OLD DOMINION FREIGHT LINE, INC. - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

OR

For the transition period from ____________ to ____________.

Commission File Number: 0-19582

OLD DOMINION FREIGHT LINE, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

500 Old Dominion Way

Thomasville, NC 27360

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip Code)

(336) 889-5000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C.7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes  ☐    No  ☒

The aggregate market value of voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2020 was $16,302,404,841, based on the closing sales price as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

As of February 22, 2021, the registrant had 116,937,111 outstanding shares of Common Stock ($0.10 par value).

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Certain portions of the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.

INDEX

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Forward-looking statements appear in this Annual Report, including but not limited to Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and in other written and oral statements made by or on behalf of us. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to our goals, strategies, expectations, competitive environment, compliance with regulations, availability of resources, the impact of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic on our business, future events and future financial performance. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements typically can be identified by such words as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “intend,” “expect,” “believe,” “should,” “could,” “may,” or other similar words or expressions. We caution readers that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied herein, including, but not limited to, the risk factors detailed in this Annual Report.

Our forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs and assumptions using information available at the time the statements are made. We caution the reader not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements as (i) these statements are neither a prediction nor a guarantee of future events or circumstances and (ii) the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and projections about future events may differ materially from actual results. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect developments occurring after the statement is made, except to the extent required by law.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Unless the context requires otherwise, references in this report to “Old Dominion,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.

Overview

We are one of the largest North American less-than-truckload (“LTL”) motor carriers. We provide regional, inter-regional and national LTL services through a single integrated, union-free organization. Our service offerings, which include expedited transportation, are provided through an expansive network of service centers located throughout the continental United States. Through strategic alliances, we also provide LTL services throughout North America. In addition to our core LTL services, we offer a range of value-added services including container drayage, truckload brokerage and supply chain consulting. More than 98% 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.

We have increased our revenue and customer base over the past ten years primarily through organic market share growth. Our infrastructure allows us to provide next-day and second-day service through each of our regions covering the continental United States. In addition to numerous service center renovations, expansions, and relocations of existing service centers, we opened 8, 19 and 31 new service centers over the past one, five and ten years, respectively, for a total of 244 service centers at December 31, 2020. We believe this expansion produced increased capacity within our service center network and provides us with opportunities for future growth.

We believe the growth in demand for our services can be attributed to our ability to consistently provide a superior level of customer service at a fair price, which allows our customers to meet their supply chain needs. Our integrated structure allows us to offer our customers consistent high-quality service from origin to destination, and we believe our operating structure and proprietary information systems enable us to efficiently manage our operating costs. Our services are complemented by our technological capabilities, which we believe provide the tools to improve the efficiency of our operations while also empowering our customers to manage their individual shipping needs.

We were founded in 1934 and incorporated in Virginia in 1950. Our principal executive offices are located at 500 Old Dominion Way, Thomasville, North Carolina 27360.

Our Industry

Trucking companies provide transportation services to virtually every industry operating in the United States and generally offer higher levels of reliability and faster transit times than other surface transportation options. The trucking industry is comprised principally of two types of motor carriers: LTL and truckload. LTL freight carriers typically pick up multiple shipments from multiple customers on a single truck. The LTL freight is then routed through a network of service centers where the freight may be transferred to other trucks with similar destinations. LTL motor carriers generally require a more expansive network of local pickup and delivery

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(“P&D”) service centers, as well as larger breakbulk, or hub, facilities. In contrast, truckload carriers generally dedicate an entire truck to one customer from origin to destination.

Significant capital is required to create and maintain a network of service centers and a fleet of tractors and trailers. The high fixed costs and capital spending requirements for LTL motor carriers make it difficult for new start-up or small operators to effectively compete with established carriers. In addition, successful LTL motor carriers generally employ, and regularly update, a high level of technology-based systems and processes that provide information to customers and help reduce operating costs.

The American Trucking Associations reported total transportation revenue in the United States of $984.9 billion in 2019, which included approximately $43.3 billion for the LTL industry based on information reported in Transport Topics.  The LTL industry is highly competitive on the basis of service and price and has consolidated significantly since the industry was deregulated in 1980.  The largest 5 and 10 LTL motor carriers accounted for approximately 56% and 80%, respectively, of the LTL market in 2019.  We believe consolidation in our industry will continue due to increased customer demand for transportation providers offering both regional and national service as well as other complementary value-added services.

Competition

The transportation and logistics industry is intensely competitive and highly fragmented. We compete with regional, inter-regional and national LTL carriers and, to a lesser extent, with truckload carriers, small package carriers, airfreight carriers and railroads. We also compete with, and provide transportation services to, third-party logistics providers that determine both the mode of transportation and the carrier. Some of our competitors may have a broader global network and a wider range of services than we do. Competition in our industry is based primarily on service, price, available capacity and business relationships. We believe we are able to gain market share by expanding our capacity in the United States and providing high-quality service at a fair price.

Throughout our organization, we continuously seek to improve customer service by, among other things, maximizing on-time performance and minimizing cargo claims. We believe our transit times are generally faster and more reliable than those of our principal national competitors, in part because of our more efficient service center network, use of team drivers and proprietary technology. In addition, we provide greater geographic coverage than most of our regional competitors. Our diversified mix and scope of regional, inter-regional and national LTL service, combined with our value-added service offerings, enables us to provide our customers with a single source to meet their shipping and logistics needs. We believe the combination of these factors provides us with a distinct advantage over most of our competitors.

We utilize flexible scheduling and train our employees to perform multiple tasks, which we believe allows us to achieve greater productivity and higher levels of customer service than our competitors. We believe our focus on employee communication, continued education, development and motivation strengthens the relationships and trust among our employees.

Service Center Operations

At December 31, 2020, we operated 244 service center locations, of which we owned 217 and leased 27. Our network includes nine major breakbulk facilities located in Atlanta, Georgia; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; Greensboro, North Carolina; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Memphis and Morristown, Tennessee; Dallas, Texas; and Salt Lake City, Utah, while using various other service centers for additional limited breakbulk activity in order to serve our next-day markets. Our service centers are strategically located throughout the country so that we can provide the highest quality service and minimize freight rehandling costs.

Our service centers are responsible for the pickup and delivery of freight within their local service area. Each night, our service centers load outbound freight for transport to our other service centers for delivery. All inbound freight received by the service center in the evening or during the night is generally scheduled for local delivery the next business day, unless a customer requests a different delivery schedule. Our management reviews the productivity and service performance of each service center on a daily basis to ensure quality service and efficient operations.

Although we have established primary responsibility for customer service at the local service center level, our customers may access information and initiate transactions through our centralized customer service department located at our corporate office or through other electronic gateways. Our systems allow us to offer our customers access to information such as freight tracking, shipping documents, rate quotes, rate databases and account activity. These centralized systems and our customer service department provide our customers with a single point of contact to access information across all areas of our operations and for each of our service offerings.

Linehaul Transportation

Linehaul dispatchers control the movement of freight between service centers through integrated freight movement systems. We also utilize load-planning software to optimize efficiencies in our linehaul operations. Our management team monitors freight

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movements, transit times, load factors and many other productivity measurements to help ensure that we maintain our high levels of service and efficiency.

We utilize scheduled routes, and additional linehaul dispatches as necessary to meet our published transit times. In addition, we gain efficiency through the use of twin 28-foot trailers in our linehaul operations. The use of twin 28-foot trailers permits us to transport freight directly from its point of origin to destination with minimal unloading and reloading, which also reduces our exposure to potential cargo loss and damage expenses. We utilize long-combination vehicles, such as triple 28-foot trailers and combinations of 48-foot and 28-foot trailers, in states where permitted. Twin trailers and long-combination vehicles permit more freight to be transported behind a tractor than could otherwise be transported by one trailer.

Tractors, Trailers and Maintenance

At December 31, 2020, we owned 9,288 tractors. We generally use new tractors in linehaul operations for approximately three to five years and then transfer those tractors to P&D operations for the remainder of their useful lives. In many of our service centers, tractors perform P&D functions during the day and linehaul functions at night to maximize tractor utilization.

The table below reflects, as of December 31, 2020, the average age of our tractors and trailers:

We develop certain specifications for tractors and trailers and then negotiate the production and purchase of this equipment with several manufacturers. These purchases are planned well in advance of anticipated delivery dates in order to accommodate manufacturers’ production schedules. We believe there is sufficient capacity among suppliers to help ensure an uninterrupted supply of equipment to support our operations.

The table below sets forth our capital expenditures for tractors and trailers for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. For more information concerning our capital expenditures, see Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Liquidity and Capital Resources” in this report.

