Marten Transport’s Q2: Reefer market on the rise

Marten Transport’s Q2: Reefer market on the rise Marten Transport said it is securing higher rates as trucking's regulatory crackdown purges bad actors. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves) Todd Maiden Fri, July 24, 2026 at 5:05 PM GMT+2 3 min read MRTN Refrigerated carrier Marten Transport noted a significant firming in truckload fundamentals when it reported second-quarter results Thursday after the market closed. A much tighter capacity backdrop is allowing the company to improve its freight selection and raise rates.

"The freight market has sharply tightened in recent months and is now breaking out from the longest freight market recession on record," stated CEO Randy Marten in a news release. He said the regulatory crackdown is "contracting meaningful levels of freight capacity by removing noncompliant and unqualified drivers. " (The Mondovi, Wisconsin-based company does not host a quarterly call.

) SONAR: Reefer Outbound Tender Rejection Index (ROTRI. USA) for 2026 (blue shaded area), 2025 (yellow line), 2024 (green line) and 2023 (pink line). A proxy for truck capacity, the reefer tender rejection index shows the number of loads being rejected by carriers.

Current tender rejections show a tight truckload market. To learn more about SONAR, click here . Revenue from Marten's ( NASDAQ: MRTN ) non-dedicated TL fleet increased 9% y/y to $116 million, but was flat at $93 million excluding fuel surcharges.

An 8% decline in average tractors in service was offset by a 9% increase in revenue per tractor. Like most large carriers, Marten has been managing truck counts to improve asset utilization. Revenue per loaded mile increased 6% y/y to $2.

81. The unit booked a 97. 4% operating ratio (ex-fuel), which was 10 basis points better y/y.

Table: Marten's key performance indicators – TL & Dedicated The company's smaller dedicated segment saw a 14% y/y decline in revenue (ex-fuel) as a 17% drop in truck count was only partially offset by a 3% increase in revenue per tractor. Revenue per loaded mile was down 5% y/y to $2. 36.

The unit posted a 95. 4% OR (ex-fuel), 430 bps worse y/y. Brokerage revenue was flat y/y at $40 million, as a 2% increase in loads was offset by a 2% decline in revenue per load.

The segment's OR worsened 160 bps to 94. 8%, but actually compares favorably to other similar brokerages. Third-party capacity buy rates (purchased transportation) are much higher than in-place sell rates on contractual business given the rapid run-up in the broader spot market.

Table: Marten's key performance indicators – Brokerage Consolidated revenue of $224 million was 3% lower y/y and $4 million light of the consensus estimate. (Revenue excluding fuel surcharges was 9% lower y/y. ) The 2025 sale of its intermodal unit to Hub Group ( NASDAQ: HUBG ) was an $11.

7-million revenue headwind during the quarter. Marten reported earnings per share of 7 cents (net income of $5. 3 million), which was 2 cents lower year over year and a penny light of consensus.

Earnings per share faced a 3-cent headwind due to a $3. 5 million y/y drop in gains on equipment sales. Table: Marten's key performance indicators – Consolidated Cash flow from operations was $61 million for the first half of 2026, a 12% y/y decline.

The company maintained a debt-free balance sheet in the quarter. Story Continues The average age of its tractor fleet is 2. 5 years compared to 2.

1 years in the year-ago period. Shares of MRTN were off 2% in early trading on Friday compared to the S&P 500, which was off 0. 1%.

Why it matters? Marten Transport is viewed as a "refrigerated pure play. " It is the only public carrier in the reefer market and its quarterly results serve as a bellwether for the industry.

The company's second quarter provided a signal for improving fundamentals in the refrigerated freight market. More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden: Regulatory cleanup fuels Knight-Swift's bullish outlook Forward Air secures deal to keep at least 50% of $250M account Cass: TL linehaul rates advance in June, volume inflection delayed The post Marten Transport's Q2: Reefer market on the rise appeared first on FreightWaves .