們今年和前一年的營運利潤率都在該範圍內或之上，但我認為我們的指導顯然也在該範圍內。我們認為，隨著市場的積極變化，我們將很好地適應這一趨勢。因此，我們的重點當然是實現這兩個目標，我們認為這兩個目標都是非常可行的。

Great, thanks. And if I could squeeze in one more, there's been talk about a bit on the call, but maybe to ask it a slightly different way. In your customer conversations thus far in bid season, over the road conversions, it seems it was quite the way the market is sometimes have been harder to prove out than maybe hope for. It sounds like there's some inflection here in this conversation. You alluded to rail service confidence coming back, but is there anything else in terms of customer priorities or what they're telling you that makes the over-the-road conversion a little more attractive here?

萬分感謝。如果我可以再插話一下，電話中已經討論了一些問題，但也許是以稍微不同的方式提出的。到目前為止，在投標季節的客戶對話中，在道路轉換過程中，市場似乎有時比希望的更難證明。聽起來這次談話有一些變化。您提到鐵路服務信心的恢復，但就客戶優先事項或他們告訴您的內容而言，是否還有其他因素使公路轉換更具吸引力？

Yeah, I think our customers are looking for service. They're looking for consistency. They're obviously looking for cost savings, and they're looking to ensure that they have available capacity when the market does inflect. And I think intermodal is a great solution for all of that.

是的，我認為我們的客戶正在尋求服務。他們正在尋找一致性。顯然，他們正在尋求節省成本，並希望確保在市場變化時擁有可用的產能。我認為聯運是解決所有這些問題的一個很好的解決方案。

And as Brian mentioned earlier, when inventory stabilized, there's more of an opportunity to extend those transit, which also opens up more intermodal opportunities. So all of that leads to some of that shorter length of haul, which we're seeing right now start to flip over.

正如布萊恩之前提到的，當庫存穩定下來時，就有更多機會延長這些運輸，這也帶來了更多的聯運機會。因此，所有這些都會導致一些較短的運輸距離，我們現在看到這種情況開始逆轉。

Great. Thanks. I'll leave it there. Appreciate it.

偉大的。謝謝。我會把它留在那裡。欣賞它。

Thank you.

謝謝。

[David Zuzula], Barclays.

[大衛·祖祖拉]，巴克萊銀行。

Hey, good evening and thanks for taking my question. Just real quick, are you able to share the realized yields you were able to get in intermodal for the quarter?

嘿，晚上好，感謝您提出我的問題。很快，您能分享一下本季多式聯運的實現收益嗎？

Yeah, it was down 21%. A couple of things to reference there was we had a fuel headwind, as well as overlapping accesorial and over $5 million of surcharge revenue growth from last year. So I think along with that, I had mentioned earlier, you're going to continue to see a little bit of a mix impact, as we bring on more shorter length of haul business. And that obviously impacted us in the fourth quarter as well.

是的，下降了 21%。有幾件事值得參考，我們遇到了燃油逆風，以及重疊的附加費和去年超過 500 萬美元的附加費收入成長。因此，我認為除此之外，我之前提到過，隨著我們帶來更多的短途運輸業務，您將繼續看到一些混合影響。這顯然也對我們第四季產生了影響。

Thanks, very helpful. But I don't want to pick too much of a stab that Brian had gone after, but just a little bit of understanding for us. On the way down our perception was you held the line on price, maybe a little too loud and it cost you on the volume side. Have you changed at all how you're thinking about pricing or anything you're looking at for pricing or algorithms or anything that will help you prevent you from being not aggressive enough, I guess, on the upside and not taking advantage of rapidly moving pricing market?

謝謝，非常有幫助。但我不想選擇布萊恩所追求的太多刺激，而只是對我們有一點點理解。在下降的過程中，我們的看法是你在價格上保持了底線，也許有點太大聲了，這讓你在銷量方面付出了代價。你是否完全改變了你對定價的看法，或者你正在尋找的定價或演算法的任何東西，或者任何可以幫助你防止你不夠激進的東西，我想，在上行方面，而不是利用快速移動的優勢定價市場？

Yeah, we have, absolutely. We've changed our entire pricing organization and philosophy to be able to adjust for that. We have a new Chief Marketing Officer doing an excellent job in making sure that we are winning in the market and able to go out and price to win. And that's what we've been doing thus far. So yeah, we've made some significant changes within the organization and to our approach and feel as though it's working.

是的，我們絕對有。我們已經改變了整個定價組織和理念，以便能夠對此進行調整。我們有一位新的首席行銷官，他的工作非常出色，確保我們在市場上獲勝，並能夠走出去並以價格取勝。這就是我們迄今為止一直在做的事情。所以，是的，我們在組織內部和我們的方法上做出了一些重大改變，並且感覺它正在發揮作用。

And then just to add to that as well on price too, it's also targeting what we go after to make sure that we're building the balance across our network, as well as the velocity in the areas where we need it. And that aligns with the cost takeout that we've also been able to do within our intermodal operation.

然後，除了價格之外，它還針對我們所追求的目標，以確保我們在整個網路中建立平衡，以及我們需要的領域的速度。這與我們在多式聯運營運中也能夠實現的成本削減相一致。

Last point I'd just add, this is Phil. I think, right now is the time frame where we lost that volume last year, right? So we are in the process of recapturing that, which is why we laid out in the guide that we are going to be down in Q1, but then start to see year-over-year growth.