At December 31, 2020, we operated 42 fleet maintenance centers at strategic service center locations throughout our network. These fleet maintenance centers are equipped to perform routine and preventive maintenance and repairs on our equipment.

We adhere to established maintenance policies and procedures to help ensure our fleet is properly maintained. Tractors are routed to appropriate maintenance facilities or authorized repair vendors at designated mileage intervals or every 90 days, whichever occurs first. Trailers are also scheduled for preventative maintenance every 90 days.

Customers

Revenue is generated primarily from customers throughout the United States and North America. In 2020, our largest customer accounted for approximately 4.7% of our revenue and our largest 5, 10 and 20 customers accounted for 15.1%, 21.8% and 29.7% of our revenue, respectively. For each of our last two fiscal years, more than 95% of our revenue was derived from services performed in the United States and less than 5% of our revenue was generated from services performed internationally. We believe the diversity of our customer base helps protect our business from adverse developments in a single geographic region and from the reduction or loss of business from a single customer.

We utilize an integrated freight-costing system to determine the price level at which a particular freight shipment will be profitable. We can modify elements of this freight-costing model to simulate the actual conditions under which the freight will be moved. Many of our customers engage our services through the terms and provisions of our tariffs and through negotiated service contracts. We also compete for business by participating in bid solicitations. Customers generally solicit bids for relatively large

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numbers of shipments for a period of one to two years and typically choose to enter into contractual arrangements with a limited number of motor carriers based upon price and service.

Seasonality

Our tonnage levels and revenue mix are subject to seasonal trends common in our industry, although other factors, such as macroeconomic changes, could cause variation in these trends. Our revenue and operating margins in the first and fourth quarters are typically lower than those during the second and third quarters due to reduced shipments during the winter months; however, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the domestic economy has impacted, and may continue to impact, our normal seasonal trends. More specifically, we experienced a decrease in LTL shipments driven by the impact of a slowdown in the domestic economy associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily during the second quarter of 2020. Harsh winter weather, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and other natural disasters can also adversely impact our performance by reducing demand and increasing operating expenses. We believe seasonal trends will continue to impact our business.

Technology

Our technology is critical to the success and delivery of the premium service provided by our operations. We continually seek to upgrade and enhance our technological capabilities. We also provide access to our systems through multiple secure gateways that offer our customers and employees maximum flexibility and access to information. We employ vehicle safety systems, on-board computer systems and smart phones, freight handling systems and logistics technology to reduce costs and transit times, as well as to meet regulatory requirements. Our data systems are integrated at every level within our organization, which we believe is critical to our success. Our systems are protected through physical and software safeguards, as well as redundant systems, network security measures and backup systems. We continue to focus on the development and enhancement of the technology used in our operations in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our services.

Insurance

We carry a significant amount of insurance with third-party insurance carriers that provides various levels of protection for our risk exposure, including protection in the areas of property, casualty, cyber, management, and group health, with coverage limits and retention/deductible levels that we believe are reasonable given historical claim activity and severity. We believe that our policy of maintaining self-insured retentions or deductibles under these various insurance programs for a portion of our risks, supported by our safety, claims management and loss prevention programs, is an effective means of managing insurance costs. We periodically review our risk exposure and insurance coverage applicable to those risks and believe that we maintain sufficient insurance coverage.

Diesel Fuel Availability and Cost

We depend heavily upon the availability and quality of diesel fuel to provide our transportation services. We maintain fuel storage and pumping facilities at certain service center locations as the primary source for fueling our fleet, and we utilize over-the-road fueling options at retail locations as necessary. We could be susceptible to regional and/or national fuel shortages, which could cause us to incur additional expense in order to obtain an adequate supply within our own fueling network or cause us to rely more heavily on higher-priced retail fuel.

We believe our operations and financial condition are susceptible to the same diesel fuel price increases or shortages as those of our competitors. Our fuel surcharge programs are one of many components that we use to determine the overall price for our transportation services. Our fuel surcharges are generally indexed to fuel prices published by the U.S. Department of Energy (the “DOE”) that reset each week.

Human Capital

Employee Profile

As of December 31, 2020, we employed 19,779 active full-time employees, none of which were represented under a collective bargaining agreement. Our full-time employees work in the following roles:

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Employee Engagement and Benefits

Our Old Dominion Family of employees are a key factor in the success of our business. The unique OD Family culture encourages development and employee engagement, and motivates our employees to provide the superior customer service for which we are known. We believe this culture is part of what attracts employees and helps keep our turnover rates low. We also provide our employees with a comprehensive benefits package, including a plan that covers our eligible employees’ premium for health insurance, a flexible paid time off policy, a 401(k) plan with a guaranteed employer match as well as a discretionary match opportunity, and various wellness programs designed to assist employees with establishing and living a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

Employee Development and Safety

As of December 31, 2020, we employed 5,310 linehaul drivers and 4,804 P&D drivers on a full-time basis. We select our drivers based upon many factors, including driving records and experience. Among other requirements, our drivers must pass a drug test, have a current U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) physical and have a valid commercial driver’s license prior to employment. Once employed, drivers are required to obtain and maintain hazardous materials endorsements to their commercial driver’s licenses. Drivers, like all of our employees, are required to take pre-employment drug and alcohol tests and are randomly selected for periodic additional testing.

Since 1988, we have provided a no-cost opportunity for qualified employees to become drivers through the “Old Dominion Driver Training Program.” There are currently 3,069 active drivers who have successfully completed this training, which was approximately 30.3% of our driver workforce as of December 31, 2020. We believe our driver training and qualification programs have been important factors in improving our safety record and retaining qualified drivers. In addition, we have experienced an annual turnover rate for our driver graduates of approximately 6.3%, which is below our Company-wide turnover rate for all drivers of approximately 8.0%.

We also maintain a “Management Trainee Program” and a “Supervisor Development Program” that offers opportunities for our employees to be considered and prepared for sales and management opportunities. These programs support our philosophy of promoting from within our high-quality workforce.

Based on driving records, our drivers are eligible to be rewarded with annual safety bonuses of up to $3,000 per driver. Our safety bonuses paid to drivers totaled $4.7 million, $4.6 million and $4.1 million in 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

During 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have remained focused on protecting the health and safety of our employees while meeting the needs of our customers. We implemented various measures to help ensure the safety and well-being of our OD Family of employees, following guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. We provided personal protective equipment and also implemented increased physical distancing in workspaces and enhanced cleaning protocols. Across our businesses, we continue to take measures to prevent workplace hazards, encourage safe behaviors and promote a culture of continuous improvement to ensure our processes help reduce incidents and illnesses and comply with governing health and safety laws.

Governmental Regulation

We are regulated by the DOT and by various state and federal agencies. These regulatory authorities have broad powers over matters relating to authorized motor carrier operations, as well as motor carrier registration, driver hours of service, safety and fitness of transportation equipment and drivers, transportation of hazardous materials, certain mergers and acquisitions and periodic financial reporting. The trucking industry is also subject to regulatory and legislative changes from a variety of other governmental authorities, which address matters such as increasingly stringent environmental regulations, occupational safety and health regulations, limits on vehicle weight and size, ergonomics, port security, and driver hours of service.

In addition, we are subject to compliance with cargo-security and transportation regulations issued by the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) and Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Regulatory requirements, and changes in regulatory requirements or guidance, may affect our business or the economics of the industry by requiring changes in operating practices that could influence the demand for and increase the costs of providing transportation services.

Driver Hours of Service

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (the “FMCSA”) rules provide that a truck driver may work no more than a maximum number of 60 hours within seven consecutive days and 70 hours within eight consecutive days. FMCSA rules further impose a maximum work period of 14 hours (no more than 11 hours of which may be driving time) after first coming on-duty

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following 10 consecutive hours of off-duty time. FMCSA rules also require that drivers take a 30-minute break prior to driving beyond eight hours. Our drivers utilize electronic logging devices (“ELDs”) for the purpose of recording their hours of service. 

Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse

We are registered as a motor carrier with the Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse (“DAC”) which requires us to check for drug and alcohol violations of current drivers at least annually and prospective employees prior to hiring.  We have completed our annual limited query and pre-hire driver authorization queries.

We are subject to future rulemaking by the FMCSA and other regulatory agencies, which could be more stringent, require additional changes to our operations, increase our operating costs or otherwise adversely impact our results of operations.

