Knight-Swift's truckload rate per mile jumps 12.2% in Q3, and it plans to open bids asking low to mid double digits

Knight-Swift Transportation, the largest U.S. truckload carrier, reported third-quarter results after the market closed on Oct. 21 that show the rate recovery is now reaching the income statement. For shippers, the more useful part is what management said it expects next.

According to the company's earnings release filed with the SEC on Oct. 21, revenue rose 14.2% from a year earlier to $2.20 billion. Net income attributable to the company was $118.3 million, up from $7.9 million in the third quarter of 2025. Adjusted earnings were $0.83 a share, against $0.32 a year ago.

The truckload segment did most of the work. Truckload revenue was $1.41 billion, and its adjusted operating ratio improved 700 basis points to 89.2%, per the same filing. On the earnings call, as reported in a transcript from The Motley Fool, CFO Andrew Hess said truckload revenue per mile excluding fuel surcharge rose 12.2% year over year, after a 2.5% gain in the first quarter. He added that 68% of the third-quarter rate improvement reached margin, up from 50% in the second quarter.

Not every segment gained. Knight-Swift's filing shows LTL revenue up 10.1%, but only 0.4% excluding fuel surcharge, and adjusted operating income fell 8.4%. Intermodal revenue rose 30.6% to $122.9 million. Treasurer Brad Stewart said on the call that record-high diesel prices pushed some shippers toward intermodal.

What it means for carriers

CEO Adam Miller described the market as "a supply-driven tightening" after more than three years of weak pricing, with demand relatively stable. Carriers have closed, shrunk fleets or moved to dedicated work, he said, and he expects tougher compliance expectations to keep marginal carriers from returning.

Costs are not standing still. Hess named driver pay and fuel as the most acute pressures, though he called the fuel swing transitory. For fleets without a strong network, a 12% rate gain on a large carrier does not guarantee the same result; Knight-Swift said its spot rates and tender rejections are running stronger than broad market indicators.

What shippers and brokers should watch

Miller said most large national bids are done and that the main bid season starts in November. Knight-Swift expects to open it asking for low to mid double-digit contract rate increases, with room to go higher if demand improves, and mid-cycle adjustments on some existing contracts. Those are the company's own targets, not settled rates.

For the fourth quarter, the company guided to adjusted earnings of $0.78 to $0.84 a share, according to the MarketBeat summary carried by Yahoo Finance. It expects truckload operating income to improve meaningfully from the third quarter.

Shippers heading into bids should expect carriers to cite results like these. Brokers buying capacity on the spot market should plan for tight trucks to persist through the peak season.