Marten Transport, Ltd. reported a 30.7% improvement in net income for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026. The company recorded net income of $2.9 million, or 4 cents per diluted share, compared to $2.2 million, or 3 cents per diluted share, for the same period in 2025. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2026, net income was $9.6 million, or 12 cents per diluted share, which decreased from $13.7 million, or 17 cents per diluted share, during the first nine months of 2025.
Operating revenue for the third quarter of 2026 was $223.2 million, a slight increase from $220.5 million in the prior year. The company noted that fuel surcharge revenue rose to $39.0 million in the current quarter from $26.5 million in the third quarter of 2025. Operating income improved 11.9% to $3.1 million for the third quarter of 2026, compared to $2.7 million in the prior year.
Marten Transport’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Randolph L. Marten stated that the truckload freight market has tightened due to enhanced enforcement of federal and state laws removing noncompliant driver capacity. The company reported that its Truckload average rate per total mile, net of fuel surcharges, increased 14.1% over the third quarter of 2025. However, the company noted that earnings were negatively affected by unusually high net fuel and health insurance costs. Specifically, net fuel costs increased by $3.5 million and health insurance costs increased by $2.0 million relative to the first half of the year, collectively reducing third quarter net income by $3.7 million.
As of September 30, 2026, the company had $91.5 million in cash and cash equivalents and held $5.0 million in escrow deposits. The company’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol MRTN.