Environmental Regulation

We are subject to various federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations that focus on, among other things: the disposal, emission and discharge of hazardous waste, hazardous materials, or other materials into the environment or their presence at our properties or in our vehicles; fuel storage tanks; transportation of certain materials; and the discharge or retention of storm water. Under specific environmental laws, we could also be held responsible for any costs relating to contamination at our past or present facilities and at third-party waste disposal sites, as well as costs associated with clean-up of accidents involving our vehicles. We do not believe that the cost of future compliance with current environmental laws or regulations will have a material adverse effect on our operations, financial condition, competitive position or capital expenditures for the remainder of 2021 or fiscal year 2022. However, future changes to laws or regulations may adversely affect our operations and could result in unforeseen costs to our business.

Available Information

Through our website, http://www.odfl.com, we make available, free of charge, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), as soon as practicable after we electronically file the material with or furnish it to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The public may read or copy any document we file with the SEC at the SEC’s website, http://www.sec.gov (File No. 0-19582). Information contained on our website is neither part of nor incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K or any other report we file with or furnish to the SEC.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common stock involves a variety of risks and uncertainties. The following describes some of the material risks that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows. We may also be adversely impacted by other risks not presently known to us or that we currently consider immaterial.

Risks Related to our Business and Operations

If we are unable to successfully execute our growth strategy, and develop, market and consistently deliver high-quality services that meet customer expectations, our business and future results of operations may suffer.

Our growth strategy includes increasing the volume of freight moving through our existing service center network and selectively expanding our capacity in the United States through market share gains. In connection with our growth strategy, at various times, we have consistently expanded and upgraded service centers, purchased additional equipment and increased our sales and marketing efforts, and we expect to continue to do so. Our growth strategy exposes us to a number of risks, including the following:

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We cannot ensure that we will overcome the risks associated with our growth strategy. If we fail to overcome those risks, we may not realize projected growth and related revenue or profits from our efforts, we may incur additional expenses and, as a result, our financial position and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We face various risks related to health epidemics, pandemics and similar outbreaks that have had, and may continue to have, adverse effects on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the related changes in the economic and political conditions in markets in which we operate have had adverse impacts on our business, results of operations and financial condition, and on those of our customers and suppliers, and these adverse impacts may continue.  These impacts and potential impacts include, among other things, significant reductions or volatility in demand for our services, inability of our customers to pay for our services, and failure of our suppliers or third-party service providers to meet their obligations to us. We may also experience capacity constraints in one or more geographic areas if a significant number of our employees in any such region are affected by COVID-19. Furthermore, COVID-19 has impacted and may further impact the global economy, including negatively impacting the proper functioning of financial and capital markets and interest rates, which has impacted the cost of capital and has limited access to capital.  As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, it has heightened, and will likely continue to heighten, other risks to which we are subject, including those related to economic downturns, customer/supplier/vendor operations, changes in political and regulatory conditions, liquidity, and industry pricing environment stability, as described in further detail in other risk factors. Despite our efforts to manage our exposure to these risks, the ultimate impact of COVID-19 and similar outbreaks depends on factors beyond our knowledge or control, including the duration and severity of any outbreak and governmental/social actions taken to contain its spread and mitigate its public health impact.

Changes in our relationships with significant customers, including the loss or reduction in business from one or more of them, could have an adverse impact on our business.

We do not believe the loss of any one customer would materially impact our business and revenue growth due to the diversity of our customer base and no individual customer accounting for more than 5% of our revenue. We do, however, have a number of customers whose demand for our services is tied to U.S. industrial production, or the broader domestic economy, that could, collectively, drive business and revenue growth. These customers could experience a decrease in production due to a decrease in the demand for their products, as a result of a decline in the U.S economy or other global economic factors, such as the slowdown in the domestic economy associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. They could also use other LTL providers and other modes of transportation, such as truckload and intermodal, in response to capacity, service and pricing issues. Finally, unfavorable publicity about us or our employees, particularly given the current environment of instantaneous communication and social media outlets, could damage our reputation and result in these customers reducing their demand for our services. If these factors resulted in a reduction or loss of business from these customers, there could be a material impact on our business and revenue growth.

Insurance and claims expenses could significantly reduce our profitability.

We are exposed to a variety of claims, including but not limited to those related to cargo loss and damage, property damage, personal injury, workers’ compensation and healthcare. We have insurance coverage with third-party insurance carriers, but we assume a significant portion of the risk associated with these claims due to our self-insured retentions and deductibles. Our operating results could be adversely affected if any of the following were to occur: (i) the number or the severity of claims increases; (ii) we are required to accrue or pay additional amounts because claims prove to be more severe than our original assessment; or (iii) claims exceed our coverage amounts. If claims exceed our self-insured retention or deductible levels, insurance companies exit the transportation insurance marketplace, or insurance market conditions change, insurers could raise premiums for excess coverage to cover their expenses and anticipated future losses. Coverage also may not be procured or be unavailable for certain claims. In addition, insurance companies generally require us to collateralize our self-insured retention or deductible levels. If these collateralization requirements increase, our borrowing capacity could be adversely affected.

Limited supply and increased costs of new equipment may adversely affect our earnings and cash flow.

We may face difficulty in purchasing new equipment due to decreased supply and increased costs. Investment in new equipment is a significant part of our annual capital expenditures and we require an available supply of tractors and trailers from equipment manufacturers to operate and grow our business. We may also be subject to shortages in raw materials that are required for the production of critical operating equipment and supplies, such as shortages in rubber or steel.

The price of our equipment may also be adversely affected in the future by regulations on newly manufactured tractors and diesel engines. We are subject to regulations issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) and various state agencies, particularly the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”), that have required progressive reductions in exhaust emissions from diesel engines. We may become subject to new or more restrictive regulations, or differing interpretations of existing regulations, which may increase the cost of providing transportation services or adversely affect our results of operations. We are also unable to

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predict how any future changes in U.S. government policy will affect EPA and CARB regulation and enforcement. These regulations have resulted in higher prices for tractors and diesel engines and increased operating and maintenance costs, and there can be no assurance that continued increases in pricing or costs will not have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We may be adversely impacted by fluctuations in the availability and price of diesel fuel.

Diesel fuel is a critical component of our operations and a significant operating expense for our business. Future fluctuations in prices and diesel fuel availability could have a material adverse effect on our operating results. Diesel fuel prices and fuel availability can be impacted by factors beyond our control, such as natural or man-made disasters, adverse weather conditions, political events, disruption or failure of technology or information systems, price and supply decisions by oil producing countries and cartels, terrorist activities, armed conflict, world supply and demand imbalances, tariffs, sanctions, and quotas or other changes to trade agreements. We maintain fuel storage and pumping facilities at many of our service center locations; however, we may be susceptible to fuel shortages at certain locations that could cause us to incur additional expense to ensure adequate supply on a timely basis and to prevent a disruption to our service schedules. An interruption in the supply of diesel fuel could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

We do not hedge against the risk of diesel fuel price increases. An increase in diesel fuel prices or diesel fuel taxes, or any change in federal or state regulations that results in such an increase, could have a material adverse effect on our operating results. We have fuel surcharge programs in place with a majority of our customers, which help offset the negative impact of the increased cost of diesel fuel and other petroleum-based products. However, we also incur fuel costs that cannot be recovered even with respect to customers with which we maintain fuel surcharge programs, such as those costs associated with empty miles.  Because our fuel surcharge recovery lags behind changes in fuel prices, our fuel surcharge recovery may not capture the increased costs we pay for fuel, especially when prices are rising, leading to fluctuations in our levels of reimbursement. We regularly monitor the components of our pricing, including fuel surcharges, and address individual account profitability issues with our customers when necessary; however, there can be no assurance that fuel surcharges can be maintained indefinitely or will be sufficiently effective in offsetting increases in diesel fuel prices.

Our results of operations may be affected by seasonal factors, harsh weather conditions and disasters.

Our operations are subject to seasonal trends common in our industry.  Our revenue and operating margins in the first and fourth quarters are typically lower than those during the second and third quarters due to reduced shipments, decreased fuel efficiency, increased cold-weather related maintenance costs of revenue equipment, and increased insurance and claims costs during the winter months; however, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the domestic economy has impacted, and may continue to impact, our normal seasonal trends.  Harsh winter weather or natural disasters, including but not limited to hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires, earthquakes and storms can also adversely impact our performance by disrupting freight shipments or routes, destroying our assets, disrupting fuel supplies, increasing fuel costs, increasing maintenance costs, reducing demand and negatively impacting the business or financial condition of our customers, any of which could harm our results of operations or make our results of operations more volatile.

We have significant ongoing cash requirements that could limit our growth and affect our profitability if we are unable to obtain sufficient capital.