我要補充的最後一點是菲爾。我想，現在是我們去年失去這個銷售的時間範圍，對嗎？因此，我們正在重新認識這一點，這就是為什麼我們在指南中指出我們將在第一季下降，但隨後開始看到同比增長。

Thanks, super helpful. On the brokerage side, can you get your thoughts on spot versus contract? How you're trying to set yourself up to be able to take advantage of a potentially positive lead inflecting market there and how you plan on handling customer relationships?

謝謝，超級有幫助。在經紀方面，您能談談對現貨與合約的看法嗎？您如何努力讓自己能夠利用潛在的積極領先影響那裡的市場以及您計劃如何處理客戶關係？

Sure. Yeah, this is Brian. I'll touch on that. When we finish out the year, we were 53% of our brokerage volume being contracted, 47% on the spot side. I think what we've been able to do is take a lot of that volume that's coming in and that we're buying low on the spot and move that into contracted.

當然。是的，這是布萊恩。我會談到這一點。當我們年底時，我們的經紀業務量中有 53% 是收縮的，其中 47% 是現貨業務。我認為我們能夠做的就是吸收大量的進來量，然後當場低價買入，然後將其轉入合約狀態。

So that we're able to secure that pricing as pressure starts to come in through the later parts of this year so that we maintain that lower cost of purchased transportation and then we translate that back into the price that we give to our customers, which then creates more of that volume. So we're structured really well with a good balance and a good strategy for that.

這樣，隨著今年下半年開始出現壓力，我們就能夠確保定價，從而保持較低的購買運輸成本，然後我們將其轉化為我們提供給客戶的價格，這然後創建更多該體積。因此，我們的結構非常好，具有良好的平衡和良好的策略。

If I have if I just had a last cleanup, can I get the non-driver employee count?

如果我剛剛進行了最後一次清理，我可以獲得非司機員工人數嗎？

Yes, our non-driver without new Final Mile is 1,900 versus the 2,200 at the end of last year. That's a 15% decrease.

是的，我們沒有新的「最後一哩路」的非駕駛員人數為 1,900 人，而去年年底為 2,200 人。下降了 15%。

Thanks so much.

非常感謝。

Allison Poliniak, Wells Fargo.

艾莉森‧波利尼亞克，富國銀行。

Hi, good evening. Could you maybe talk to on ITS margins? As you're looking towards growth in the second-half, any impact in terms of or if you can quantify the how unstacking the boxes would impact that margin in the second-half? Is there a cost there and just any holding costs there near-term to be mindful of?

嗨，晚上好。能談談 ITS 的利潤嗎？當您期待下半年的成長時，是否會產生任何影響，或者您可以量化拆箱對下半年利潤率的影響？是否有成本以及近期需要注意的持有成本？

Yeah, Allison, I think very good question, but when we're unstacking, we're very much looking at it from a returns perspective. So we want to make sure that the business we're bringing on is going to be helpful to margin. So it shouldn't be a large impact in one quarter or another or anything likely worth calling out. Where we might give you a little bit more is repositioning costs are increasing. I think that would be a larger driver than unstacking costs.

是的，艾莉森，我認為這是一個非常好的問題，但是當我們進行拆包時，我們會從回報的角度來看待它。因此，我們希望確保我們開展的業務有助於提高利潤。因此，它不應該在一個季度或另一個季度或任何可能值得指出的事情中產生很大的影響。我們可以為您提供更多資訊的是重新定位成本正在增加。我認為這將是比拆垛成本更大的驅動因素。

Yeah, I think one of the things we do pretty well as we staff close to the markets that we anticipate are going to have deficits, so to allow us to react quickly. And there isn't a lot of costs to get those boxes revenue producing as quickly as possible.

是的，我認為我們做得很好的一件事是，我們的員工靠近我們預計會出現赤字的市場，這樣我們就可以快速做出反應。而且不需要太多成本就能讓這些盒子盡快產生收入。

Got it. And then just in terms of M&A, maybe a little color on where your pipeline stands and you just did the [Forward Air] at the process that. Just management capacity to handle future and M&A, just given your ability to that to be done on the financials side?

知道了。然後就併購而言，也許你的管道所在的位置有一點顏色，你剛剛在這個過程中做了[前進空氣]。只是考慮到您在財務方面有能力處理未來和併購的管理能力嗎？

Yeah, in a facility, yeah, we do have a strong pipeline. We're very focused on the core non-asset logistics areas, adding scale and specialization that bring a higher margin profile. Yeah, we're continuing to look for opportunities, we want to be thoughtful. Obviously, priority one is being successful in getting back to growth in intermodal, as well as a successful integration of Final Mile acquisition. So those are the top two, but then, certainly, out looking for more, and as you mentioned, we have a significant capacity to do so.

是的，在設施中，是的，我們確實有強大的管道。我們非常專注於核心非資產物流領域，增加規模和專業化，從而帶來更高的利潤率。是的，我們正在繼續尋找機會，我們想要深思熟慮。顯然，首要任務是成功恢復多式聯運的成長，以及成功整合「最後一哩路」收購。這些是前兩個，但是，當然，我們還需要尋找更多，正如您所提到的，我們有強大的能力來做到這一點。

Great. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. I would now like to turn the conference back to Phil Jaeger for closing remarks. Sir?

謝謝。現在我想請菲爾耶格 (Phil Jaeger) 致閉幕詞。先生？

Great. Well, thank you for joining our call this evening. As always, if you have any questions, Kevin, Brian, and I are available, and we hope you have a great evening. Thank you again.

偉大的。好的，感謝您今晚加入我們的電話會議。像往常一樣，如果您有任何疑問，凱文、布萊恩和我隨時可以聯繫，我們希望您度過一個愉快的夜晚。再次感謝你。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。