XPO Logistics, Inc. (NYSE:XPO) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Ravi Shanker: Got it. I guess squeezing a really quick follow-up kind of shifting gears a little bit kind of away from the cycle and what’s going on in LTL. Obviously, you are a tech geek. I don’t think you mind me calling you that. So if you can just kind of help us with kind of understanding everything you’re seeing out there within AI, ML? Kind of, obviously, XPO has been leveraging on the LTL side for a long-time, but kind of what are some of the one or two things that really excite you about new [technology] (ph) at your disposal?

Mario Harik: Well, first, as you know, Ravi, technology has been part of our DNA since the onset of the company and all of our systems in LTL that operate the network are proprietary. And when you think about an LTL business, we’re very much in the data business, because we move more than 50,000 shipments a day and we have a lot of data points on how we move those shipments across the network. But just to give you a couple of examples how we operate our linehaul network, our models do use AI and ML to optimize how many loads we are building in each hub in the network, and we’re launching new technology and how we do things like directed loading, as an example, to improve how we build trailers to bypass service centers and improve efficiency.

Similar thing on how we plan labor and how we manage labor in the field, similar technology on how we run our pickup and delivery routes. And on a net-net basis, at the end of the day, all of these things lead to better results to the bottom line. Just to give you an example, in the second quarter, our shipment count was up roughly 2%, but our labor hours and headcount was down 2%. And these tools enable us to build these efficiencies into the operation.

Operator: Our next question is from Brian Ossenbeck with JPMorgan. Please proceed.

Brian Ossenbeck: Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking the question. So just wanted to come back, I guess, maybe for, Kyle, how do you — I think you mentioned that there is a GRI that was already implemented and maybe you can just touch on that in terms of the timing and what you’d expect for the rest of the year. What I’m trying to get at is, is there a little bit of a lag here in terms of the additional cost, offset by a little bit of operating leverage on the new volumes before you can really get some of that — some of those pricing gains to be reflected in the network, whether it’s through additional GRIs or new contract negotiations?

Kyle Wismans: Yes, thanks, Brian. So when you think about the GRI we took, that was in the transactional 3PL business. So that’s really the broker business. There was an expected GRI later in the year. So that’s kind of steady-state maybe pull-forward slightly. So we wouldn’t expect too many differences there. We’re not anticipating at this point other GRIs as we progress and we’ll continue with our yield initiatives to drive-up profitability in the back half. But when you think about the initiatives, again, some of those are going to be immediate impact like a GRI and others as you work through contractual renewals will take time to realize.

Brian Ossenbeck: Great. Then if I can just ask a quick one for Mario. You mentioned accelerating the CapEx as the capacity comes out of the market. Is there any opportunities? I’m sure you are evaluating them. Maybe pick up some stuff that comes to the market or do you feel like this is something that you’d rather do internally based on your current network versus what might be available out there? Thanks.

Mario Harik: Thanks, Brian. If there is an opportunity for us to accelerate our capacity growth, we would definitely look at it. Now our focus is to continue to execute on our long-term plan to expand capacity, which has been a pillar — a core pillar in our LTL 2.0 plan. Now, regardless of if this capacity becomes available, we are looking at continuing also our expansion where, so far I mentioned earlier, we expanded two service centers so far this year and we have another dozen or so projects for expanding other service centers in key markets, especially in the Texas area and Florida and Arizona, so in a number of markets. Now, again, if these facilities go on the market, then we’ll definitely look at them as well.

Operator: Our next question is from Stephanie Moore with Jefferies. Please proceed.