Our business is highly capital intensive. As further described in Part II, Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we generally finance our capital expenditures and planned growth with existing cash, cash flow from operations, issuance of debt (including pursuant to our note purchase and private shelf agreement) and through available borrowings under our existing senior unsecured credit agreement. We may require additional capital to finance long-term real estate purchase opportunities and acquisitions, which we may fund through additional debt or through equity offerings. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash from our operations or raise capital by accessing the debt and equity markets, we may be forced to limit our growth and operate our equipment for longer periods of time, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

Our business also has significant ongoing operating cash requirements. If our cash requirements are high or our cash flow from operations is low during particular periods, we may need to seek additional financing, which could be costly or difficult to obtain.

A decrease in the demand and value of used equipment may impact our results of operations.

As we purchase new tractors and trailers as part of our normal replacement cycle each year, we rely on the used equipment market to dispose of our older equipment. Oversupply in the transportation industry as well as adverse domestic and foreign economic conditions can negatively impact the demand for used equipment and, therefore, reduce the value we can obtain on our used equipment. If we are unable to sell our older equipment at or above our salvage value, the resulting losses could have a significant impact on our results of operations.

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We may be unable to successfully consummate and integrate acquisitions as part of our growth strategy.

Growth through acquisitions historically has been one of several key components of our LTL growth strategy. In the future, we may seek to acquire other LTL carriers as well as other complementary businesses. Exploration of potential acquisitions requires significant attention from our management team. In addition, we expect to compete for acquisition opportunities with other companies, some of which may have greater financial and other resources than we do. We cannot ensure that we will have sufficient cash to consummate an acquisition or otherwise be able to obtain financing for an acquisition. If we are unable to access sufficient funding for potential acquisitions, we may not be able to complete transactions that we otherwise find advantageous.

Any subsequent acquisition will entail numerous risks, including:

In addition, we may have difficulty integrating any acquired business and its operations, services and personnel into our existing operations, and such integration may require a significant amount of time and effort by our management team. To the extent we do not successfully avoid or overcome the risks or problems resulting from any acquisitions we undertake, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to various risks arising from our international business operations and relationships, which could adversely affect our business.

We arrange for transportation and logistics services to and from various international locations and are subject to both the risks of conducting international business and the requirements of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (the “FCPA”). Failure to comply with the FCPA may result in legal claims against us. In addition, we face other risks associated with international operations and relationships, which may include restrictive trade policies, the renegotiation of international trade agreements, imposition of duties, taxes or government royalties imposed by foreign governments, which could adversely affect our business.

Anti-terrorism measures and terrorist events may disrupt our business.

Federal, state and municipal authorities have implemented and are continuing to implement various anti-terrorism measures, including checkpoints and travel restrictions on large trucks. If additional security measures disrupt or impede the timing of our deliveries, we may fail to meet the requirements of our customers or incur increased expenses to do so. There can be no assurance that new anti-terrorism measures will not be implemented and that such measures will not have a material adverse effect on our operations.

Risks Related to our Industry

We operate in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive industry, and our business will suffer if we are unable to adequately address potential downward pricing pressures and other factors that may adversely affect our operations and profitability.

Our industry, faced with requirements for faster deliveries and increased visibility into shipments, is rapidly evolving and increasingly competitive. Numerous competitive factors could impair our ability to maintain our current profitability. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

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If we are unable to effectively compete with other LTL carriers, whether on the basis of price, service, brand recognition or otherwise, we may be unable to retain existing customers or attract new customers, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, continued merger and acquisition activity in transportation and logistics could result in stronger or new competitors, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may not be able to compete successfully in an increasingly consolidated LTL industry and cannot predict with certainty how industry consolidation will affect our competitors or us.

Our customers’ and suppliers’ businesses may be impacted by various economic factors such as recessions, downturns in the economy, global uncertainty and instability, changes in U.S. social, political, and regulatory conditions and/or a disruption of financial markets, which may decrease demand for our services or increase our costs.

Adverse economic conditions, both in the U.S. and internationally, can negatively affect our customers’ business levels, the amount of transportation services they need, their ability to pay for our services and overall freight levels, any of which might impair our asset utilization. Additionally, uncertainty and instability in the global economy and any other action that the U.S. government may take to withdraw from or materially modify international trade arrangements, including related to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, may lead to fewer goods being transported and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions and results of operations. The U.S. government has made significant changes in U.S. trade policy and has taken certain other actions that may impact U.S. trade, including imposing tariffs on certain goods imported into the United States. To date, several governments, including the European Union, China, and India, have imposed tariffs on certain goods imported from the United States. Any further changes in U.S. or international trade policy could trigger additional retaliatory actions by affected countries, resulting in “trade wars” and increased costs for goods transported globally, which may reduce customer demand for these products if the parties having to pay those tariffs increase their prices, or in trading partners limiting their trade with countries that impose anti-trade measures. If these consequences are realized, the volume of global economic activity may be significantly reduced. Such a reduction could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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Customers adversely impacted by changes in U.S. trade policies or otherwise encountering adverse economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, may be unable to obtain additional financing or financing under acceptable terms. These customers represent a greater potential for bad debt losses, which may require us to increase our reserve for bad debt. Economic conditions resulting in bankruptcies of a concentration of our customers could have a significant impact on our financial position, results of operations or liquidity in a particular year or quarter. Further, when adverse economic times arise, customers may select competitors that offer lower rates in an attempt to lower their costs, and we might be forced to lower our rates or lose freight volumes.

Our suppliers’ business levels also may be negatively affected by adverse economic conditions and changes in the political and regulatory environment, both in the U.S. and internationally, or financial constraints, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which could lead to disruptions in the supply and availability of equipment, parts and services critical to our operations. A significant interruption in our normal supply chain could disrupt our operations, increase our costs and negatively impact our ability to serve our customers.

We are also subject to cost increases outside of our control that could materially reduce our profitability if we are unable to increase our rates sufficiently. Such cost increases include, but are not limited to, increases in wage rates, fuel prices, interest rates, taxes, tolls, license and registration fees, insurance, revenue equipment and healthcare for our employees.

Risks Related to Labor Matters

If our employees were to unionize, our operating costs would increase and our ability to compete would be impaired.

None of our employees are currently represented under a collective bargaining agreement. However, from time to time there have been efforts to organize our employees at various service centers. Further, Congress or one or more states could approve legislation and/or the National Labor Relations Board could render decisions or implement rule changes that could significantly affect our business and our relationship with our employees, including actions that could substantially liberalize the procedures for union organization. In addition, we can offer no assurance that the Department of Labor will not adopt new regulations or interpret existing regulations in a manner that would favor the agenda of unions, or that our employees will not unionize in the future, particularly if regulatory changes occur that facilitate unionization.

The unionization of our employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations because:

Difficulties attracting and retaining qualified drivers and maintenance technicians could result in increases in driver and technician compensation and could adversely affect our profitability, our ability to maintain or grow our fleet and our ability to maintain our customer relationships.

Recently, there has been intense competition for qualified drivers in the transportation industry resulting from a shortage of drivers.  Due in part to the time commitment, physical requirements, our stringent hiring standards, changing workforce demographics and current industry conditions and regulations, the available pool of qualified employee drivers has been declining. As a result, we have faced, and may continue to face, difficulty maintaining or increasing our number of drivers. Similarly, in recent years, there has been a decrease in the overall supply of skilled maintenance technicians, particularly new technicians with qualifications from technical programs and schools, which has made it more difficult, and may continue to make it more difficult, to attract and retain skilled technicians. The compensation we offer our drivers and technicians is subject to market conditions that may require increases in driver or technician compensation. If we are unable to attract and retain a sufficient number of qualified drivers and technicians, we could be required to adjust our compensation packages, amend our hiring standards, or operate with fewer trucks and face difficulty meeting customer demands, any of which could adversely affect our growth and profitability.

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If we are unable to retain our key employees, or if we do not continue to effectively execute our succession plan, our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity could be adversely affected.

Our success will continue to depend upon the experience and leadership of our key employees and executive officers. In that regard, the loss of the services of any of our key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity if we are unable to secure replacement personnel who have sufficient experience in our industry and in the management of our business. If we are unable to continue to develop and retain a core group of management personnel and execute succession planning strategies, or we encounter any unforeseen difficulties associated with the transition of members of our management team, our business could be negatively impacted in the future.

Risks Related to Cybersecurity and Technology Matters

Our information technology systems are subject to cyber and other risks, some of which are beyond our control, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position.

We rely heavily on the proper functioning and availability of our information systems for our operations as well as for providing value-added services to our customers. Our information systems, including our accounting, communications and data processing systems, are integral to the efficient operation of our business. It is critical that the data processed by these systems remains confidential, as it often includes competitive customer information, confidential customer payment and transaction information, employee records and key financial and operational results and statistics. The sophistication of efforts by hackers, foreign governments, cyber-terrorists, and cyber-criminals, acting individually or in coordinated groups, to launch distributed denial of service attacks or other coordinated attacks that may cause service outages, gain inappropriate or block legitimate access to systems or information, or result in other business interruptions has continued to increase in recent years. We utilize third-party service providers who have access to our systems and certain sensitive data, which exposes us to additional security risks, particularly given the complex and evolving laws and regulations regarding privacy and data protection. While we and our third-party service providers have experienced cyber-attacks and attempted breaches of our and their information technology systems and networks or similar events from time to time, no such incidents have been, individually or in the aggregate, material to us. Cyber incidents that impact the security, availability, reliability, speed, accuracy or other proper functioning of our systems, information and measures, including outages, computer viruses, break-ins and similar disruptions, could have a significant impact on our operations.

We have security processes, protocols and standards in place to protect our information systems, including through physical and software safeguards, as well as redundant systems, network security measures and backup systems. Nevertheless, it is difficult to fully protect against the possibility of power loss, telecommunications failures, cyber-attacks, and other cyber incidents in every potential circumstance that may arise. A significant cyber incident, including system failure, security breach, disruption by malware or ransomware, or other damage, could interrupt or delay our operations, damage our reputation and brand, cause a loss of customers, expose us to a risk of loss or litigation, result in regulatory scrutiny, investigations, actions, fines or penalties and/or cause us to incur significant time and expense to remedy such an event, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial position. Furthermore, any failure to comply with data privacy, security or other laws and regulations, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act and similar laws in the United States, at both the federal and state level, could result in claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries or investigations. As cyber threats are continually evolving, our controls and procedures may become inadequate and we may be required to devote additional resources to modifying or enhancing our systems in the future. Furthermore, while we maintain insurance intended to address costs associated with aspects of cyber incidents, network failures and data privacy-related concerns, our coverage may not sufficiently cover all types of losses or claims that may arise.

If we do not adapt to new technologies implemented by our competitors in the LTL and transportation industry, our business could suffer.

The LTL and transportation industry may be impacted by rapid changes in technologies. Our competitors may implement new technology that could improve their service, price, available capacity or business relationships and increase their market share. If we do not appropriately adapt our operations to these new technologies, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may suffer.

Failure to keep pace with developments in technology, any disruption to our technology infrastructure, or failures of essential services upon which our technology platforms rely could cause us to incur costs or result in a loss of business, which may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

We rely heavily on information technology systems. Our information technology systems are complex and require ongoing investments and enhancements to meet both internal requirements and the requirements of our customers. If we are unable to invest in and enhance or modernize our technology systems in a timely manner or at a reasonable cost, or if we are unable to train our employees to operate the new, enhanced or modernized systems, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely

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affected. We also may not achieve the benefits that we anticipate from any new technology or new or modernized system, and a failure to do so could result in higher than anticipated costs or adversely affect our results of operations.

Our information technology systems also depend upon the Internet, third-party service providers, global communications providers, satellite-based communications systems, the electric utilities grid, electric utility providers and telecommunications providers. We have minimal control over the operation, quality, or maintenance of these services or whether vendors will improve their services or continue to provide services that are essential to our business. Disruptions due to transitional challenges in upgrading or enhancing our technology systems; failures in the services upon which our information technology platforms rely, including those that may arise from adverse weather conditions or natural calamities, including but not limited to floods, hurricanes, earthquakes or tornadoes; illegal acts, including terrorist attacks; human error or systems modernization initiatives; and/or other disruptions, may adversely affect our business, which could increase our costs or result in a loss of customers that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Risks Related to Legal and Regulatory Matters

The FMCSA’s CSA initiative could adversely impact our ability to hire qualified drivers, meet our growth projections and maintain our customer relationships, each of which could adversely impact our results of operations.

The FMCSA’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability initiative (“CSA”) is an enforcement and compliance program designed to monitor and improve commercial motor vehicle safety by measuring the safety record of both the motor carrier and the driver. These measurements are scored and used by the FMCSA to identify potential safety risks and to direct enforcement action.

Our CSA scores are dependent upon our safety and compliance experience, which could change at any time. In addition, the safety standards prescribed in CSA could change and our ability to maintain an acceptable score could be adversely impacted. Public disclosure of certain CSA scores was restricted through the enactment of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act of 2015 (the “FAST Act”) on December 4, 2015; however, the FAST Act does not restrict public disclosure of all data collected by the FMCSA. If we receive unacceptable CSA scores, and this data is made available to the public, our relationships with our customers could be damaged, which could result in a loss of business.

The requirements of the CSA could also shrink the industry’s pool of drivers, as those with unfavorable scores could leave the industry. As a result, the costs to attract, train and retain qualified drivers could increase. In addition, a shortage of qualified drivers could increase driver turnover, decrease asset utilization, limit growth and adversely impact our results of operations.

We operate in a highly regulated industry, and increased costs of compliance with, or liability for violation of, existing or future regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We are regulated by the DOT and by various state and federal agencies. These regulatory authorities have broad powers over matters relating to authorized motor carrier operations, as well as motor carrier registration, driver hours of service, safety and fitness of transportation equipment and drivers, transportation of hazardous materials, certain mergers and acquisitions and periodic financial reporting. The trucking industry is also subject to regulatory and legislative changes from a variety of other governmental authorities, which address matters such as increasingly stringent environmental regulations, occupational safety and health regulations, limits on vehicle weight and size, ergonomics, port security, and driver hours of service. We are also subject to the costs and potential adverse impact of compliance associated with FMCSA’s ELD regulations and guidance, including the operation of our fleet and safety management systems on the ELD hardware and software platform. In addition, we are subject to compliance with cargo-security and transportation regulations issued by the TSA and CBP within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Regulatory requirements and changes in regulatory requirements or guidance, together with the growing compliance risks presented by increased differences between applicable federal and state regulations, may affect our business or the economics of the industry by requiring changes in operating practices that could influence the demand for and increase the costs of providing transportation services.

We are subject to various governmental laws and regulations, and costs of compliance with, liabilities under, or violations of, existing or future governmental laws or regulations could adversely affect our business.

We are subject to various federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations that govern, among other things, the disposal, emission and discharge of hazardous waste, hazardous materials, or other materials into the environment, their presence at our properties or in our vehicles, fuel storage tanks, the transportation of certain materials and the discharge or retention of storm water. Under specific environmental laws, we could also be held responsible for any costs relating to contamination at our past or present facilities and at third-party waste disposal sites, as well as costs associated with the clean-up of accidents involving our vehicles. Environmental laws have become and may continue to be increasingly more stringent over time, and there can be no assurance that our costs of complying with current or future environmental laws or liabilities arising under such laws will not have a material adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition.

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We may be adversely affected by legal, regulatory, or market responses to climate change concerns.

Increased concern over climate change and the potential impact of global warming has led to an increase in the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions regulation. Due to increased consideration, there could be an increase in regulation from federal, state and local governments related to our carbon footprint, including with respect to vehicle engine emissions. This increase in regulation could result in increased direct costs, such as taxes, fees, fuel, or capital costs, or changes to our operations in order to comply. There is also a focus from regulators and our customers on sustainability issues. This focus may result in new legislation or customer requirements, such as limits on vehicle weight and size or energy source. Finally, given the increasing focus on ESG matters by the investor community, if shareholders were to express dissatisfaction with our policies or efforts with respect to climate change, sustainability or similar matters, there could be a negative impact on our stock price, and we could also suffer reputational harm. Costs associated with future climate change concerns or environmental laws and regulations, sustainability requirements and related investor expectations could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and cash flows.

Healthcare legislation may increase our costs for employee healthcare and benefits and reduce our future profitability.

To attract and retain employees, we maintain a competitive health insurance plan for our employees and their dependents. We cannot predict the impact that any state or federal healthcare legislation or regulation will have on our operations, but we expect costs associated with providing benefits under employee medical plans and healthcare-related costs associated with workers’ compensation to continue to increase. Rising healthcare costs in the U.S. could result in significant long-term costs to us, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results. In addition, rising healthcare costs could force us to make further changes to our benefits program, which could negatively impact our ability to attract and retain employees.

We are subject to the risks of litigation and governmental proceedings, inquiries, notices or investigations which could adversely affect our business.

The nature of our business exposes us to the potential for various claims and litigation related to labor and employment, personal injury, property damage, cargo claims, safety and contract compliance, environmental liability and other matters. Accordingly, we are, and in the future may be, subject to legal proceedings and claims that have arisen in the ordinary course of our business, and may include collective and/or class action allegations. We are also subject to potential governmental proceedings, inquiries, notices or investigations, which also exposes us to the potential for various claims and litigation. The parties in such actions may seek amounts from us that may not be covered in whole or in part by insurance.  Defending ourselves against such actions could result in significant costs and could require a substantial amount of time and effort by our management team. We cannot predict the outcome of litigation or governmental proceedings, inquiries, notices or investigations to which we are a party or whether we will be subject to future legal actions. As a result, the potential costs associated with any such legal actions against us could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We are subject to legislative, regulatory, and legal developments involving taxes.

Taxes are a significant part of our expenses.  We are subject to U.S. federal and state income, payroll, property, sales and use, fuel, and other types of taxes. Changes to tax laws and regulations or changes to the interpretation thereof, or the ambiguity of tax laws and regulations, the subjectivity of factual interpretations, higher tax rates, claims, audits, investigations or legal proceedings involving taxing authorities, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

Risks Related to Owning our Common Stock

Our principal shareholders control a large portion of our outstanding common stock.

Earl E. Congdon, David S. Congdon, John R. Congdon, Jr. and their affiliate family members beneficially own an aggregate of approximately 18% of the outstanding shares of our common stock. As long as the Congdon family controls a large portion of our voting stock, they may be able to significantly influence the election of the entire Board of Directors and the outcome of all matters involving a shareholder vote. The Congdon family’s interests may differ from the interests of other shareholders and the status of their ownership could change at their discretion.

There can be no assurance of our ability to declare and pay cash dividends in future periods.

We intend to pay a quarterly cash dividend to holders of our common stock for the foreseeable future; however, dividend payments are subject to approval by our Board of Directors, and are restricted by applicable state law limitations on distributions to shareholders as well as certain covenants under our revolving credit facility and our note purchase and private shelf agreement. As a result, future dividend payments are not guaranteed and will depend upon various factors such as our overall financial condition, available liquidity, anticipated cash needs, future prospects for earnings and cash flows, as well as other factors considered relevant by

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our Board of Directors. In addition, any reduction or suspension in our dividend payments could adversely affect the price of our common stock.

The amount and frequency of our stock repurchases may fluctuate.

The amount, timing and execution of our stock repurchase program may fluctuate based on our strategic approach and our priorities for the use of cash. Other factors that may impact share repurchases include changes in stock price, profitability, capital structure, or cash flows. Our revolving credit facility and our note purchase and private shelf agreement also include provisions that may limit our ability to make payments for share repurchases. We may also use cash for investing in strategic assets or dividend payments, instead of share repurchases.

The market value of our common stock has been and may in the future be volatile, and could be substantially affected by various factors.

The price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market changes constantly. We expect that the market price of our common stock will continue to fluctuate due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. These factors include, among others:

Our common stock price may continue to fluctuate significantly in the future, and these fluctuations may be unrelated to our performance. General market price declines or market volatility in the future could adversely affect the price of our common stock, and the current market price of our common stock may not be indicative of future market prices.

Our articles of incorporation, our bylaws and Virginia law contain provisions that could discourage, delay or prevent a change in our control or our management.

Provisions of our articles of incorporation, bylaws and the laws of Virginia, the state in which we are incorporated, may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of us or a change in management that shareholders may consider favorable. These provisions:

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

We own our principal executive office located in Thomasville, North Carolina, consisting of a two-story office building of approximately 168,000 square feet on 31.8 acres of land. At December 31, 2020, we operated 244 service centers, of which 217 were owned and 27 were leased. Our owned service centers include most of our larger facilities and account for approximately 94% of the total door capacity in our network. We own each of our major breakbulk facilities listed below and have provided the number of doors as of December 31, 2020.

Our 244 facilities are strategically dispersed over the states in which we operate. At December 31, 2020, the terms of our leased properties ranged from month-to-month to a lease that expires in 2039. We believe that as current leases expire, we will be able to renew them or find comparable facilities without causing any material negative impact on service to our customers or our operating results.

We believe that all of our properties are in good repair and are capable of providing the level of service required by current business levels and customer demands. In addition, we believe we have sufficient capacity in our service center network to accommodate increased demand for our services.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are involved in or addressing various legal proceedings and claims, governmental inquiries, notices and investigations that have arisen in the ordinary course of our business and have not been fully adjudicated, some of which may be covered in whole or in part by insurance.  Certain of these matters include collective and/or class-action allegations. We do not believe that the resolution of any of these matters will have a material adverse effect upon our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Consistent with SEC Regulation S-K Item 103, we have elected to disclose those environmental legal proceedings with a governmental authority if management reasonably believes that the proceedings may involve potential monetary sanctions of $1,000,000 or more. The following matter is disclosed in accordance with that requirement. We do not believe that any possible loss that may be incurred in connection with the matter will be material to our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

On May 12, 2017, we received a letter from the Orange County California District Attorney’s Office concerning suspected violations of California laws with respect to waste handling practices.  As part of the civil investigation conducted in coordination with other California counties, we have shared information about our waste handling practices at our facilities throughout the state. We are in discussions concerning resolution of this matter.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

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PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Common Stock Information

Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol ODFL. At February 18, 2021, there were 123,513 holders of our common stock, including 103 shareholders of record.

The following table provides information regarding our repurchases of our common stock during the fourth quarter of 2020:

⁽¹⁾ The total number of shares purchased includes the final settlement of 172,007 shares of our common stock under our Accelerated Share Repurchase Agreement (the “ASR Agreement”) entered into with a third-party financial institution on May 29, 2020 as part of our 2020 Repurchase Program (as defined below). This delivery of shares and their market price at time of delivery are included in the table above. The final number of shares received was based on the daily volume-weighted average share price during the term of the ASR Agreement, less a negotiated discount.

On May 1, 2020, we announced that our Board of Directors had approved a new two-year stock repurchase program authorizing us to repurchase up to an aggregate of $700.0 million of our outstanding common stock (the “2020 Repurchase Program”). The 2020 Repurchase Program became effective upon the termination of our $350.0 million repurchase program on May 29, 2020, as of which date $21.5 million remained authorized under the prior program. Under the 2020 Repurchase Program, we may repurchase shares from time to time in open market purchases or through privately negotiated transactions. Shares of our common stock repurchased under our repurchase programs are canceled at the time of repurchase and are classified as authorized but unissued shares of our common stock.

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Performance Graph

The following graph compares the total shareholder cumulative returns, assuming the reinvestment of all dividends, of $100 invested on December 31, 2015, in (i) our common stock, (ii) the S&P 500 Total Return Index, and (iii) the Nasdaq Industrial Transportation Index, for the five-year period ended December 31, 2020.

Cumulative Total Return

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

Not applicable.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations generally discusses our 2020 and 2019 results and year-to-year comparisons between 2020 and 2019. Discussions of our 2018 results and year-to-year comparisons between 2019 and 2018 that are not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2020.

Overview

We are one of the largest North American less-than-truckload (“LTL”) motor carriers. We provide regional, inter-regional and national LTL services through a single integrated, union-free organization. Our service offerings, which include expedited transportation, are provided through an expansive network of service centers located throughout the continental United States. Through strategic alliances, we also provide LTL services throughout North America. In addition to our core LTL services, we offer a range of value-added services including container drayage, truckload brokerage and supply chain consulting. More than 98% 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 our LTL volumes and LTL revenue per hundredweight.  While LTL revenue per hundredweight is a yield measurement, it is also a commonly-used indicator for general pricing trends in the LTL industry.  This yield metric is not a true measure of price, however, as it can be influenced by many other factors, such as changes in fuel surcharges, weight per shipment and length of haul.  As a result, changes in revenue per hundredweight do not necessarily indicate actual changes in underlying base rates.  LTL revenue per hundredweight and the key factors that can impact this metric are described in more detail below:

Our primary revenue focus is to increase density, which is shipment and tonnage growth within our existing infrastructure. 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, 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, which is measured as revenue per hundredweight, on the shipments we handle to offset our cost inflation and support our ongoing investments in capacity and technology. We regularly monitor the components of our pricing, including base freight rates, accessorial charges and fuel surcharges. The fuel surcharge is generally designed to offset fluctuations in the cost of our

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petroleum-based products and is indexed to diesel fuel prices published by the DOE, which reset each week. We believe our yield management process focused on individual account profitability, and ongoing improvements in operating efficiencies, are both key components of our ability to produce profitable growth.

Our primary cost elements are direct wages and benefits associated with the movement of freight, operating supplies and expenses, which include diesel fuel, and depreciation of our equipment fleet and service center facilities. We gauge our overall success in managing costs by monitoring our operating ratio, a measure of profitability calculated by dividing total operating expenses by revenue, which also allows for industry-wide comparisons with our competition.

We regularly 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 that we use to monitor and enhance 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:

Key financial and operating metrics for 2020 and 2019 are presented below:

Despite the difficult operating conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic, our financial results for 2020 include Company records for profitability and diluted earnings per share.  While our annual revenue decreased slightly as a result of a decrease in our volumes, our LTL revenue per hundredweight increased as we maintained our price discipline throughout the year.  The increase in

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our yields along with the increase in productivity allowed us to improve our variable operating costs as a percent of revenue.  We also improved our overhead costs as a percent of revenue due to our control over discretionary spending during the year.  These factors contributed to the 270 basis point improvement in our operating ratio resulting in a new Company record of 77.4% for the year.  As a result, our net income and diluted earnings per share increased 9.3% and 11.4%, respectively, in 2020 as compared to 2019.

Revenue

Revenue decreased $94.0 million, or 2.3%, in 2020 compared to 2019. This decline reflects a decrease in LTL tons and a slight decline in our LTL revenue per hundredweight when compared with 2019. The decrease in LTL tons in 2020 was primarily attributable to a decline in shipments that was partially offset by an increase in our LTL weight per shipment. The decrease in LTL shipments was driven by the impact of a slowdown in the domestic economy associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily during the second quarter of 2020.

LTL revenue per hundredweight decreased 0.1% in 2020 compared to 2019. Our LTL revenue and yield were negatively impacted by a decrease in fuel surcharges that resulted from a significant decline in the average price of diesel fuel for the comparable periods. The slight decrease in LTL revenue per hundredweight also includes the adverse impact of the increase in our LTL weight per shipment on this metric. Excluding fuel surcharges, LTL revenue per hundredweight increased 2.5% in 2020 compared to 2019 as a result of the ongoing commitment to our yield management strategy, which is supported by our best-in-class service to customers. As a percent of revenue, fuel surcharges decreased to 10.5% in 2020 as compared to 12.7% in 2019.

January 2021 Update

Revenue per day increased 14.6% in January 2021 compared to the same month last year. LTL tons per day increased 11.9%, due primarily to a 7.0% increase in LTL shipments per day and a 4.6% increase in LTL weight per shipment. LTL revenue per hundredweight increased 2.2% as compared to the same month last year. LTL revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharges, increased 4.1% as compared to the same month last year.

Operating Costs and Other Expenses

Salaries, wages and benefits decreased $68.6 million, or 3.2%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, due to a $21.2 million decrease in the costs attributable to salaries and wages and a $47.4 million decrease in benefits costs. The decrease in salaries and wages was due to a decrease in the average number of active full-time employees and improvements in productivity. These decreases were partially offset by the impact of annual wage increases provided to our employees at the beginning of both September of 2019 and 2020 and two special bonuses provided to eligible employees during 2020 in recognition of their outstanding service to our customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our average number of active full-time employees decreased 1,530, or 7.4%, as compared to 2019 as we aligned our headcount with shipment volume trends.

Our productive labor costs, which include wages for drivers, platform employees, and fleet technicians, increased slightly as a percent of revenue to 27.8% in 2020 as compared to 27.6% in 2019. While our productive labor costs as a percentage of revenue were negatively impacted by the deleveraging effect of lower fuel surcharges, we increased the efficiency of our operations with improvements in our linehaul laden load average, P&D shipments and stops per hour and platform pounds and shipments per hour as compared to 2019. Our other salaries and wages as a percent of revenue also increased slightly to 10.4% in 2020 as compared to 10.2% in 2019. 

Employee benefit costs decreased $47.4 million in 2020 as compared to 2019, due primarily to a reduction in expense related to our phantom stock plans, which were amended in the fourth quarter of 2019 to allow the awards to be settled in stock and limit our ongoing benefits expense in future periods. Our employee benefit costs were also lower due to a reduction in group health and dental and workers’ compensation resulting from a decrease in employee headcount and fewer claims per employee during 2020. As a result of these expense reductions, our employee benefit costs as a percent of salaries and wages decreased to 33.8% in 2020 from 36.4% in 2019.

We believe our active full-time employee count will increase as we continue to hire employees to balance our workforce with growing demand and shipment trends. Although we intend to hire additional employees in 2021 to further increase the capacity of our workforce, we expect to continue to purchase supplemental transportation until the capacity of our team can fully support our anticipated growth. 

Operating supplies and expenses decreased $99.7 million, or 21.1%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, due primarily to a decrease in our costs for diesel fuel used in our vehicles. Our diesel fuel costs, excluding fuel taxes, represents the largest component of operating supplies and expenses, and can vary based on both the average price per gallon and consumption. Our average cost per gallon of diesel fuel decreased 31.8% in 2020 as compared to 2019.  In addition, our gallons consumed decreased 4.5% in 2020 as compared to 2019 due to a decrease in miles driven. We do not use diesel fuel hedging instruments; therefore, our costs are subject to

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market price fluctuations. Other operating supplies and expenses improved as a percent of revenue between the periods compared as we efficiently maintained our fleet and managed our other variable operating expenses.

General supplies and expenses decreased $13.7 million, or 11.0%, in 2020 as compared to 2019, due primarily to lower advertising and marketing costs as we controlled our discretionary spending. We also benefited from lower travel-related expenses, due to travel restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. While we will continue our discipline in controlling discretionary spending in 2021, we anticipate that certain costs that were reduced in 2020 will be restored in future periods.

Depreciation and amortization increased $7.6 million, or 3.0%, in 2020 as compared to 2019. While our 2020 capital expenditure plan was lower than in 2019, particularly with respect to revenue equipment and real estate, we believe depreciation expense will continue to increase in future periods as we maintain our focus on expanding capacity to support our anticipated growth and long-term strategic initiatives.

Our effective tax rate in 2020 was 25.4% as compared to 25.3% in 2019. Our effective tax rate generally exceeds the federal statutory rate due to the impact of state taxes and, to a lesser extent, certain other non-deductible items.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

A summary of our cash flows is presented below:

The change in our cash flows provided by operating activities during 2020 as compared to 2019 was impacted by an increase in our income taxes paid of $109.2 million and fluctuations in certain working capital accounts, which were partially offset by an increase in net income.

The changes in cash flows used in investing activities during 2020 as compared to 2019 was primarily due to purchases of short-term investments in 2020, partially offset by a reduction in capital expenditures as compared to 2019.  Changes in our capital expenditures are more fully described below in “Capital Expenditures.”

The changes in cash flows used in financing activities for all periods were due primarily to fluctuations in capital returned to shareholders and fluctuations in our long-term debt. Our financing arrangements are more fully described below under “Financing Agreements.” Our return of capital to shareholders is more fully described below under “Stock Repurchase Program” and “Dividends to Shareholders.”  

We have five primary sources of available liquidity: cash flows from operations, our existing cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, available borrowings under our second amended and restated credit agreement (the “Credit Agreement”), and our Note Purchase and Private Shelf Agreement (the “Note Agreement”). Our Credit Agreement and the Note Agreement are described in more detail below under “Financing Arrangements.” We believe we also have sufficient access to debt and equity markets to provide other sources of liquidity, if needed. While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic creates some uncertainty for the domestic economy, we believe our current sources of liquidity will be sufficient to satisfy our planned capital expenditures and working capital needs.

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Capital Expenditures

The table below sets forth our net capital expenditures for property and equipment for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:

Our capital expenditures vary 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 and shipment growth. Expenditures for land and structures can be dependent upon the availability of land in the geographic areas where we are looking to expand. 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 $605 million for the year ending December 31, 2021. Approximately $275 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 $290 million is allocated for the purchase of tractors and trailers; and approximately $40 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, short-term investments and, if needed, borrowings available under our Credit Agreement, or Note Agreement. We believe our current sources of liquidity will be sufficient to satisfy our expected capital expenditures.

Stock Repurchase Program

On May 1, 2020, we announced that our Board of Directors had approved a new two-year stock repurchase program authorizing us to repurchase up to an aggregate of $700.0 million of our outstanding common stock (the “2020 Repurchase Program”). The 2020 Repurchase Program became effective upon the termination of our $350.0 million repurchase program on May 29, 2020, as of which date $21.5 million remained authorized under the prior program. Under the 2020 Repurchase Program, we may repurchase shares from time to time in open market purchases or through privately negotiated transactions. Shares of our common stock repurchased under our repurchase programs are canceled at the time of repurchase and are classified as authorized but unissued shares of our common stock.

During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we repurchased 2,507,885 and 2,403,336 shares of our common stock under our repurchase programs for an aggregate of $364.1 million and $241.0 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, we had $555.2 million remaining authorized under the 2020 Repurchase Program.

Dividends to Shareholders

On February 21, 2020, we announced that our Board of Directors approved a three-for-two split of our common stock for shareholders of record as of the close of business on the record date of March 10, 2020. On March 24, 2020, 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 dividend amounts have been restated retroactively to reflect this stock split. Split-adjusted quarterly per-share metrics may not recalculate precisely due to rounding.

Our Board of Directors also declared quarterly cash dividends that totaled $0.60 per share for the year ended December 31, 2020 and quarterly cash dividends that totaled $0.45 per share for the year ended December 31, 2019.

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Financing Agreements

Senior Note Agreements

We had an unsecured senior note agreement with a principal amount outstanding of $45.0 million at December 31, 2019 (the “Senior Note”). The agreement for the Senior Note called for a scheduled principal payment of $45.0 million, with an interest rate of 4.79%, on January 3, 2021, which was paid in the fourth quarter of 2020.  

On May 4, 2020, we entered into the Note Agreement with PGIM, Inc. (“Prudential”) and certain affiliates and managed accounts of Prudential. The Note Agreement, which is uncommitted and subject to Prudential’s sole discretion, provides for the issuance of senior promissory notes with an aggregate principal amount of up to $350.0 million through May 4, 2023. Pursuant to the Note Agreement, we issued $100.0 million aggregate principal amount of senior promissory notes (the “Series B Notes”), the proceeds of which are available for capital expenditures, share repurchases, dividends, acquisitions, or general corporate purposes. Borrowing availability under the Note Agreement is reduced by the outstanding amount of the existing Series B Notes, and all other senior promissory notes issued pursuant to the Note Agreement.

The Series B Notes bear interest at 3.10% per annum and mature on May 4, 2027, unless prepaid. Principal payments are required annually beginning on May 4, 2023 in equal installments of $20.0 million through May 4, 2027. The Series B Notes are senior unsecured obligations and rank pari passu with our other senior unsecured indebtedness.

Credit Agreement

On November 21, 2019, we entered into our Credit Agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association serving as administrative agent for the lenders. The Credit Agreement provides for a five-year, $250.0 million senior unsecured revolving line of credit and a $150.0 million accordion feature, which if fully exercised and approved, would expand the total borrowing capacity up to an aggregate of $400.0 million. Of the $250.0 million line of credit commitments under the Credit Agreement, up to $100.0 million may be used for letters of credit.

At our option, borrowings under the Credit Agreement bear interest at either: (i) LIBOR (including applicable successor provisions) plus an applicable margin (based on our ratio of net debt-to-total capitalization) that ranges from 1.000% to 1.375%; or (ii) a Base Rate plus an applicable margin (based on our ratio of net debt-to-total capitalization) that ranges from 0.000% to 0.375%. Letter of credit fees equal to the applicable margin for LIBOR loans are charged quarterly in arrears on the daily average aggregate stated amount of all letters of credit outstanding during the quarter. Commitment fees ranging from 0.100% to 0.175% (based upon the ratio of net debt-to-total capitalization) are charged quarterly in arrears on the aggregate unutilized portion of the Credit Agreement.

For periods covered under the Credit Agreement, the applicable margin on LIBOR loans and letter of credit fees were 1.000% and commitment fees were 0.100%.

The Credit Agreement replaced our previous five-year, $300.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit agreement dated as of December 15, 2015, as amended on September 9, 2016 (the “Prior Credit Agreement”). For periods in 2019 covered under the Prior Credit Agreement, the applicable margin on LIBOR loans and letter of credit fees were 1.000% and commitment fees were 0.125%.

The amounts outstanding and available borrowing capacity under the Credit Agreement are presented below:

General Debt Provisions

The Credit Agreement and Note Agreement contain 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. The Credit Agreement and Note Agreement also include a provision limiting our ability to make restricted payments, including dividends and payments for share repurchases, unless, among other conditions, no defaults or events of default are ongoing (or would be caused by such restricted payment). We were in compliance with all covenants in our outstanding debt instruments for the period ended December 31, 2020.

The interest rate is fixed on the Note Agreement. 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.

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We do not anticipate financial performance that would cause us to violate any such covenants in the future, and we believe the combination of our existing Credit Agreement and Note Agreement along with our additional borrowing capacity will be sufficient to meet foreseeable seasonal and long-term capital needs.

Contractual Obligations

The following table summarizes our significant contractual obligations as of December 31, 2020:

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

Our revenue is generated from providing transportation and related services to customers in accordance with the bill of lading (“BOL”) contract, our general tariff provisions and contractual agreements. Generally, our performance obligations begin when we receive a BOL from a customer and are satisfied when we complete the delivery of a shipment and related services. We recognize revenue for our performance obligations under our customer contracts over time, as our customers receive the benefits of our services in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09. With respect to 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. Payment terms vary by customer and are short-term in nature.

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, including anticipated changes to future performance. 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.

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Claims and Insurance Accruals

Claims and insurance accruals reflect the estimated cost of claims for cargo loss and damage, Bodily Injury/Property Damage (“BIPD”), workers’ compensation, group health and dental. The related costs are charged to insurance and claims expense except for workers’ compensation, group health and dental, which are charged to employee benefits expense.

Insurers providing excess coverage above a company’s self-insured retention or deductible levels typically adjust their premiums to cover insured losses and for other market factors. As a result, we periodically evaluate our self-insured retention and deductible levels to determine the most cost-efficient balance between our 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. When indicators of impairment exist, 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 fluctuates as diesel fuel prices change from 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 any of the past three years.

Related Party 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 2020. Our employment agreement with David S. Congdon is incorporated by reference as an exhibit to this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We regularly disclose the amount of compensation that we pay to these individuals, as well as the compensation paid to any of their family members employed by us that from time to time may require disclosure, in the proxy statement for our Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

Audit Committee Approval

The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors reviews and approves all related person transactions in accordance with our Related Person Transactions Policy.

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Market risk represents the risk of loss that may impact our financial position, results of operations and cash flows due to adverse changes in financial market prices and rates.

We are exposed to interest rate risk directly related to loans, if any, under our Credit Agreement, which have variable interest rates. A 100 basis point increase in the average interest rate on this agreement would have no material effect on our operating results. We have established policies and procedures to manage exposure to market risks and use major institutions that we believe are creditworthy to minimize credit risk.

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We are also exposed to interest rate risk on our short-term investments. We maintain an investment portfolio principally composed of certificates of deposit, U.S. government securities, and commercial paper. At December 31, 2020, these investments totaled $330.3 million. These fixed rate securities are subject to interest rate risk, as sharp increases in market interest rates could have an adverse impact on their fair value. Although the fair values of these instruments can fluctuate, we believe that the short-term, highly liquid nature of these debt securities, and our ability to hold these instruments to maturity, reduces our risk for potential material losses. A hypothetical 100 basis point change in market interest rates at December 31, 2020 would have had an immaterial impact on the fair value of these investments.

We are exposed to market risk for investments relating to certain assets held within the Company-owned life insurance contracts on certain current and former employees. The cash surrender value in life insurance contracts included on our Balance Sheets at December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $65.4 million and $59.0 million, respectively. The portion of underlying investments with exposure to market fluctuations was $51.2 million and $56.7 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. To provide a meaningful assessment of the market risk for investments relating to Company-owned life insurance contracts, we performed a sensitivity analysis using a 10% change in market value in those investments on December 31, 2020. A 10% change in market value would have caused a $5.1 million and a $5.7 million impact on our pre-tax income in 2020 and 2019, respectively.

We are also exposed to commodity price risk related to diesel fuel prices, and we manage our exposure to that risk primarily through the application of fuel surcharges to our customers.

For further discussion related to these risks, see Notes 1, 2 and 9 of the Notes to the Financial Statements included in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” and Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

OLD DOMINION FREIGHT LINE, INC.

BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

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OLD DOMINION FREIGHT LINE, INC.

STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

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OLD DOMINION FREIGHT LINE, INC.

STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

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OLD DOMINION FREIGHT LINE, INC.

STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS