Form 10-Q Q2 2015
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
 

FORM 10-Q

QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the Quarterly Period Ended June 30, 2015
Commission File No. 000-22490


FORWARD AIR CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


Tennessee
 
62-1120025
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)
 
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
430 Airport Road
Greeneville, Tennessee
 
37745
(Address of principal executive offices)
 
(Zip Code)
 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (423) 636-7000
 

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 x No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files).

Yes x  No ¨
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See definition of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
 
Large accelerated filer x
 
Accelerated filer o
Non-accelerated filer o
Smaller reporting company o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
 
Yes o No x
 
The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock, $0.01 par value, as of July 20, 2015 was 31,036,841.



Table of Contents
 
 
 
Forward Air Corporation
 
 
 
 
 
Page
 
 
Number
Part I.
Financial Information
 
 
 
 
Item 1.
Financial Statements (Unaudited)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Item 2.
 
 
 
Item 3.
 
 
 
Item 4.
 
 
 
Part II.
Other Information
 
 
 
 
Item 1.
 
 
 
Item 1A.
 
 
 
Item 2.
 
 
 
Item 3.
 
 
 
Item 4.
 
 
 
Item 5.
 
 
 
Item 6.
 
 
 

2


Part I.
Financial Information
 
 
Item 1.
Financial Statements (Unaudited).
Forward Air Corporation
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
 
June 30,
2015
 
December 31,
2014
Assets
 
 
 
Current assets:
 
 
 
Cash
$
42,531

 
$
41,429

Accounts receivable, less allowance of $2,881 in 2015 and $2,563 in 2014
122,356

 
95,326

Other current assets
28,455

 
13,200

Total current assets
193,342

 
149,955

 
 
 
 
Property and equipment
317,835

 
305,188

Less accumulated depreciation and amortization
144,638

 
132,699

Total property and equipment, net
173,197

 
172,489

Goodwill and other acquired intangibles:
 

 
 

Goodwill
206,530

 
144,412

Other acquired intangibles, net of accumulated amortization of $45,750 in 2015 and $40,307 in 2014
133,262

 
72,705

Total net goodwill and other acquired intangibles
339,792

 
217,117

Other assets
3,029

 
2,244

Total assets
$
709,360

 
$
541,805

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
 
 
 
Current liabilities:
 
 
 
Accounts payable
$
27,616

 
$
20,572

Accrued expenses
33,191

 
22,583

Current portion of debt and capital lease obligations
55,906

 
276

Total current liabilities
116,713

 
43,431

 
 
 
 
Long-term debt and capital lease obligations, less current portion
56,926

 
1,275

Other long-term liabilities
13,511

 
8,356

Deferred income taxes
33,726

 
25,180

 
 
 
 
Shareholders’ equity:
 

 
 

Preferred stock
—

 
—

Common stock, $0.01 par value: Authorized shares - 50,000,000, Issued and outstanding shares - 30,830,832 in 2015 and 30,255,182 in 2014
308

 
303

Additional paid-in capital
150,812

 
130,107

Retained earnings
337,364

 
333,153

Total shareholders’ equity
488,484

 
463,563

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity
$
709,360

 
$
541,805

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


3


Forward Air Corporation
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
 
 
 
 
 
Three months ended
 
Six months ended
 
June 30,
2015
 
June 30,
2014
 
June 30,
2015
 
June 30,
2014
Operating revenue
$
249,694

 
$
193,852

 
$
455,612

 
$
365,420

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Purchased transportation
107,482

 
82,834

 
196,819

 
156,385

Salaries, wages and employee benefits
61,886

 
44,391

 
115,789

 
85,813

Operating leases
18,277

 
8,165

 
34,033

 
16,516

Depreciation and amortization
9,519

 
7,751

 
18,202

 
14,764

Insurance and claims
6,240

 
3,104

 
11,371

 
7,231

Fuel expense
4,188

 
5,172

 
8,208

 
9,977

Other operating expenses
22,194

 
14,840

 
43,033

 
30,868

Total operating expenses
229,786

 
166,257

 
427,455

 
321,554

Income from operations
19,908

 
27,595

 
28,157

 
43,866

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Other income (expense):
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Interest expense
(570
)
 
(101
)
 
(934
)
 
(183
)
Other, net
(89
)
 
112

 
(138
)
 
198

Total other income (expense)
(659
)
 
11

 
(1,072
)
 
15

Income before income taxes
19,249

 
27,606

 
27,085

 
43,881

Income taxes
7,425

 
10,428

 
10,425

 
16,502

Net income and comprehensive income
$
11,824


$
17,178

 
$
16,660

 
$
27,379

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net income per share:
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Basic
$
0.38

 
$
0.56

 
$
0.54

 
$
0.89

Diluted
$
0.38

 
$
0.55

 
$
0.53

 
$
0.87

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dividends per share:
$
0.12

 
$
0.12

 
$
0.24

 
$
0.24


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

4


Forward Air Corporation
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
 
 
 
Six months ended
 
June 30,
2015
 
June 30,
2014
 
 
Operating activities:
 
 
 
Net income
$
16,660

 
$
27,379

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities
 
 
 
Depreciation and amortization
18,202

 
14,764

Share-based compensation
3,676

 
3,329

Gain on disposal of property and equipment
(33
)
 
(112
)
Provision for loss (recovery) on receivables
83

 
(85
)
Provision for revenue adjustments
1,842

 
1,250

Deferred income (benefit) tax
(498
)
 
1,573

Excess tax benefit for stock options exercised
(2,365
)
 
(907
)
Changes in operating assets and liabilities
 
 
 
Accounts receivable
(4,887
)
 
(12,727
)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
(3,210
)
 
(2,429
)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
(10,908
)
 
7,180

Net cash provided by operating activities
18,562

 
39,215

 
 
 
 
Investing activities:
 
 
 
Proceeds from disposal of property and equipment
623

 
462

Purchases of property and equipment
(11,962
)
 
(33,420
)
Acquisition of business, net of cash acquired
(62,375
)
 
(82,997
)
Other
(68
)
 
(194
)
Net cash used in investing activities
(73,782
)
 
(116,149
)
 
 
 
 
Financing activities:
 
 
 
Proceeds from term loan
125,000

 
—

Payments of debt and capital lease obligations
(73,263
)
 
(9,578
)
Proceeds from exercise of stock options
11,351

 
11,580

Payments of cash dividends
(7,433
)
 
(7,479
)
Repurchase of common stock (repurchase program)
—

 
(19,985
)
Common stock issued under employee stock purchase plan
228

 
148

Cash settlement of share-based awards for minimum tax withholdings
(1,926
)
 
(1,083
)
Excess tax benefit for stock options exercised
2,365

 
907

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
56,322

 
(25,490
)
Net increase (decrease) in cash
1,102

 
(102,424
)
Cash at beginning of period
41,429

 
127,367

Cash at end of period
$
42,531

 
$
24,943

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



5
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015


1.    Basis of Presentation

Forward Air Corporation's (“the Company”) services can be classified into three principal reporting segments:  Forward Air, Forward Air Solutions (“FASI”) and Total Quality, Inc. ("TQI").  

Through the Forward Air segment, the Company provide time-definite transportation and related logistics services to the North American deferred air freight market and its activities can be classified into three categories of service: airport-to-airport, logistics, and other.  Forward Air’s airport-to-airport service operates a comprehensive national network for the time-definite surface transportation of expedited ground freight. The airport-to-airport service offers customers local pick-up and delivery and scheduled surface transportation of cargo as a cost effective, reliable alternative to air transportation. Forward Air’s logistics services provide expedited truckload brokerage, intermodal drayage and dedicated fleet services. Forward Air’s other services include shipment consolidation and deconsolidation, warehousing, customs brokerage, and other handling. The Forward Air segment primarily provides its transportation services through a network of terminals located at or near airports in the United States and Canada.

FASI provides pool distribution services throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest and Southwest continental United States. Pool distribution involves managing high-frequency handling and distribution of time-sensitive product to numerous destinations in specific geographic regions. FASI’s primary customers for this service are regional and nationwide distributors and retailers, such as mall, strip mall and outlet based retail chains.

TQI is a provider of maximum security and temperature-controlled logistics services, primarily truckload services, to the life sciences sector (pharmaceutical and biotechnology products). In addition to core pharmaceutical services and other cold chain services, TQI provides truckload and less-than-truckload brokerage transportation services.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by United States generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. The Company’s operating results are subject to seasonal trends when measured on a quarterly basis; therefore operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2015. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Forward Air Corporation Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company include Forward Air Corporation and its subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

2.    Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance on revenue from contracts with customers that will supersede most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. The underlying principle is that an entity will recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers at an amount that the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. The guidance provides a five-step analysis of transactions to determine when and how revenue is recognized. Other major provisions include capitalization of certain contract costs, consideration of time value of money in the transaction price, and allowing estimates of variable consideration to be recognized before contingencies are resolved in certain circumstances. The guidance also requires enhanced disclosures regarding the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from an entity’s contracts with customers. The guidance is effective for the interim and annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2017 (early adoption is permitted for interim and annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2016). The guidance permits the use of either a retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. The Company has not yet selected a transition method and is currently evaluating the impact of the amended guidance on our consolidated financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.




6
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015


3.    Acquisitions and Goodwill

Acquisition of Towne

On March 9, 2015, the Company acquired CLP Towne Inc. (“Towne”) pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) resulting in Towne becoming an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. For the acquisition of Towne, the Company paid $62,375 in net cash and assumed $59,544 in debt and capital leases. With the exception of assumed capital leases, the assumed debt was immediately paid in full after funding of the acquisition. Of the total aggregate cash consideration paid, $16,500 was placed into an escrow account, with $2,000 of such amount being available to settle any shortfall in Towne’s net working capital and with $14,500 of such amount being available for a period of time to settle certain possible claims against Towne’s common stockholders for indemnification. To the extent the escrow fund is insufficient, certain equity holders have agreed to indemnify Forward Air, subject to certain limitations set forth in the Merger Agreement, as a result of inaccuracies in or breaches of certain of Towne’s representations, warranties, covenants and agreements and other matters. Forward Air financed the Merger Agreement with a $125,000 2 year term loan available under the senior credit facility discussed in note 5.

Towne is a full-service trucking provider offering time-sensitive less-than-truckload shipping, full truckload service, an extensive cartage network, container freight stations and dedicated trucking. Towne’s airport-to-airport network provides scheduled deliveries to 61 service points. A fleet of approximately 525 independent contractor tractors provides the line-haul between those service points. The acquisition of Towne provides the Forward Air segment with opportunities to expand its service points and service offerings, such as pick up and delivery services. Additional benefits of the acquisition include increased linehaul network shipping density and a significant increase to our owner operator fleet, both of which are key to the profitability of Forward Air.
 
Towne had 2014 revenue of approximately $230,000. The assets, liabilities, and operating results of Towne have been included in the Company's consolidated financial statements from the date of acquisition and have been assigned to the Forward Air reportable segment. As the operations of Towne were fully integrated into the existing Forward Air network and operations, the Company is not able to provide the revenue and operating results from Towne included in our consolidated revenue and results since the date of acquisition.
Effective with the acquisition of Towne, the Company immediately entered into a restructuring plan to remove duplicate costs, primarily in the form of, but not limited to salaries, wages and benefits and facility leases. As a result of these plans, during the six months ended June 30, 2015 the Company recognized expense and recorded liabilities of $2,456 and $8,717 for severance obligations and remaining net payments on vacated, duplicate facilities, respectively. The expenses associated with the severance obligations and vacated, duplicate facilities were recognized in the salaries, wages and benefits and operating lease line items, respectively. The Company also incurred expense of $7,504 for various other integration and transaction related costs which are largely included in other operating expenses.
Acquisition of CST

On February 2, 2014, the Company acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of Central States Trucking Co. and Central States Logistics, Inc. (collectively referred to as “CST”). Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement and concurrently with the execution of the Agreement, the Company acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of CST in exchange for $82,997 in net cash and $11,215 in assumed debt. With the exception of capital leases, the assumed debt was immediately paid in full after funding of the acquisition. The acquisition and settlement of the assumed debt were funded using the Company's cash on hand. Under the purchase agreement, $10,000 of the purchase price was paid into an escrow account to protect the Company against potential unknown liabilities.
CST provides industry leading container and intermodal drayage services primarily within the Midwest region of the United States. CST also provides dedicated contract and Container Freight Station (“CFS”) warehouse and handling services. The acquisition of CST provides the Company with a scalable platform for which to enter the intermodal drayage space and thereby continuing to expand and diversify the Company's service offerings.
As part of our strategy to scale CST's operations, in September 2014, CST acquired certain assets of Recob Great Lakes Express, Inc. ("RGL") for $1,350 and in November 2014, acquired Multi-Modal Trucking, Inc. and Multi-Modal Services, Inc. (together referred to as "MMT") for approximately $5,825 in cash and $1,000 in available earn out. The MMT earn out is based on acquired

7
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015

operations exceeding 2015 earnings goals, and the earn out was fully accrued as of June 30, 2015. The acquisition of RGL and MMT's assets provided an opportunity for CST to expand into additional Midwest markets.
The Company incurred total transaction costs related to the acquisitions of approximately $900, which were expensed during the three months ended March 31, 2014, in accordance with U.S. GAAP. These transaction costs were primarily included in "Other operating expenses" in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.
The assets, liabilities, and operating results of CST, RGL and MMT ("CST acquisitions") have been included in the Company's consolidated financial statements from the dates of acquisition and have been assigned to the Forward Air reportable segment. The results of CST, RGL and MMT operations reflected in the Company's consolidated statements of comprehensive income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 from the date of acquisition (February 2, 2014) are as follows (in thousands, except per share data):

Three months ended June 30, 2014
 
February 2, 2014 to June 30, 2014
Operating revenue
$
18,072

 
$
28,875

Income from operations
2,284

 
2,286

Net income
1,388

 
1,381

Net income per share

 

Basic
$
0.04

 
$
0.04

Diluted
$
0.04

 
$
0.04


8
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015

Allocations of Purchase Prices
The following table presents the allocations of the Towne, CST, RGL and MMT purchase prices to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values and resulting residual goodwill (in thousands):

Towne
 
CST

RGL & MMT

March 9, 2015
 
February 2, 2014

September & November 2014
Tangible assets:
 
 





Accounts receivable
$
24,068

 
$
9,339


$
—

Prepaid expenses and other current assets
2,916

 
101


—

Property and equipment
2,095

 
2,132


287

Other assets
614

 
35


—

Deferred income taxes
2,159

 
—


—

Total tangible assets
31,852

 
11,607


287

Intangible assets:
 
 





Non-compete agreements
—

 
930


92

Trade name
—

 
500


—

Customer relationships
66,000

 
36,000


3,590

Goodwill
62,118

 
51,710


4,206

Total intangible assets
128,118

 
89,140


7,888

Total assets acquired
159,970

 
100,747


8,175


 
 



Liabilities assumed:
 
 



Current liabilities
27,311

 
6,535


1,000

Other liabilities
3,847

 
—


—

Debt and capital lease obligations
59,544

 
11,215


—

Deferred income taxes
6,893

 
—


—

Total liabilities assumed
97,595

 
17,750


1,000

Net assets acquired
$
62,375

 
$
82,997


$
7,175

The above purchase price allocation for Towne is preliminary as the Company is still in the process of finalizing the valuation of the acquired assets and liabilities assumed. The above estimated fair values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed for Towne are based on the information that was available as of the acquisition dates through the date of this filing. The acquired definite-live intangible assets have the following useful lives:

Useful Lives

Towne
 
CST

RGL
Customer relationships
20 years
 
15 years

15 years
Non-compete agreements
-
 
5 years

5 years
Trade name
-
 
2 years

-
The fair value of the non-compete agreements and customer relationships assets were estimated using an income approach (level 3). Under this method, an intangible asset's fair value is equal to the present value of the incremental after-tax cash flows (excess earnings) attributable solely to the intangible asset over its remaining useful life. To calculate fair value, the Company used cash flows discounted at rates considered appropriate given the inherent risks associated with each type of asset. The Company believes that the level and timing of cash flows appropriately reflect market participant assumptions. The fair value of the acquired trade

9
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015

name was estimated using an income approach, specifically known as the relief from royalty method. The relief from royalty method is based on a hypothetical royalty stream that would be paid if the Company did not own the applicable names and had to license the trade names. The Company derived the hypothetical royalty income from the projected revenues of CST. Cash flows were assumed to extend through the remaining economic useful life of each class of intangible asset.
Pro forma
The following unaudited pro forma information presents a summary of the Company's consolidated results of operations as if the acquisitions occurred as of January 1, 2014 (in thousands, except per share data).
 
Three months ended
 
Six months ended
 
June 30, 2015
June 30, 2014
 
June 30, 2015
June 30, 2014
Operating revenue
$
249,694

$
252,109

 
$
489,839

$
483,473

Income from operations
19,908

25,897

 
25,850

37,426

Net income
11,824

15,869

 
14,181

22,854

Net income per share
 
 
 


Basic
$
0.38

$
0.51

 
$
0.46

$
0.74

Diluted
$
0.38

$
0.51

 
$
0.46

$
0.73

The unaudited pro forma consolidated results for the three and six month periods are based on the historical financial information of Towne and CST. The unaudited pro forma consolidated results incorporate historical financial information since January 1, 2014. The historical financial information has been adjusted to give effect to pro forma adjustments that are: (i) directly attributable to the acquisition, (ii) factually supportable and (iii) expected to have a continuing impact on the combined results. The unaudited pro forma consolidated results are not necessarily indicative of what the Company’s consolidated results of operations actually would have been had it completed these acquisitions on January 1, 2014.
Goodwill
The following is a summary of the changes in goodwill for the six months ended June 30, 2015. Approximately $99,248 of goodwill, not including the goodwill acquired with the Towne acquisition, is deductible for tax purposes.
 
Forward Air
 
FASI
 
TQI
 
Total
 
 
Accumulated
 
 
Accumulated
 
 
Accumulated
 
 
 
Goodwill
Impairment
 
Goodwill
Impairment
 
Goodwill
Impairment
 
Net
Beginning balance, December 31, 2014
$
93,842

$
—

 
$
12,359

$
(6,953
)
 
$
45,164

$
—

 
$
144,412

Towne acquisition
62,118

—

 
—

—

 
—

—

 
62,118

Ending balance, June 30, 2015
$
155,960

$
—

 
$
12,359

$
(6,953
)
 
$
45,164

$
—

 
$
206,530

The Company conducted its annual impairment assessments and tests of goodwill for each reporting unit as of June 30, 2015 and no impairment charges were required.  The first step of the goodwill impairment test is the Company assesses qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than the reporting unit's carrying amount, including goodwill. When performing the qualitative assessment, the Company considers the impact of factors including, but not limited to, macroeconomic and industry conditions, overall financial performance of each reporting unit, litigation and new legislation. If based on the qualitative assessments, the Company believes it more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than the reporting unit's carrying amount, or periodically as deemed appropriate by management, the Company will prepare an estimation of the respective reporting unit's fair value utilizing a quantitative approach.  If a quantitative fair value estimation is required, the Company calculates the fair value of the applicable reportable units, using a combination of discounted projected cash flows and market valuations for comparable companies as of the valuation date.  The Company's inputs into the fair value calculations for goodwill are classified within level 3 of the fair value hierarchy as defined in the FASB Accounting Standards Codification and the Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“the FASB Codification”). If this estimation of fair value indicates that impairment potentially exists, the Company will then measure the amount of the impairment,

10
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015

if any.  Goodwill impairment exists when the calculated implied fair value of goodwill is less than its carrying value.  Changes in strategy or market conditions could significantly impact these fair value estimates and require adjustments to recorded asset balances.

4.    Share-Based Payments

The Company’s general practice has been to make a single annual grant of share-based compensation to key employees and to make other employee grants only in connection with new employment or promotions.  Forms of share-based compensation granted to employees by the Company include stock options, non-vested shares of common stock (“non-vested share”), and performance shares.  The Company also typically makes a single annual grant of non-vested shares to non-employee directors in conjunction with the annual election of non-employee directors to the Board of Directors.  Share-based compensation is based on the grant date fair value of the instrument and is recognized, net of estimated forfeitures, ratably over the requisite service period, or vesting period. The Company estimates forfeitures based upon historical experience.  All share-based compensation expense is recognized in salaries, wages and employee benefits.

Employee Activity - Stock Options
 
Stock option grants to employees generally expire seven years from the grant date and typically vest ratably over a three-year period.  The Company used the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to estimate the grant-date fair value of options granted.  The weighted-average fair value of options granted and assumptions used to calculate their fair value during the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 were as follows:


Three months ended

June 30,
2015

June 30,
2014
Expected dividend yield
—
%

1.2
%
Expected stock price volatility
—
%

31.6
%
Weighted average risk-free interest rate
—
%

1.5
%
Expected life of options (years)
0.0


4.5

Weighted average grant date fair value
$
—


$
11

 
 
 
 

Six months ended

June 30,
2015

June 30,
2014
Expected dividend yield
1.0
%

1.2
%
Expected stock price volatility
33.9
%

38.8
%
Weighted average risk-free interest rate
1.6
%

1.6
%
Expected life of options (years)
6.1


5.3

Weighted average grant date fair value
$
16


$
14



11
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015

The following tables summarize the Company’s employee stock option activity and related information:


Three months ended June 30, 2015







Weighted-



Weighted-

Aggregate

Average



Average

Intrinsic

Remaining

Options

Exercise

Value

Contractual

(000)

Price

(000)

Term
Outstanding at March 31, 2015
950


$
30





Granted
—


—





Exercised
(48
)

25





Forfeited
—


—





Outstanding at June 30, 2015
902


$
31


$
19,747


2.9
Exercisable at June 30, 2015
712


$
27


$
18,363


2.1
 

Three months ended

June 30,
2015

June 30,
2014
Shared-based compensation for options
$
342


$
331

Tax benefit for option compensation
$
132


$
126

Unrecognized compensation cost for options, net of estimated forfeitures
$
2,266


$
2,314

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Six months ended June 30, 2015







Weighted-



Weighted-

Aggregate

Average



Average

Intrinsic

Remaining

Options

Exercise

Value

Contractual

(000)

Price

(000)

Term
Outstanding at December 31, 2014
1,363


$
28





Granted
82


51





Exercised
(529
)

27





Forfeited
(14
)

29





Outstanding at June 30, 2015
902


$
31


$
19,747


2.9
Exercisable at June 30, 2015
712


$
27


$
18,363


2.1
 
 
 
 

Six months ended

June 30,
2015

June 30,
2014
Shared-based compensation for options
$
678


$
646

Tax benefit for option compensation
$
261


$
246

Unrecognized compensation cost for options, net of estimated forfeitures
$
2,266


$
2,314



12
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015

Employee Activity - Non-vested Shares

Non-vested share grants to employees vest ratably over a three-year period.  The non-vested shares’ fair values were estimated using closing market prices on the day of grant. The following tables summarize the Company’s employee non-vested share activity and related information:


Three months ended June 30, 2015



Weighted-

Aggregate

Non-vested

Average

Grant Date

Shares

Grant Date

Fair Value

(000)

Fair Value

(000)
Outstanding and non-vested at March 31, 2015
197


$
46



Granted
—


—



Vested
—


—



Forfeited
(3
)

46



Outstanding and non-vested at June 30, 2015
194


$
46


$
8,872



Three months ended

June 30,
2015

June 30,
2014
Shared-based compensation for non-vested shares
$
1,022


$
895

Tax benefit for non-vested share compensation
$
393


$
341

Unrecognized compensation cost for non-vested shares, net of estimated forfeitures
$
7,231


$
6,087

 
 
 
 
 
 

Six months ended June 30, 2015



Weighted-

Aggregate

Non-vested

Average

Grant Date

Shares

Grant Date

Fair Value

(000)

Fair Value

(000)
Outstanding and non-vested at December 31, 2014
190


$
40



Granted
100


51



Vested
(92
)

39



Forfeited
(4
)

44



Outstanding and non-vested at June 30, 2015
194


$
46


$
8,872

 
 
 
 

Six months ended

June 30,
2015

June 30,
2014
Shared-based compensation for non-vested shares
$
2,010


$
1,820

Tax benefit for non-vested share compensation
$
772


$
693

Unrecognized compensation cost for non-vested shares, net of estimated forfeitures
$
7,231


$
6,087


13
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015

Employee Activity - Performance Shares

The Company annually grants performance shares to key employees.  Under the terms of the performance share agreements, on the third anniversary of the grant date, the Company will issue to the employees a calculated number of common stock shares based on the three year performance of the Company’s common stock share price as compared to the share price performance of a selected peer group.  No shares may be issued if the Company share price performance outperforms 30% or less of the peer group, but the number of shares issued may be doubled if the Company share price performs better than 90% of the peer group.  The fair value of the performance shares was estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation. The weighted average assumptions used in the Monte Carlo calculation were as follows:


Six months ended

June 30,
2015

June 30,
2014
Expected stock price volatility
23.5
%

32.5
%
Weighted average risk-free interest rate
1.0
%

0.7
%

The following tables summarize the Company’s employee performance share activity, assuming median share awards, and related information:

Three months ended June 30, 2015



Weighted-

Aggregate

Performance

Average

Grant Date

Shares

Grant Date

Fair Value

(000)

Fair Value

(000)
Outstanding and non-vested at March 31, 2015
77


$
52



Granted
—


—



Additional shares awarded based on performance
—


—



Vested
—


—



Outstanding and non-vested at June 30, 2015
77


$
52


$
4,016



Three months ended

June 30,
2015

June 30,
2014
Shared-based compensation for performance shares
$
333


$
272

Tax benefit for performance share compensation
$
128


$
104

Unrecognized compensation cost for performance shares, net of estimated forfeitures
$
2,399


$
1,775


14
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015

 
 
 
 
 
 

Six months ended June 30, 2015



Weighted-

Aggregate

Performance

Average

Grant Date

Shares

Grant Date

Fair Value

(000)

Fair Value

(000)
Outstanding and non-vested at December 31, 2014
74


$
44



Granted
27


67



Additional shares awarded based on performance
—


—



Vested
(24
)

45



Outstanding and non-vested at June 30, 2015
77


$
52


$
4,016

 
 
 
 

Six months ended

June 30,
2015

June 30,
2014
Shared-based compensation for performance shares
$
635


$
547

Tax benefit for performance share compensation
$
244


$
209

Unrecognized compensation cost for performance shares, net of estimated forfeitures
$
2,399


$
1,775


Employee Activity - Employee Stock Purchase Plan
 
Under the 2005 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”), which has been approved by shareholders, the Company is authorized to issue up to a remaining 398,705 shares of common stock to employees of the Company. These shares may be issued at a price equal to 90% of the lesser of the market value on the first day or the last day of each six-month purchase period. Common stock purchases are paid for through periodic payroll deductions and/or up to two large lump sum contributions. For the six months ended June 30, 2015, participants under the plan purchased 5,087 shares at an average price of $44.74 per share. For the six months ended June 30, 2014, participants under the plan purchased 3,814 shares at an average price of $38.88 per share. The weighted-average fair value of each purchase right under the ESPP granted for the six months ended June 30, 2015, which is equal to the discount from the market value of the common stock at the end of each six month purchase period, was $7.52 per share. The weighted-average fair value of each purchase right under the ESPP granted for the six months ended June 30, 2014, which is equal to the discount from the market value of the common stock at the end of each six month purchase period, was $8.97 per share. Share-based compensation expense of $37 and $35 was recognized during the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Non-employee Director Activity - Non-vested Shares

Grants of non-vested shares to non-employee directors vest ratably over the elected term to the Board of Directors, or approximately one year.  The following tables summarize the Company’s non-employee non-vested share activity and related information:

15
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015


Three months ended June 30, 2015



Weighted-

Aggregate

Non-vested

Average

Grant Date

Shares

Grant Date

Fair Value

(000)

Fair Value

(000)
Outstanding and non-vested at March 31, 2015
15


$
44



Granted
11


52



Vested
(14
)

43



Outstanding and non-vested at June 30, 2015
12


$
52


$
650



Three months ended

June 30,
2015

June 30,
2014
Shared-based compensation for non-vested shares
$
156


$
144

Tax benefit for non-vested share compensation
$
60


$
55

Unrecognized compensation cost for non-vested shares, net of estimated forfeitures
$
541


$
515

 
 
 
 
 
 

Six months ended June 30, 2015



Weighted-

Aggregate

Non-vested

Average

Grant Date

Shares

Grant Date

Fair Value

(000)

Fair Value

(000)
Outstanding and non-vested at December 31, 2014
15


$
44



Granted
11


52



Vested
(14
)

43



Forfeited
—


—



Outstanding and non-vested at June 30, 2015
12


$
52


$
650

 
 
 
 

Six months ended

June 30,
2015

June 30,
2014
Shared-based compensation for non-vested shares
$
316


$
281

Tax benefit for non-vested share compensation
$
122


$
107

Unrecognized compensation cost for non-vested shares, net of estimated forfeitures
$
541


$
515


5.    Senior Credit Facility

On February 4, 2015, the Company entered into a five-year senior, unsecured credit facility (the “Facility”) with a maximum aggregate principal amount of $275,000, including a revolving credit facility of $150,000 and a term loan facility of $125,000. The revolving credit facility has a sublimit of $25,000 for letters of credit and a sublimit of $15,000 for swing line loans. The revolving credit facility is scheduled to expire in February 2020 and may be used to refinance existing indebtedness of the Company and for working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes. Unless the Company elects otherwise under the credit agreement, interest on borrowings under the Facility are based on the highest of (a) the federal funds rate plus 0.5%, (b) the administrative agent's prime rate and (c) the LIBOR Rate plus 1.0%, in each case plus a margin that can range from 0.1% to 0.6% with respect to the term loan facility and from 0.3% to 0.8% with respect to the revolving credit facility depending on the Company’s ratio of consolidated funded indebtedness to earnings as set forth in the credit agreement. The Facility contains financial

16
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015

covenants and other covenants that, among other things, restrict the ability of the Company, without the approval of the lenders, to engage in certain mergers, consolidations, asset sales, investments, transactions or to incur liens or indebtedness, as set forth in the credit agreement. As of June 30, 2015, the Company had no borrowings outstanding under the revolving credit facility. At June 30, 2015, the Company had utilized $13,653 of availability for outstanding letters of credit and had $136,347 of available borrowing capacity outstanding under the revolving credit facility.  

In conjunction with the acquisition of Towne (see note 2), the Company borrowed $125,000 on the available term loan. The term loan is payable in quarterly installments of 11.1% of the original principal amount of the term loan plus accrued and unpaid interest, and matures in March 2017. The interest rate on the term loan was 1.3% at June 30, 2015.


6.    Net Income Per Share

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted net income per share:
 
 
Three months ended
 
Six months ended
 
 
June 30,
2015
 
June 30,
2014
 
June 30, 2015
 
June 30, 2014
Numerator:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net income and comprehensive income
 
$
11,824

 
$
17,178


$
16,660


$
27,379

Income allocated to participating securities
 
(79
)
 
—


(111
)

—

Numerator for basic and diluted income per share - net income
 
$
11,745

 
$
17,178

 
$
16,549

 
$
27,379

Denominator (in thousands):
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
Denominator for basic income per share - weighted-average shares
 
30,783

 
30,925

 
30,726

 
30,834

Effect of dilutive stock options (in thousands)
 
291

 
442

 
327

 
481

Effect of dilutive performance shares (in thousands)
 
30

 
41

 
35

 
49

Denominator for diluted income per share - adjusted weighted-average shares
 
31,104

 
31,408

 
31,088

 
31,364

Basic net income per share
 
$
0.38

 
$
0.56

 
$
0.54

 
$
0.89

Diluted net income per share
 
$
0.38

 
$
0.55

 
$
0.53

 
$
0.87


The number of instruments that could potentially dilute net income per basic share in the future, but that were not included in the computation of net income per diluted share because to do so would have been anti-dilutive for the periods presented, are as follows:
 
June 30,
2015
 
June 30,
2014
Anti-dilutive stock options (in thousands)
97

 
182

Anti-dilutive performance shares (in thousands)
21

 
19

Total anti-dilutive shares (in thousands)
118

 
201


7.    Income Taxes

The Company or one of its subsidiaries files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, various states and Canada. With a few exceptions, the Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal, state and local, or Canadian examinations by tax authorities for years before 2010.

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, the effective income tax rates varied from the statutory federal income tax rate of 35.0%, primarily as a result of the effect of state income taxes, net of the federal benefit, and permanent differences between book and tax net income. The combined federal and state effective tax rate for the six months ended June 30, 2015 was 38.5% compared to a rate of 37.6% for the same period in 2014.  The increase in the effective tax rate was primarily due to 2014

17
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015

benefiting from a retroactive reinstatement of alternative fuel tax credits for 2012 and higher benefits obtained from disqualified dispositions by employees of previously non-deductible incentive stock options.

8.    Financial Instruments

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The following methods and assumptions were used by the Company in estimating its fair value disclosures for financial instruments:

Accounts receivable and accounts payable: The carrying amounts reported in the balance sheet for accounts receivable and accounts payable approximate their fair value based on their short-term nature.
 
The Company’s revolving credit facility and term loan bear variable interest rates plus additional basis points based upon covenants related to total indebtedness to earnings.  As the term loan bears a variable interest rate, the carrying value approximates fair value. Using interest rate quotes and discounted cash flows, the Company estimated the fair value of its outstanding capital lease obligations as follows:
 
 
 
June 30, 2015
 
 
Carrying Value
 
Fair Value
Capital leases
 
$
1,719

 
$
1,810


The Company's fair value calculations for the above financial instruments are classified within level 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

9.    Shareholders' Equity

During each quarter of 2014 and the first and second quarter of 2015, the Company's Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.12 per share of common stock. The Company expects to continue to pay regular quarterly cash dividends, though each subsequent quarterly dividend is subject to review and approval by the Board of Directors

On February 7, 2014, our Board of Directors approved a new stock repurchase authorization for up to two million shares of our common stock. There were no shares repurchased by the Company for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2014, we repurchased 446,986 for $19,985, or $44.71 per share. As of June 30, 2015, 1,118,021 shares remain that may be repurchased.


18
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015


10.    Commitments and Contingencies

From time to time, the Company is party to ordinary, routine litigation incidental to and arising in the normal course of business.  The Company does not believe that any of these pending actions, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition or results of operations.

The primary claims in the Company’s business relate to workers’ compensation, property damage, vehicle liability and medical benefits. Most of the Company’s insurance coverage provides for self-insurance levels with primary and excess coverage which management believes is sufficient to adequately protect the Company from catastrophic claims. In the opinion of management, adequate provision has been made for all incurred claims up to the self-insured limits, including provision for estimated claims incurred but not reported.
 
The Company estimates its self-insurance loss exposure by evaluating the merits and circumstances surrounding individual known claims and by performing hindsight and actuarial analysis to determine an estimate of probable losses on claims incurred but not reported.  Such losses could be realized immediately as the events underlying the claims have already occurred as of the balance sheet dates. 

Because of the uncertainty of the ultimate resolution of outstanding claims, as well as uncertainty regarding claims incurred but not reported, it is possible that management’s provision for these losses could change materially in the near term. However, no estimate can currently be made of the range of additional loss that is at least reasonably possible.

11.    Segment Reporting

The Company operates in three reportable segments based on information available to and used by the chief operating decision maker.  Forward Air provides time-definite transportation and logistics services to the deferred air freight market.  FASI provides pool distribution services primarily to regional and national distributors and retailers. TQI is a provider of high security and temperature-controlled logistics services, primarily truckload services, to the pharmaceutical and life science industries. The assets, liabilities, and operating results of our most recent acquisitions, Towne and CST, have been assigned to the Forward Air reportable segment.
 
The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies disclosed in Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Segment data includes intersegment revenues.  Assets and costs of the corporate headquarters are allocated to the segments based on usage.  The Company evaluates the performance of its segments based on net income.  The Company’s business is conducted in the U.S. and Canada.
 
The following tables summarize segment information about net income and assets used by the chief operating decision maker of the Company in making decisions regarding allocation of assets and resources as of and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014.

19
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015

 
 
Three months ended June 30, 2015
 
 
Forward Air
 
FASI
 
TQI
 
Eliminations
 
Consolidated
External revenues
 
$
210,529

 
$
27,471

 
$
11,694

 
$
—

 
$
249,694

Intersegment revenues
 
909

 
213

 
126

 
(1,248
)
 
—

Depreciation and amortization
 
7,030

 
1,504

 
985

 
—

 
9,519

Share-based compensation expense
 
1,810

 
64

 
16

 
—

 
1,890

Interest expense
 
570

 
—

 
—

 
—

 
570

Interest income
 
1

 
—

 
—

 
—

 
1

Income tax expense
 
7,000

 
41

 
384

 
—

 
7,425

Net income
 
11,171

 
34

 
619

 
—

 
11,824

Total assets
 
773,689

 
45,334

 
89,930

 
(199,593
)
 
709,360

Capital expenditures
 
2,840

 
2,046

 
1,847

 
—

 
6,733

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Three months ended June 30, 2014
 
 
Forward Air
 
FASI
 
TQI
 
Eliminations
 
Consolidated
External revenues
 
$
153,457

 
$
26,798

 
$
13,597

 
$
—

 
$
193,852

Intersegment revenues
 
810

 
137

 
84

 
(1,031
)
 
—

Depreciation and amortization
 
5,365

 
1,449

 
937

 
—

 
7,751

Share-based compensation expense
 
1,613

 
43

 
21

 
—

 
1,677

Interest expense
 
129

 
1

 
(29
)
 
—

 
101

Interest income
 
—

 
—

 
—

 
—

 
—

Income tax expense
 
9,613

 
370

 
445

 
—

 
10,428

Net income
 
15,587

 
597

 
994

 
—

 
17,178

Total assets
 
601,430

 
41,154

 
88,286

 
(198,381
)
 
532,489

Capital expenditures
 
11,707

 
874

 
1,291

 
—

 
13,872



20
Table of Contents
Forward Air Corporation
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
(Unaudited)
June 30, 2015

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Six months ended June 30, 2015
 
 
Forward Air
 
FASI
 
TQI
 
Eliminations
 
Consolidated
External revenues
 
$
378,180

 
$
54,512

 
$
22,920

 
$
—

 
$
455,612

Intersegment revenues
 
1,962

 
396

 
163

 
(2,521
)
 
—

Depreciation and amortization
 
13,184

 
3,086

 
1,932

 
—

 
18,202

Share-based compensation expense
 
3,551

 
96

 
29

 
—

 
3,676

Interest expense
 
934

 
—

 
—

 
—

 
934

Interest income
 
2

 
—

 
—

 
—

 
2

Income tax expense
 
9,586

 
120

 
719

 
—

 
10,425

Net income
 
15,332

 
171

 
1,157

 
—

 
16,660

Total assets
 
773,689

 
45,334

 
89,930

 
(199,593
)
 
709,360

Capital expenditures
 
5,637

 
2,236

 
4,089

 
—

 
11,962

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Six months ended June 30, 2014
 
 
Forward Air
 
FASI
 
TQI
 
Eliminations
 
Consolidated
External revenues
 
$
286,849

 
$
54,019

 
$
24,552

 
$
—

 
$
365,420

Intersegment revenues
 
1,604

 
238

 
191

 
(2,033
)
 
—

Depreciation and amortization
 
10,307

 
2,727

 
1,730

 
—

 
14,764

Share-based compensation expense
 
3,221

 
81

 
27

 
—

 
3,329

Interest expense
 
210

 
2

 
(29
)
 
—

 
183

Interest income
 
7

 
—

 
—

 
—

 
7

Income tax expense
 
15,397

 
348

 
757

 
—

 
16,502

Net income
 
25,186

 
595

 
1,598

 
—

 
27,379

Total assets
 
601,430

 
41,154

 
88,286

 
(198,381
)
 
532,489

Capital expenditures
 
22,702

 
4,555

 
6,163

 
—

 
33,420



21
Table of Contents


Item 2.
Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Overview and Executive Summary
 
Our operations can be broadly classified into three principal segments: Forward Air, Forward Air Solutions (“FASI”) and Total Quality ("TQI").

Through our Forward Air segment, we provide time-definite surface transportation and related logistics services to the North American expedited ground freight market. Our licensed property broker utilizes qualified motor carriers, including our own, and other third-party transportation companies, to offer our customers local pick-up and delivery (Forward Air Complete®) and scheduled surface transportation of cargo as a cost-effective, reliable alternative to air transportation. We transport cargo that must be delivered at a specific time, but is less time-sensitive than traditional air freight. This type of cargo is frequently referred to in the transportation industry as deferred air freight. We operate our Forward Air segment through a network of terminals located on or near airports in 92 cities in the United States and Canada, including a central sorting facility in Columbus, Ohio and 12 regional hubs serving key markets. We also offer our customers an array of logistics and other services including: expedited truckload brokerage (“TLX”); intermodal drayage; dedicated fleets; warehousing; customs brokerage; and shipment consolidation, deconsolidation and handling.

FASI provides pool distribution services throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest and Southwest continental United States. Pool distribution involves managing high-frequency handling and distribution of time-sensitive product to numerous destinations in specific geographic regions. Our primary customers for this service are regional and nationwide distributors and retailers, such as mall, strip mall and outlet based retail chains. We service these customers through a network of terminals and service centers located in 29 cities.

TQI is a provider of maximum security and temperature-controlled logistics services, primarily truckload services, to the life sciences sector (pharmaceutical and biotechnology products). In addition to core pharmaceutical services and other cold chain services, TQI provides truckload and less-than-truckload brokerage transportation services.

Our operations, particularly our network of hubs and terminals, represent substantial fixed costs. Consequently, our ability to increase our earnings depends in significant part on our ability to increase the amount of freight and the revenue per pound for the freight shipped through our networks and to grow other lines of businesses, such as TLX, FASI and TQI, which will allow us to maintain revenue growth in challenging shipping environments.


Trends and Developments

Acquisition of Towne

On March 9, 2015, we completed the acquisition of CLP Towne Inc. (“Towne”). Towne is a full-service trucking provider offering time-sensitive less-than-truckload shipping, full truckload service, an extensive cartage network, container freight stations and dedicated trucking. For the acquisition of Towne, we paid $62.4 million in net cash and assumed $59.5 million in debt and capital leases. The purchase is subject to an adjustment for working capital. The transaction was funded with proceeds from a $125 million two year term loan. The assets, liabilities, and operating results of Towne have been included in the Forward Air reportable segment.
Acquisitions of CST and Related Companies

On February 2, 2014, we acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of Central States Trucking Co. and Central States Logistics, Inc. (collectively referred to as “CST”). CST provides industry leading container and intermodal drayage services primarily within the Midwest region of the United States. CST also provides dedicated contract and Container Freight Station (“CFS”) warehouse and handling services. We acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of CST in exchange for $83.0 million in net cash and $11.2 million in assumed debt. With the exception of the assumed capital leases, the assumed debt was immediately paid in full after funding of the acquisition. The acquisition and settlement of the assumed debt were funded using our cash on hand. The assets, liabilities, and operating results of CST have been included in the Forward Air reportable segment.

The acquisition of CST provides us with a scalable platform for which to enter the intermodal drayage space and thereby continuing to expand and diversify our service offerings. As part of our strategy to scale CST's operations, in September 2014, CST acquired certain assets of Recob Great Lakes Express, Inc. ("RGL") for $1.4 million and in November 2014, acquired Multi-Modal Trucking,

22
Table of Contents


Inc. and Multi-Modal Services, Inc. (together referred to as "MMT") for approximately $5.8 million. The acquisition of RGL and MMT's assets provided an opportunity for CST to expand into additional midwest markets.

Results from Operations
During the three months ended June 30, 2015, we experienced a 28.8% increase in our consolidated revenues compared to the three months ended June 30, 2014, but a 27.9% deterioration in our operating income.

Forward Air's revenue increased $57.1 million, or 37.0%, but operating income decreased 25.4% for the three months ended June 30, 2015, compared to the same period in 2014. The increase of Forward Air revenue was the result of higher airport-to-airport volumes mostly attributable to the acquisition of Towne. The decline in operating income was mostly attributable to integration and deal costs related to the Towne acquisition.

FASI revenue increased $0.8 million, or 3.0%, while operating results decreased $0.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015, compared to the same period in 2014.  The decline in FASI operating income was primarily the result of increases in health insurance costs, cargo claims and salaries related to a new facility opening in the second quarter of 2015.

TQI's revenue decreased $1.9 million, or 13.9%, and operating income decreased $0.4 million, or 28.6%, for the three months ended June 30, 2015, compared to the same period in 2014. Operating income as a percentage of revenue decreased to 8.5% for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 10.2% for the three months ended June 30, 2014. The decrease in operating income in total dollars and as a percentage of revenue is attributable to the decrease in revenue and the increase in health insurance costs during the second quarter.

Fuel Surcharge

Our net fuel surcharge revenue is the result of our fuel surcharge rates, which are set weekly using the national average for diesel price per gallon, and the tonnage transiting our network.  During the three months ended June 30, 2015, total net fuel surcharge revenue decreased 21.1% as compared to the same period in 2014. The decrease in net fuel surcharge revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same periods in 2014 was mostly due to decreased fuel prices offset by increased FAI business volumes mostly due to the acquisition of Towne. Partially offsetting the decline in net fuel surcharge revenue was a 19.2% decline in fuel expense which was also the result of the declining fuel prices.


23
Table of Contents


Results of Operations

The following table sets forth our consolidated historical financial data for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 (in millions):
 
 
Three months ended
 
June 30,
2015
 
June 30,
2014
 
Change
 
Percent Change
Operating revenue
$
249.7

 
$
193.9

 
$
55.8

 
28.8
 %
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Purchased transportation
107.4

 
82.8

 
24.6

 
29.7

   Salaries, wages, and employee benefits
61.9

 
44.4

 
17.5

 
39.4

   Operating leases
18.2

 
8.2

 
10.0

 
122.0

   Depreciation and amortization
9.5

 
7.8

 
1.7

 
21.8

   Insurance and claims
6.3

 
3.1

 
3.2

 
103.2

   Fuel expense
4.2

 
5.2

 
(1.0
)
 
(19.2
)
   Other operating expenses
22.3

 
14.8

 
7.5

 
50.7

      Total operating expenses
229.8

 
166.3

 
63.5

 
38.2

Income from operations
19.9

 
27.6

 
(7.7
)
 
(27.9
)
Other expense:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Interest expense
(0.6
)
 
(0.1
)
 
(0.5
)
 
500.0

   Other, net
(0.1
)
 
0.1

 
(0.2
)
 
(200.0
)
      Total other expense
(0.7
)
 
—

 
(0.7
)
 
100.0

Income before income taxes
19.2

 
27.6

 
(8.4
)
 
(30.4
)
Income taxes
7.4

 
10.4

 
(3.0
)
 
(28.8
)
Net income
$
11.8

 
$
17.2

 
$
(5.4
)
 
(31.4
)%

24
Table of Contents


The following table sets forth our historical financial data by segment for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 (in millions):
 
Three months ended
Forward Air
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
 
 
Percent
 
2015
 
Revenue
 
2014
 
Revenue
 
Change
 
Change
Operating revenue
$
211.4

 
84.7
 %
 
$
154.3

 
79.6
 %
 
$
57.1

 
37.0
 %
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Purchased transportation
95.4

 
45.1

 
68.6

 
44.5

 
26.8

 
39.1

   Salaries, wages, and employee benefits
48.8

 
23.1

 
32.9

 
21.3

 
15.9

 
48.3

   Operating leases
16.1

 
8.0

 
6.2

 
4.0

 
9.9

 
159.7

   Depreciation and amortization
7.0

 
3.3

 
5.4

 
3.5

 
1.6

 
29.6

   Insurance and claims
5.1

 
2.4

 
2.4

 
1.6

 
2.7

 
112.5

   Fuel expense
2.0

 
0.9

 
2.2

 
1.4

 
(0.2
)
 
(9.1
)
   Other operating expenses
18.2

 
8.6

 
11.4

 
7.4

 
6.8

 
59.6

Income from operations
$
18.8

 
8.9
 %
 
$
25.2

 
16.3
 %
 
$
(6.4
)
 
(25.4
)%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FASI
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
 
 
Percent
 
2015
 
Revenue
 
2014
 
Revenue
 
Change
 
Change
Operating revenue
$
27.7

 
11.1
 %
 
$
26.9

 
13.9
 %
 
$
0.8

 
3.0
 %
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Purchased transportation
7.5

 
27.1

 
7.8

 
29.0

 
(0.3
)
 
(3.8
)
   Salaries, wages, and employee benefits
10.6

 
38.3

 
9.3

 
34.6

 
1.3

 
14.0

   Operating leases
2.1

 
7.6

 
2.0

 
7.4

 
0.1

 
5.0

   Depreciation and amortization
1.5

 
5.4

 
1.4

 
5.2

 
0.1

 
7.1

   Insurance and claims
0.9

 
3.2

 
0.5

 
1.9

 
0.4

 
80.0

   Fuel expense
1.3

 
4.7

 
1.8

 
6.7

 
(0.5
)
 
(27.8
)
   Other operating expenses
3.7

 
13.3

 
3.1

 
11.5

 
0.6

 
19.4

Income from operations
$
0.1

 
0.4
 %
 
$
1.0

 
3.7
 %
 
$
(0.9
)
 
(90.0
)%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TQI
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
 
 
Percent
 
2015
 
Revenue
 
2014
 
Revenue
 
Change
 
Change
Operating revenue
$
11.8

 
4.7
 %
 
$
13.7

 
7.1
 %
 
$
(1.9
)
 
(13.9
)%
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Purchased transportation
5.4

 
45.8

 
7.2

 
52.5

 
(1.8
)
 
(25.0
)
   Salaries, wages, and employee benefits
2.5

 
21.2

 
2.2

 
16.1

 
0.3

 
13.6

   Operating leases
—

 
—

 
—

 
—

 
—

 
—

   Depreciation and amortization
1.0

 
8.5

 
1.0

 
7.3

 
—

 
—

   Insurance and claims
0.3

 
2.5

 
0.2

 
1.5

 
0.1

 
50.0

   Fuel expense
0.9

 
7.6

 
1.2

 
8.8

 
(0.3
)
 
(25.0
)
   Other operating expenses
0.7

 
5.9

 
0.5

 
3.6

 
0.2

 
40.0

Income from operations
$
1.0

 
8.5
 %
 
$
1.4

 
10.2
 %
 
$
(0.4
)
 
(28.6
)%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Intercompany Eliminations
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
 
 
Percent
 
2015
 
Revenue
 
2014
 
Revenue
 
Change
 
Change
Operating revenue
$
(1.2
)
 
(0.5
)%
 
$
(1.0
)
 
(0.5
)%
 
$
(0.2
)
 
20.0
 %
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Purchased transportation
(0.9
)
 
75.0

 
(0.8
)
 
80.0

 
(0.1
)
 
12.5

   Other operating expenses
(0.3
)
 
25.0

 
(0.2
)
 
20.0

 
(0.1
)
 
50.0

Income from operations
$
—

 
—
 %
 
$
—

 
—
 %
 
$
—

 
—
 %
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Consolidated
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
 
 
Percent
 
2015
 
Revenue
 
2014
 
Revenue
 
Change
 
Change
Operating revenue
$
249.7

 
100.0
 %
 
$
193.9

 
100.0
 %
 
$
55.8

 
28.8
 %
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Purchased transportation
107.4

 
43.0

 
82.8

 
42.7

 
24.6

 
29.7

   Salaries, wages, and employee benefits
61.9

 
24.8

 
44.4

 
22.9

 
17.5

 
39.4

   Operating leases
18.2

 
7.3

 
8.2

 
4.2

 
10.0

 
122.0

   Depreciation and amortization
9.5

 
3.8

 
7.8

 
4.0

 
1.7

 
21.8

   Insurance and claims
6.3

 
2.5

 
3.1

 
1.6

 
3.2

 
103.2

   Fuel expense
4.2

 
2.0

 
5.2

 
2.7

 
(1.0
)
 
(19.2
)
   Other operating expenses
22.3

 
8.9

 
14.8

 
7.6

 
7.5

 
50.7

Income from operations
$
19.9

 
8.0
 %
 
$
27.6

 
14.2
 %
 
$
(7.7
)
 
(27.9
)%

25
Table of Contents




The following table presents the components of the Forward Air segment’s operating revenue and purchased transportation for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 (in millions):

 
 
Percent of
 
 
Percent of
 
 
Percent
 
2015
Revenue
 
2014
Revenue
 
Change
Change
Operating Revenue
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Forward Air
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      Airport-to-airport
$
140.9

66.7
 %
 
$
108.0

70.0
 %
 
$
32.9

30.5
 %
      Logistics services
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Expedited full truckload - TLX
27.5

13.0

 
19.2

12.4

 
8.3

43.2

Intermodal/drayage
21.8

10.3

 
14.3

9.3

 
7.5

52.4

Total Logistics services
49.3

23.3

 
33.5

21.7

 
15.8

47.2

      Other Forward Air services
21.2

10.0

 
12.8

8.3

 
8.4

65.6

Forward Air - Total revenue
211.4

84.7

 
154.3

79.6

 
57.1

37.0

TQI - Pharmaceutical services
11.8

4.7

 
13.7

7.1

 
(1.9
)
(13.9
)
Forward Air Solutions - Pool distribution
27.7

11.1

 
26.9

13.9

 
0.8

3.0

Intersegment eliminations
(1.2
)
(0.5
)
 
(1.0
)
(0.6
)
 
(0.2
)
20.0

Consolidated operating revenue
$
249.7

100.0
 %
 
$
193.9

100.0
 %
 
$
55.8

28.8
 %
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Percent of
 
 
Percent of
 
 
Percent
 
2015
Revenue
 
2014
Revenue
 
Change
Change
Purchased Transportation
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Forward Air
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      Airport-to-airport
$
61.1

43.4
 %
 
$
44.8

41.5
 %
 
$
16.3

36.4
 %
      Logistics services
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Expedited full truckload - TLX
19.6

71.3

 
14.7

76.6

 
4.9

33.3

Intermodal/drayage
8.3

38.1

 
6.1

42.7

 
2.2

36.1

Total Logistics services
27.9

56.6

 
20.8

62.1

 
7.1

34.1

      Other Forward Air services
6.4

30.2

 
3.0

23.4

 
3.4

113.3

Forward Air - Total purchased transportation
95.4

45.1

 
68.6

44.5

 
26.8

39.1

TQI - Pharmaceutical services
5.4

45.8

 
7.2

52.5

 
(1.8
)
(25.0
)
Forward Air Solutions - Pool distribution
7.5

27.1

 
7.8

29.0

 
(0.3
)
(3.8
)
Intersegment eliminations
(0.9
)
75.0

 
(0.8
)
80.0

 
(0.1
)
12.5

Consolidated purchased transportation
$
107.4

43.0
 %
 
$
82.8

42.7
 %
 
$
24.6

29.7
 %

Three Months Ended June 30, 2015 compared to Three Months Ended June 30, 2014

Revenues

Operating revenue increased by $55.8 million, or 28.8%, to $249.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $193.9 million in the same period of 2014.

Forward Air

Forward Air operating revenue increased $57.1 million, or 37.0%, to $211.4 million from $154.3 million, accounting for 84.7% of consolidated operating revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 79.6% for the same period in 2014.  Airport-to-airport revenue, which is the largest component of our consolidated operating revenue, increased $32.9 million,

26
Table of Contents


or 30.5%, to $140.9 million from $108.0 million, accounting for 66.7% of the segment’s operating revenue during the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 70.0% during the three months ended June 30, 2014. The increase is partially attributable to a 37.4% increase in tonnage offset by a 1.7% decrease in our base revenue per pound, excluding net fuel surcharge revenue and Complete revenue. This accounted for $29.5 million of the increase in airport-to-airport revenue. The decrease in average base revenue per pound was attributable to the acquisition of Towne, as Towne's base revenue per pound was notably lower than our legacy Forward Air base revenue per pound. The general rate increase initiated at the beginning of February 2015 helped partially mitigate Towne's impact on base revenue per pound. The remaining increase in airport-to-airport revenue is the result of increased revenue from our Complete pick-up and delivery service offset by a decrease in net fuel surcharge revenue.  Complete revenue increased $5.2 million, or 35.2%, during the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same period of 2014.  The increase in Complete revenue was attributable to improved shipping volumes in our airport-to-airport network acquisition and a 33.0% increase in the attachment rate of Complete activity to linehaul shipments, both of which were largely attributable to the Towne acquisition. Compared to the same period in 2014, net fuel surcharge revenue decreased largely due to the decline in fuel prices. These decreases were partially offset by increases related to the acquisition of Towne for a net decrease of $1.8 million during the three months ended June 30, 2015.
    
Logistics revenue, which is TLX and our intermodal drayage services, increased $15.8 million, or 47.2%, to $49.3 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $33.5 million in the same period of 2014.  The increase in logistics revenue was partially attributable to a $7.5 million increase in intermodal drayage revenue. The intermodal drayage increase was due to 2015 including CST's acquisitions made in the third and fourth quarter of 2014. TLX revenue also increased $8.3 million and 43.2% during the three months ended June 30, 2015, compared to the same period in 2014 driven by a 14.8% increase in TLX's average revenue per mile and a 25.3% increase in miles driven to support TLX revenue. TLX's revenue per mile increased on a shift in business mix that provided a higher revenue per mile due to the required use of more expensive third party transportation providers. The increase in miles was partially due to business obtained with the Towne acquisition.

Other revenue, which includes warehousing services and terminal handling, accounted for the final component of Forward Air operating revenue. Other revenue increased $8.4 million, or 65.6%, to $21.2 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $12.8 million in the same period of 2014. The increase in Forward Air other revenue was mainly attributable to $7.4 million of other revenue obtained with the acquisition of Towne and $1.0 million increase in local delivery work, warehousing and handling revenues associated with CST's acquisitions made in the third and fourth quarter of 2014.
 
FASI

FASI operating revenue increased $0.8 million, or 3.0%, to $27.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $26.9 million for the same period in 2014.  The increase was attributable to current year rate increases net of a reduction in dedicated linehaul business provided to a customer.

TQI

TQI operating revenue decreased $1.9 million, or 13.9%, to $11.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $13.7 million for the same period in 2014. The decrease in operating revenue was attributable to decreased shipping activity from pharmacuetical and life science customers as well as TQI's brokerage transportation services. The decrease in pharmaceuticals was driven by a distribution awarded and executed in the second quarter of 2014 that did not reoccur in the second quarter of 2015.

Intercompany Eliminations

Intercompany eliminations increased $0.2 million, or 20.0%, to $1.2 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $1.0 million in the same period of 2014.   The intercompany eliminations are the result of truckload, airport-to-airport, and handling services provided between our segments for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014.  

Purchased Transportation

Purchased transportation increased by $24.6 million, or 29.7%, to $107.4 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $82.8 million in the same period of 2014.  As a percentage of total operating revenue, purchased transportation was 43.0% during the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 42.7% for the same period of 2014.





27
Table of Contents


Forward Air

Forward Air’s purchased transportation increased by $26.8 million, or 39.1%, to $95.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $68.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014. As a percentage of segment operating revenue, Forward Air purchased transportation was 45.1% during the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 44.5% for the same period in 2014.

Purchased transportation costs for our airport-to-airport network increased $16.3 million, or 36.4%, to $61.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $44.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014.  For the three months ended June 30, 2015, purchased transportation for our airport-to-airport network increased to 43.4% of airport-to-airport revenue from 41.5% for the same period in 2014.  The $16.3 million increase is mostly attributable to a 27.1% increase in miles driven by our network of owner-operators or third party transportation providers and a 6.2% increase in the cost per mile paid to our network of owner-operators or third party transportation providers.  The higher miles increased purchased transportation by $9.4 million while the higher cost per mile increased purchased transportation by $2.8 million.  The increase in miles was attributable to the increase in revenue activity discussed previously. The increase in airport to airport cost per mile was attributable to a rate increase awarded to our network of owner-operators at the beginning of the first quarter of 2015 and higher rates charged by third party transportation providers. The remaining $4.1 million increase in airport-to-airport purchased transportation was attributable to increased third party transportation costs associated with the higher Complete revenue discussed above.

Purchased transportation costs for our logistics revenue increased $7.1 million, or 34.1%, to $27.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $20.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014. For the three months ended June 30, 2015, logistics’ purchased transportation costs represented 56.6% of logistics revenue compared to 62.1% for the same period in 2014.  The increase in logistics’ purchased transportation in total dollars was mostly attributable to a $2.2 million increase in intermodal drayage purchased transportation due to 2015 including CST's acquisitions made in the third and fourth quarter of 2014. TLX purchased transportation also increased $4.9 million and 33.3%.  The increase in TLX purchased transportation was attributable to a 6.7% increase in cost per mile during the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same period in 2014 and a 25.3% increase in miles driven during the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same period of 2014. The changes in TLX miles driven and cost per mile were attributable to a shift in customer mix that resulted in the increased use of more expensive third party transportation providers and the Towne acquisition. The decline in logistics' purchased transportation as a percentage of revenue was attributable to CST utilizing more Company-employed drivers and less owner-operators and third party transportation providers than our legacy Forward Air operations and improved margin on TLX business acquired from Towne.

Purchased transportation costs related to our other revenue increased $3.4 million, or 113.3%, to $6.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $3.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014. Other purchased transportation costs as a percentage of other revenue increased to 30.2% of other revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from 23.4% for the same period in 2014. The increase as a percentage of the associated revenue was primarily due to dedicated pick up and delivery activity associated with the Towne acquisition.

FASI

FASI purchased transportation decreased $0.3 million, or 3.8%, to $7.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $7.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014.  FASI purchased transportation as a percentage of revenue was 27.1% for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 29.0% for the three months ended June 30, 2014.  The improvement in FASI purchased transportation as a percentage of revenue was attributable to improved revenue quality due to customer rate increases initiated in the first quarter of 2015 and reduced usage of more costly third party transportation providers due to the reduction of dedicated linehaul business. FASI grew its agent station revenue as well, which has handling costs that would not contribute to purchased transportation.

TQI

TQI purchased transportation decreased $1.8 million, or 25.0%, to $5.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $7.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014.  TQI purchased transportation as a percentage of revenue was 45.8% for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 52.5% for the same period of 2014. The decrease in percentage of revenue was due to an decreased utilization of more expensive third party transportation providers in favor of company drivers and owner operators.





28
Table of Contents


Intercompany Eliminations

Intercompany eliminations increased $0.1 million, or 12.5%, to $0.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from 0.8 million for the same period in 2014.  The intercompany eliminations are the result of truckload, airport-to-airport, and handling services provided between our segments for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014.  

Salaries, Wages, and Benefits

Salaries, wages and employee benefits increased by $17.5 million, or 39.4%, to $61.9 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $44.4 million in the same period of 2014.   As a percentage of total operating revenue, salaries, wages and employee benefits was 24.8% during the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 22.9% for the same period in 2014.

Forward Air

Salaries, wages and employee benefits of Forward Air increased by $15.9 million, or 48.3%, to $48.8 million in the second quarter of 2014 from $32.9 million in the same period of 2014.  Salaries, wages and employee benefits were 23.1% of Forward Air’s operating revenue in the second quarter of 2015 compared to 21.3% for the same period of 2014.  The increase in salaries, wages and employee benefits in total dollars and as a percentage of revenue was partially attributable to $1.7 million of salaries, wages and employee benefits from CST's acquisitions made in the third and fourth quarter of 2014. CST salaries, wages and employee benefits are higher as a percentage of revenue than our legacy Forward Air operations due to higher utilization of Company-employed drivers. Severance and incentives related to the acquisition of Towne accounted for an additional increase of $0.5 million. Another $1.5 million was due to incentive and share based compensation increases to previously existing Forward Air employees. Further, approximately $12.2 million of the remaining increase was attributable to the Towne acquisition and the higher shipment volumes discussed previously and 2015 wage increases for previously existing Forward Air employees.

FASI

FASI salaries, wages and employee benefits increased $1.3 million, or 14.0%, to $10.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to $9.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014.  As a percentage of FASI operating revenue, salaries, wages and benefits increased to 38.3% for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 34.6% for the same period in 2014.   The $1.3 million increase is partly due to a $0.6 million increase in dock and driver pay to handle the shift in business discussed above. New administrative hires and 2015 pay increases accounted for a $0.3 million increase from the same period in 2014. The remaining increase of $0.4 million was due to higher health insurance costs.

TQI

TQI salaries, wages and employee benefits increased $0.3 million, or 13.6%, to $2.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to $2.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014.  As a percentage of TQI operating revenue, salaries, wages and benefits increased to 21.2% for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 16.1% for the same period in 2014. Higher utilization of Company-employed drivers and higher health insurance costs each accounted for a $0.2 million increase, or $0.4 million total, for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. Company-employed driver utilization increased in conjunction with new tractors purchased during the first quarter of 2015. Partially offsetting these increases is a $0.1 million decrease in administrative wages. The increase in company driver pay corresponds with the decrease in purchased transportation, as TQI utilized company drivers instead of more costly third party carriers.

Operating Leases

Operating leases increased $10.0 million, or 122.0%, to $18.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $8.2 million for the same period in 2014. Operating leases, the largest component of which is facility rent, were 7.3% of consolidated operating revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 4.2% in the same period of 2014.

Forward Air

Operating leases increased $9.9 million to $16.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $6.2 million for the same period in 2014.  Operating leases were 8.0% of Forward Air operating revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 4.0% for the same period in 2014. Following the acquisition of Towne, $4.9 million was incurred primarily for reserves on vacated duplicate facilities. The remaining increase is due to $1.7 million in additional facility lease expenses and a $1.4 million

29
Table of Contents


increase in truck, trailer and equipment rentals and leases, all primarily as a result of the Towne acquisition. Facility and equipment leases associated with CST's acquisitions made in the third and fourth quarter of 2014 accounted for the final $1.9 million of the increase in operating leases.

FASI

Operating leases increased $0.1 million, or 5.0%, to $2.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $2.0 million for the same period in 2014.  Operating leases were 7.6% of FASI operating revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 7.4% in the same period of 2014.  Operating leases increased due to $0.1 million of additional truck rentals largely to provide capacity at a new facility.

TQI

TQI incurred less than $0.1 million for operating leases for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 as the only on-going lease activity was for the TQI corporate headquarters.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization increased $1.7 million, or 21.8%, to $9.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $7.8 million for the same period in 2014.  Depreciation and amortization was 3.8% of consolidated operating revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 4.0% for the same period in 2014.

Forward Air

Depreciation and amortization increased $1.6 million, or 29.6%, to $7.0 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $5.4 million in the same period of 2014.  Depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of Forward Air operating revenue was 3.3% in the second quarter of 2015 compared to 3.5% in the same period of 2014.  Towne amortization on acquired intangibles of $0.7 million and CST amortization on acquired intangibles of $0.1 million accounted for $0.8 million of the increase in depreciation and amortization. The remaining increase was primarily the result of new trailers, tractors and forklifts purchased in 2014.

FASI

FASI depreciation and amortization increased $0.1 million, or 7.1%, to $1.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $1.4 million for the same period of 2014.  Depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of FASI operating revenue was 5.4% in the second quarter of 2015 compared to 5.2% in the same period of 2014. The increase in FASI depreciation in total dollars is attributable conveyors and conveyor improvements purchased since the second quarter of 2014.

TQI

TQI depreciation and amortization was $1.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014.  Depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of TQI operating revenue was 8.5% in the second quarter of 2015 compared to 7.3% in the same period of 2014. The increase in depreciation and amortization as a percentage of revenue was attributable to the decrease in revenue discussed previously.

Insurance and Claims

Insurance and claims expense increased $3.2 million, or 103.2%, to $6.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $3.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014.  Insurance and claims were 2.5% of consolidated operating revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 1.6% for the same period of 2014.

Forward Air

Forward Air insurance and claims expense increased $2.7 million, or 112.5%, to $5.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $2.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014.  Insurance and claims were 2.4% of operating revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 1.6% for the same period of 2014. Approximately $0.3 million of the increase was attributable to insurance and claims associated with CST's acquisitions made in the third and fourth quarter of 2014. Forward Air costs also increased approximately $2.4 million mostly due to a $1.9 million increase in vehicle claims costs largely resulting

30
Table of Contents


from our bi-annual actuary analysis of our vehicle claims. The remaining increase is attributable to a $0.4 million increase in vehicle accident damage repairs and a $0.1 million increase in cargo claims and related legal and professional fees.

FASI

FASI insurance and claims expense increased $0.4 million, or 80.0%, to $0.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $0.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014.   FASI insurance and claims were 3.2% of operating revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 1.9% for the same period in 2014. The increase in FASI insurance and claims in total dollars was attributable to a $0.3 million increase in cargo claims and a $0.1 increase in vehicle insurance premiums.

TQI

TQI insurance and claims increased $0.1 million, or 50.0%, to $0.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $0.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014.  Insurance and claims expense as a percentage of TQI operating revenue was 2.5% in the second quarter of 2015 compared to 1.5% for the same period in 2014. TQI insurance and claims increased $0.1 million due to increased vehicle insurance premiums.

Fuel Expense

Fuel expense decreased $1.0 million, or 19.2%, to $4.2 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $5.2 million in the same period of 2014.  Fuel expense was 2.0% of consolidated operating revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 2.7% for the same period in 2014.

Forward Air

Fuel expense decreased $0.2 million, or 9.1%, to $2.0 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $2.2 million for the same period in 2014.  Fuel expense was 0.9% of Forward Air operating revenue in the second quarter of 2015 compared with 1.4% in the same period of 2014. The decrease in fuel expense was attributable to a decrease in fuel price per gallon compared to the same period in 2014. The decrease in fuel was partly offset by the impact of the Towne acquisition.

FASI

FASI fuel expense decreased $0.5 million, or 27.8%, to $1.3 million for the second quarter of 2015 from $1.8 million in the same period of 2014.  Fuel expenses were 4.7% of FASI operating revenue in the second quarter of 2015 compared to 6.7% in the second quarter of 2014.  FASI fuel expenses decreased due to a decline in year-over-year fuel prices.

TQI

TQI fuel expense decreased $0.3 million, or 25.0%, to $0.9 million for the second quarter of 2015 from $1.2 million for the same period of 2014.  Fuel expense as a percentage of TQI operating revenue was 7.6% in the second quarter of 2015 compared to 8.8% in the same period of 2014. The decrease was attributable to a decline in year-over-year fuel prices.
 
Other Operating Expenses

Other operating expenses increased $7.5 million, or 50.7%, to $22.3 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $14.8 million in the same period of 2014.  Other operating expenses were 8.9% of consolidated operating revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 7.6% in the same period of 2014.

Forward Air

Other operating expenses increased $6.8 million, or 59.6%, to $18.2 million during the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $11.4 million in the same period of 2014.  Other operating expenses were 8.6% of Forward Air operating revenue in the second quarter of 2015 compared to 7.4% in the same period of 2014.  Approximately $1.4 million of the increase was attributable to other operating expenses associated with CST's acquisitions made in the third and fourth quarter of 2014. Also, included in the increase was $1.0 million of transaction and integration related costs incurred for the acquisition of Towne. The remaining increase was attributable to variable costs, such as vehicle maintenance and dock and terminal supplies, which increased in conjunction with the volume increases related to the Towne acquisition discussed previously.


31
Table of Contents



FASI

FASI other operating expenses increased $0.6 million, or 19.4%, to $3.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to $3.1 million for the same period of 2014.  FASI other operating expenses for the second quarter of 2015 were 13.3% compared to 11.5% for the same period of 2014.  FASI's increase as a percent of revenue was partly due to agent station costs which increased due to a shift in customer shipping destinations to our agent station locations. Other variable costs such as vehicle and dock maintenance costs and travel expenses made up the remaining decrease, some of which were attributable to the opening of a new facility.

TQI

TQI other operating expenses increased $0.2 million, or 40.0%. to $0.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $0.5 million for the same period of 2014.  Other operating expenses as a percentage of TQI operating revenue was 5.9% in the second quarter of 2015 compared to 3.6% in the same period of 2014. The increase in TQI other operating expenses in total dollars was attributable to 2014 including a reduction of accrued penalties associated with a settlement of state tax issues in which the penalties required to be paid were less than the amounts previously accrued.
 
Intercompany Eliminations

Intercompany eliminations increased to $0.3 million for the second quarter of 2015 from $0.2 million for the same period in 2014.   These intercompany eliminations are the result of handling services our segments provided each other during the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014. 

Income from Operations

Income from operations decreased by $7.7 million, or 27.9%, to $19.9 million for the second quarter of 2015 compared to $27.6 million in the same period of 2014. Income from operations was 8.0% of consolidated operating revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 14.2% in the same period of 2014.

Forward Air

Income from operations decreased by $6.4 million, or 25.4%, to $18.8 million for the second quarter of 2015 compared with $25.2 million for the same period in 2014.  Income from operations as a percentage of Forward Air operating revenue was 8.9% for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 16.3% in the same period of 2014. The deterioration in income from operations was mostly due to $6.9 million of Towne transaction and integration costs and Towne driven increases in salaries, wages and benefits, operating leases and other operating expenses. The deterioration was partially offset by additional operating income attributable to CST's acquisitions made in the third and fourth quarter of 2014.
  
FASI

FASI’s Income from operations decreased by $0.9 million, or 90.0%, to $0.1 million for the second quarter of 2015 compared with $1.0 million for the same period in 2014.  Income from operations as a percentage of FASI operating revenue was 0.4% for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 3.7% in the same period of 2014.  The decline in FASI operating income was primarily the result of increases in health insurance costs and cargo claims as well as costs related to a new facility opening in the second quarter of 2015.

TQI

Income from operations decreased $0.4 million, or 28.6%, to $1.0 million for the second quarter of 2015 compared to $1.4 million for the second quarter of 2014.  Income from operations as a percentage of TQI's operating revenue was 8.5% for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 10.2% in the same period of 2014. Deterioration in income from operations as percentage of revenue was mainly attributable to increased health insurance costs and the reduction of expenses in 2014 related to a settlement of state tax issues.





32
Table of Contents


Interest Expense

Interest expense was $0.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to $0.1 million for the same period of 2014. Increase in interest expense was attributable to interest costs related to the financing of the Towne acquisition.

Other, net

Other, net expenses were $0.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 compared to other income of $0.1 million for June 30, 2014. Other, net primarily represents unrealized gains and losses on trading securities held.

Income Taxes

The combined federal and state effective tax rate for the second quarter of 2015 was 38.6% compared to a rate of 37.8% for the same period in 2014.  The increase in our effective tax rate was primarily due to large non-deductible Towne acquisition costs incurred in 2015. The prior year quarter also benefited from the settlement of certain TQI related state tax matters and the amounts required to be paid being approximately $0.1 million less than what was previously reserved.

Net Income

As a result of the foregoing factors, net income decreased by $5.4 million, or 31.4%, to $11.8 million for the second quarter of 2015 compared to $17.2 million for the same period in 2014.
 

33
Table of Contents


Results of Operations

The following table sets forth our consolidated historical financial data for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 (in millions):
 
 
Six months ended
 
June 30,
2015
 
June 30,
2014
 
Change
 
Percent Change
Operating revenue
$
455.6

 
$
365.4

 
$
90.2

 
24.7
 %
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Purchased transportation
196.8

 
156.4

 
40.4

 
25.8

   Salaries, wages, and employee benefits
115.8

 
85.8

 
30.0

 
35.0

   Operating leases
34.1

 
16.5

 
17.6

 
106.7

   Depreciation and amortization
18.2

 
14.7

 
3.5

 
23.8

   Insurance and claims
11.3

 
7.2

 
4.1

 
56.9

   Fuel expense
8.3

 
10.0

 
(1.7
)
 
(17.0
)
   Other operating expenses
42.9

 
30.9

 
12.0

 
38.8

      Total operating expenses
427.4

 
321.5

 
105.9

 
32.9

Income from operations
28.2

 
43.9

 
(15.7
)
 
(35.8
)
Other expense:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Interest expense
(0.9
)
 
(0.2
)
 
(0.7
)
 
350.0

   Other, net
(0.2
)
 
0.2

 
(0.4
)
 
(200.0
)
      Total other expense
(1.1
)
 
—

 
(1.1
)
 
(100.0
)
Income before income taxes
27.1

 
43.9

 
(16.8
)
 
(38.3
)
Income taxes
10.4

 
16.5

 
(6.1
)
 
(37.0
)
Net income
$
16.7

 
$
27.4

 
$
(10.7
)
 
(39.1
)%

34
Table of Contents


The following table sets forth our historical financial data by segment for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 (in millions):
 
Six months ended
Forward Air
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
 
 
Percent
 
2015
 
Revenue
 
2014
 
Revenue
 
Change
 
Change
Operating revenue
$
380.1

 
83.4
 %
 
$
288.4

 
78.9
 %
 
$
91.7

 
31.8
 %
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Purchased transportation
172.5

 
45.4

 
129.4

 
44.9

 
43.1

 
33.3

   Salaries, wages, and employee benefits
90.3

 
23.8

 
63.0

 
21.8

 
27.3

 
43.3

   Operating leases
29.8

 
7.8

 
12.0

 
4.2

 
17.8

 
148.3

   Depreciation and amortization
13.2

 
3.5

 
10.3

 
3.6

 
2.9

 
28.2

   Insurance and claims
9.1

 
2.4

 
5.5

 
1.9

 
3.6

 
65.5

   Fuel expense
3.9

 
1.0

 
4.1

 
1.4

 
(0.2
)
 
(4.9
)
   Other operating expenses
35.3

 
9.3

 
23.5

 
8.1

 
11.8

 
50.2

Income from operations
$
26.0

 
6.8
 %
 
$
40.6

 
14.1
 %
 
$
(14.6
)
 
(36.0
)%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FASI
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
 
 
Percent
 
2015
 
Revenue
 
2014
 
Revenue
 
Change
 
Change
Operating revenue
$
54.9

 
12.1
 %
 
$
54.3

 
14.9
 %
 
$
0.6

 
1.1
 %
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Purchased transportation
15.0

 
27.3

 
15.9

 
29.3

 
(0.9
)
 
(5.7
)
   Salaries, wages, and employee benefits
20.7

 
37.7

 
18.7

 
34.4

 
2.0

 
10.7

   Operating leases
4.2

 
7.7

 
4.5

 
8.3

 
(0.3
)
 
(6.7
)
   Depreciation and amortization
3.1

 
5.6

 
2.7

 
5.0

 
0.4

 
14.8

   Insurance and claims
1.8

 
3.3

 
1.3

 
2.4

 
0.5

 
38.5

   Fuel expense
2.6

 
4.7

 
3.5

 
6.5

 
(0.9
)
 
(25.7
)
   Other operating expenses
7.2

 
13.1

 
6.7

 
12.3

 
0.5

 
7.5

Income from operations
$
0.3

 
0.6
 %
 
$
1.0

 
1.8
 %
 
$
(0.7
)
 
(70.0
)%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TQI
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
 
 
Percent
 
2015
 
Revenue
 
2014
 
Revenue
 
Change
 
Change
Operating revenue
$
23.1

 
5.1
 %
 
$
24.7

 
6.8
 %
 
$
(1.6
)
 
(6.5
)%
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Purchased transportation
11.1

 
48.1

 
12.7

 
51.4

 
(1.6
)
 
(12.6
)
   Salaries, wages, and employee benefits
4.8

 
20.8

 
4.1

 
16.6

 
0.7

 
17.1

   Operating leases
0.1

 
0.4

 
—

 
—

 
0.1

 
—

   Depreciation and amortization
1.9

 
8.2

 
1.7

 
6.9

 
0.2

 
11.8

   Insurance and claims
0.4

 
1.7

 
0.4

 
1.6

 
—

 
—

   Fuel expense
1.8

 
7.8

 
2.4

 
9.7

 
(0.6
)
 
(25.0
)
   Other operating expenses
1.1

 
4.8

 
1.1

 
4.5

 
—

 
—

Income from operations
$
1.9

 
8.2
 %
 
$
2.3

 
9.3
 %
 
$
(0.4
)
 
(17.4
)%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Intercompany Eliminations
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
 
 
Percent
 
2015
 
Revenue
 
2014
 
Revenue
 
Change
 
Change
Operating revenue
$
(2.5
)
 
(0.6
)%
 
$
(2.0
)
 
(0.6
)%
 
$
(0.5
)
 
25.0
 %
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Purchased transportation
(1.8
)
 
72.0

 
(1.6
)
 
80.0

 
(0.2
)
 
12.5

   Other operating expenses
(0.7
)
 
28.0

 
(0.4
)
 
20.0

 
(0.3
)
 
75.0

Income from operations
$
—

 
—
 %
 
$
—

 
—
 %
 
$
—

 
—
 %
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Consolidated
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
June 30,
 
Percent of
 
 
 
Percent
 
2015
 
Revenue
 
2014
 
Revenue
 
Change
 
Change
Operating revenue
$
455.6

 
100.0
 %
 
$
365.4

 
100.0
 %
 
$
90.2

 
24.7
 %
Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Purchased transportation
196.8

 
43.2

 
156.4

 
42.8

 
40.4

 
25.8

   Salaries, wages, and employee benefits
115.8

 
25.4

 
85.8

 
23.5

 
30.0

 
35.0

   Operating leases
34.1

 
7.5

 
16.5

 
4.5

 
17.6

 
106.7

   Depreciation and amortization
18.2

 
4.0

 
14.7

 
4.0

 
3.5

 
23.8

   Insurance and claims
11.3

 
2.5

 
7.2

 
2.0

 
4.1

 
56.9

   Fuel expense
8.3

 
2.0

 
10.0

 
2.7

 
(1.7
)
 
(17.0
)
   Other operating expenses
42.9

 
9.4

 
30.9

 
8.5

 
12.0

 
38.8

Income from operations
$
28.2

 
6.2
 %
 
$
43.9

 
12.0
 %
 
$
(15.7
)
 
(35.8
)%


35
Table of Contents



The following table presents the components of the Forward Air segment’s operating revenue and purchased transportation for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 (in millions):

 
June 30,
Percent of
 
June 30,
Percent of
 
 
Percent
 
2015
Revenue
 
2014
Revenue
 
Change
Change
Operating Revenue
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Forward Air
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      Airport-to-airport
$
254.2

66.9
 %
 
$
205.7

71.3
 %
 
$
48.5

23.6
 %
      Logistics services
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Expedited full truckload - TLX
50.8

13.4

 
36.6

12.7

 
14.2

38.8

Intermodal/drayage
39.7

10.4

 
23.3

8.1

 
16.4

70.4

Total Logistics services
90.5

23.8

 
59.9

20.8

 
30.6

51.1

      Other Forward Air services
35.4

9.3

 
22.8

7.9

 
12.6

55.3

Forward Air - Total revenue
380.1

83.4

 
288.4

78.9

 
91.7

31.8

TQI - Pharmaceutical services
23.1

5.1

 
24.7

6.8

 
(1.6
)
(6.5
)
Forward Air Solutions - Pool distribution
54.9

12.1

 
54.3

14.9

 
0.6

1.1

Intersegment eliminations
(2.5
)
(0.6
)
 
(2.0
)
(0.6
)
 
(0.5
)
25.0

Consolidated operating revenue
$
455.6

100.0
 %
 
$
365.4

100.0
 %
 
$
90.2

24.7
 %
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
June 30,
Percent of
 
June 30,
Percent of
 
 
Percent
 
2015
Revenue
 
2014
Revenue
 
Change
Change
Purchased Transportation
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Forward Air
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      Airport-to-airport
$
111.1

43.7
 %
 
$
85.5

41.6
 %
 
$
25.6

29.9
 %
      Logistics services
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Expedited full truckload - TLX
36.5

71.9

 
28.4

77.6

 
8.1

28.5

Intermodal/drayage
14.7

37.0

 
9.9

42.5

 
4.8

48.5

Total Logistics services
51.2

56.6

 
38.3

63.9

 
12.9

33.7

      Other Forward Air services
10.2

28.8

 
5.6

24.6

 
4.6

82.1

Forward Air - Total purchased transportation
172.5

45.4

 
129.4

44.9

 
43.1

33.3

TQI - Pharmaceutical services
11.1

48.1

 
12.7

51.4

 
(1.6
)
(12.6
)
Forward Air Solutions - Pool distribution
15.0

27.3

 
15.9

29.3

 
(0.9
)
(5.7
)
Intersegment eliminations
(1.8
)
72.0

 
(1.6
)
80.0

 
(0.2
)
12.5

Consolidated purchased transportation
$
196.8

43.2
 %
 
$
156.4

42.8
 %
 
$
40.4

25.8
 %

Six Months Ended June 30, 2015 compared to Six Months Ended June 30, 2014

Revenues

Operating revenue increased by $90.2 million, or 24.7%, to $455.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015 from $365.4 million in the same period of 2014.

Forward Air

Forward Air operating revenue increased $91.7 million, or 31.8%, to $380.1 million from $288.4 million, accounting for 83.4% of consolidated operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 78.9% for the same period in 2014.  Airport-to-airport revenue, which is the largest component of our consolidated operating revenue, increased $48.5 million, or 23.6%, to $254.2 million from $205.7 million, accounting for 66.9% of the segment’s operating revenue during the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 71.3% during the six months ended June 30, 2014. The increase is partially attributable to a 27.5% increase in

36
Table of Contents


tonnage which accounted for $43.9 million of the increase in airport-to-airport revenue. The increase in tonnage is mainly due to the Towne acquisition.  The increase in airport-to-airport revenue is also the result of increased revenue from our Complete pick-up and delivery service offset by a decrease in net fuel surcharge revenue.  Complete revenue increased $8.7 million, or 31.9%, during the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same period of 2014.  The increase in Complete revenue was attributable to improved shipping volumes in our airport-to-airport network and a 33.9% increase in the attachment rate of Complete activity to linehaul shipments, both of which were largely attributable to the Towne acquisition. Compared to the same period in 2014, net fuel surcharge revenue decreased largely due to the decline in fuel prices. These decreases were partially offset by increases related to the acquisition of Towne for a net decrease of $4.1 million during the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same period in 2014.
    
Logistics revenue, which is TLX and our intermodal drayage services, increased $30.6 million, or 51.1%, to $90.5 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $59.9 million in the same period of 2014.  The increase in logistics revenue was attributable to a $16.4 million increase in intermodal drayage revenue. The intermodal drayage increase was due to 2015 including a full six months of CST and related acquisitions. TLX revenue increased $14.2 million and 38.8% during the six months ended June 30, 2015, compared to the same period in 2014 driven by a 18.5% increase in TLX's average revenue per mile and a 17.0% increase in miles driven to support TLX revenue. TLX's revenue per mile increased on a shift in business mix that provided a higher revenue per mile due to the required use of more expensive third party transportation providers. The increase in miles was mostly due to business obtained with the Towne acquisition.

Other revenue, which includes warehousing services and terminal handling, accounted for the final component of Forward Air operating revenue. Other revenue increased $12.6 million, or 55.3%, to $35.4 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $22.8 million in the same period of 2014. The increase in Forward Air other revenue was mainly attributable to $9.4 million of other revenue obtained with the acquisition of Towne and $3.2 million increase in local delivery work, warehousing and handling revenues associated with a full six months of CST and related acquisitions.
 
FASI

FASI operating revenue increased $0.6 million, or 1.1%, to $54.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $54.3 million for the same period in 2014.  The increase was attributable to current year rate increases net of a reduction in dedicated linehaul business.

TQI

TQI operating revenue decreased $1.6 million, or 6.5%, to $23.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $24.7 million for the same period in 2014. The decrease in operating revenue was attributable to decreased shipping activity from pharmacuetical and life science customers as well as TQI's brokerage transportation services. The decrease in pharmaceuticals was driven by a distribution awarded and executed in the second quarter of 2014 that did not reoccur in the second quarter of 2015.

Intercompany Eliminations

Intercompany eliminations increased $0.5 million, or 25.0%, to $2.5 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $2.0 million in the same period of 2014.   The intercompany eliminations are the result of truckload, airport-to-airport, and handling services provided between our segments for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014.  

Purchased Transportation

Purchased transportation increased by $40.4 million, or 25.8%, to $196.8 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $156.4 million in the same period of 2014.  As a percentage of total operating revenue, purchased transportation was 43.2% during the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 42.8% for the same period of 2014.

Forward Air

Forward Air’s purchased transportation increased by $43.1 million, or 33.3%, to $172.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $129.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014. As a percentage of segment operating revenue, Forward Air purchased transportation was 45.4% during the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 44.9% for the same period in 2014.

Purchased transportation costs for our airport-to-airport network increased $25.6 million, or 29.9%, to $111.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $85.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014.  For the six months ended June 30, 2015,

37
Table of Contents


purchased transportation for our airport-to-airport network increased to 43.7% of airport-to-airport revenue from 41.6% for the same period in 2014.  The $25.6 million increase is mostly attributable to a 20.6% increase in miles driven by our network of owner-operators or third party transportation providers and a 7.0% increase in the cost per mile paid to our network of owner-operators or third party transportation providers.  The higher miles increased purchased transportation by $13.8 million while the higher cost per mile increased purchased transportation by $5.7 million.  The increase in miles was attributable to the increase in revenue activity discussed previously. The increase in airport to airport cost per mile was attributable to a rate increase awarded to our network of owner-operators in January 2015 and higher rates charged by third party transportation providers. The remaining $6.1 million increase in airport-to-airport purchased transportation was attributable to increased third party transportation costs associated with the higher Complete revenue discussed above.

Purchased transportation costs for our logistics revenue increased $12.9 million, or 33.7%, to $51.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $38.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014. For the six months ended June 30, 2015, logistics’ purchased transportation costs represented 56.6% of logistics revenue compared to 63.9% for the same period in 2014.  The increase in logistics’ purchased transportation in total dollars was mostly attributable to a $4.8 million increase in intermodal drayage purchased transportation due to 2015 including a full six months of CST and related acquisitions. TLX purchased transportation also increased $8.1 million and 28.5%.  The increase in TLX purchased transportation was attributable to a 9.9% increase in cost per mile during the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same period in 2014 and a 17.0% increase in miles driven during the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same period of 2014. The changes in TLX miles driven and cost per mile were attributable to a shift in customer mix that resulted in the increased use of more expensive third party transportation providers and the Towne acquisition. The decline in logistics' purchased transportation as a percentage of revenue was attributable to CST utilizing more Company-employed drivers and less owner-operators and third party transportation providers than our legacy Forward Air operations and improved margins on acquired TLX business.

Purchased transportation costs related to our other revenue increased $4.6 million, or 82.1%, to $10.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $5.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014. Other purchased transportation costs as a percentage of other revenue increased to 28.8% of other revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from 24.6% for the same period in 2014.    The increase as a percentage of the associated revenue was primarily due to dedicated pick up and delivery activity associated with the Towne acquisition.

FASI

FASI purchased transportation decreased $0.9 million, or 5.7%, to $15.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $15.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014.  FASI purchased transportation as a percentage of revenue was 27.3% for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 29.3% for the six months ended June 30, 2014.  The improvement in FASI purchased transportation as a percentage of revenue was attributable to improved revenue quality due to customer rate increases initiated in the first quarter of 2015 and reduced usage of more costly third party transportation providers due to the reduction of dedicated linehaul revenue. FASI grew its agent station revenue as well, which has handling costs that would not contribute to purchased transportation.

TQI

TQI purchased transportation decreased $1.6 million, or 12.6%, to $11.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $12.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014.  TQI purchased transportation as a percentage of revenue was 48.1% for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 51.4% for the same period of 2014. The decrease in percentage of revenue was due to decreased utilization of more expensive third party transportation providers in favor of company drivers and owner operators.

Intercompany Eliminations

Intercompany eliminations increased to $1.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $1.6 million for the same period in 2014.  The intercompany eliminations are the result of truckload, airport-to-airport, and handling services provided between our segments for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014.  

Salaries, Wages, and Benefits

Salaries, wages and employee benefits increased by $30.0 million, or 35.0%, to $115.8 million in the second quarter of 2015 from $85.8 million in the same period of 2014.   As a percentage of total operating revenue, salaries, wages and employee benefits was 25.4% during the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 23.5% for the same period in 2014.



38
Table of Contents


Forward Air

Salaries, wages and employee benefits of Forward Air increased by $27.3 million, or 43.3%, to $90.3 million in the second quarter of 2014 from $63.0 million in the same period of 2014.  Salaries, wages and employee benefits were 23.8% of Forward Air’s operating revenue in the second quarter of 2015 compared to 21.8% for the same period of 2014.  Of the $27.3 million increase, approximately $17.0 million was attributable to increased wages associated with the higher shipment volumes discussed previously and 2015 wage increases for previously existing Forward Air employees. Severance and incentives related to the acquisition of Towne accounted for an additional increase of $3.6 million. Another $2.2 million was due to incentive and share based compensation increases to previously existing Forward Air employees. Partially offseting these increases was a $0.4 million decrease in workers compensations and health insurance costs. The remaining increase in salaries, wages and employee benefits in total dollars and as a percentage of revenue was attributable to $4.9 million of salaries, wages and employee benefits from a full six months of CST and related acquisitions. CST salaries, wages and employee benefits are higher as a percentage of revenue than our legacy Forward Air operations due to higher utilization of Company-employed drivers.

FASI

FASI salaries, wages and employee benefits increased $2.0 million, or 10.7%, to $20.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to $18.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014.  As a percentage of FASI operating revenue, salaries, wages and benefits increased to 37.7% for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 34.4% for the same period in 2014.   The $2.0 million increase is partly due to a $1.0 million increase in dock and driver pay to handle the shift in business mix discussed previously. New administrative hires and 2015 pay increases accounted for an additional $0.6 increase from the same period in 2014 and the remaining increase of $0.4 million was due to increases in health insurance costs.

TQI

TQI salaries, wages and employee benefits increased $0.7 million, or 17.1%, to $4.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to $4.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014.  As a percentage of TQI operating revenue, salaries, wages and benefits increased to 20.8% for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 16.6% for the same period in 2014. Higher utilization of Company-employed drivers accounted for $0.4 million of the increase in salaries, wages and benefits for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. Company-employed driver utilization increased in conjunction with new tractors purchased during the first quarter of 2015 as TQI moved more loads with company drivers instead of more costly third party carriers. Higher health insurance costs accounted for another $0.4 million on higher health claims than the previous year. Partially offsetting these increases is a $0.1 million decrease in administrative wages.

Operating Leases

Operating leases increased $17.6 million, or 106.7%, to $34.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $16.5 million for the same period in 2014.  Operating leases, the largest component of which is facility rent, were 7.5% of consolidated operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 4.5% in the same period of 2014.

Forward Air

Operating leases increased $17.8 million to $29.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $12.0 million for the same period in 2014.  Operating leases were 7.8% of Forward Air operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 4.2% for the same period in 2014.  Following the acquisition of Towne, $9.9 million was incurred primarily for reserves on vacated duplicate facilities and unused equipment leases. The remaining $7.9 million is due to $2.5 million in additional facility lease expenses and a $1.6 million increase in truck, trailer and equipment rentals and leases, all primarily as a result of the Towne acquisition. Facility and equipment leases associated a full six months of CST and related acquisitions accounted for the final $3.8 million of the increase in operating leases.

FASI

Operating leases decreased $0.3 million, or 6.7%, to $4.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $4.5 million for the same period in 2014.  Operating leases were 7.7% of FASI operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 8.3% in the same period of 2014.  Operating leases decreased due to a $0.3 million reduction in truck and trailers rentals in favor of new Company-owned equipment purchased during 2014.




39
Table of Contents


TQI

TQI incurred $0.1 million for operating leases during the six months ended June 30, 2015. The only on-going lease activity was for the TQI corporate headquarters.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization increased $3.5 million, or 23.8%, to $18.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $14.7 million for the same period in 2014.  Depreciation and amortization was 4.0% of consolidated operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014.

Forward Air

Depreciation and amortization increased $2.9 million, or 28.2%, to $13.2 million during the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $10.3 million in the same period of 2014.  Depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of Forward Air operating revenue was 3.5% during the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 3.6% in the same period of 2014.  Amortization on acquired Towne intangible assets and a full six months of CST amortization increased amortization expense by $1.3 million. The remaining increase was primarily the result of new trailers, tractors and forklifts purchased in 2014.

FASI

FASI depreciation and amortization increased $0.4 million, or 14.8%, to $3.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $2.7 million for the same period of 2014.  Depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of FASI operating revenue was 5.6% during the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 5.0% in the same period of 2014. The increase in FASI depreciation in total dollars is attributable to tractors, conveyors and conveyor improvements purchased since the second quarter of 2014.

TQI

TQI depreciation and amortization increased $0.2 million, or 11.8%, to $1.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to $1.7 million for the same period of 2014.  Depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of TQI operating revenue was 8.2% during the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 6.9% in the same period of 2014. The increase in depreciation and amortization is due to the purchase of new tractors since the second quarter of 2014.

Insurance and Claims

Insurance and claims expense increased $4.1 million, or 56.9%, to $11.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $7.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014.  Insurance and claims were 2.5% of consolidated operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 2.0% for the same period of 2014.

Forward Air

Forward Air insurance and claims expense increased $3.6 million, or 65.5%, to $9.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $5.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014.  Insurance and claims were 2.4% of operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 1.9% for the same period of 2014. Approximately $0.6 million of the increase was attributable to insurance and claims associated with a full six months of CST and related acquisitions. Forward Air costs also increased approximately $3.0 million due primarily to a $2.3 million increase in our vehicle claim reserves. The vehicle claim reserves increased due to adverse development of older claims and the corresponding increase to our loss development factors required by our bi-annual actuary analysis of vehicle claims. The remaining increase is attributable to $0.3 million in vehicle accident damage repairs and cargo claims and $0.4 million in claims related legal and professional fees.

FASI

FASI insurance and claims expense increased $0.5 million, or 38.5%, to $1.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $1.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014.   FASI insurance and claims were 3.3% of operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 2.4% for the same period in 2014. The increase in FASI insurance and claims in total dollars was attributable to a $0.4 million increase in cargo claims and a $0.1 increase in vehicle insurance premiums.




40
Table of Contents



TQI

TQI insurance and claims were $0.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 .  Insurance and claims expense as a percentage of TQI operating revenue was 1.7% for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 1.6% for the same period in 2014. TQI insurance and claims are primarily composed of vehicle insurance premiums as TQI is fully insured.

Fuel Expense

Fuel expense decreased $1.7 million, or 17.0%, to $8.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 20155 from $10.0 million in the same period of 2014.  Fuel expense was 2.0% of consolidated operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 2.7% for the same period in 2014.

Forward Air

Fuel expense decreased $0.2 million, or 4.9%, to $3.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $4.1 million for the same period in 2014.  Fuel expense was 1.0% of Forward Air operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 1.4% in the same period of 2014. The decrease in fuel expense was attributable to a decrease in fuel price per gallon compared to the same period in 2014. The decrease in fuel prices was partly offset by the impact of the Towne acquisition.

FASI

FASI fuel expense decreased $0.9 million, or 25.7%, to $2.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $3.5 million in the same period of 2014.  Fuel expenses were 4.7% of FASI operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 6.5% in the second quarter of 2014.  FASI fuel expenses decreased due to a decline in year-over-year fuel prices.

TQI

TQI fuel expense decreased $0.6 million, or 25.0%, to $1.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $2.4 million for the same period of 2014.  Fuel expense as a percentage of TQI operating revenue was 7.8% for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 9.7% in the same period of 2014. The decrease was attributable to a decline in year-over-year fuel prices and was slightly offset by an increase in company driver miles.
 
Other Operating Expenses

Other operating expenses increased $12.0 million, or 38.8%, to $42.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $30.9 million in the same period of 2014.  Other operating expenses were 9.4% of consolidated operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 8.5% in the same period of 2014.

Forward Air

Other operating expenses increased $11.8 million, or 50.2%, to $35.3 million during the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $23.5 million in the same period of 2014.  Other operating expenses were 9.3% of Forward Air operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 8.1% in the same period of 2014.  Approximately $2.0 million of the increase was attributable to other operating expenses associated with a full six months of CST and related acquisitions. Also included in the increase was $4.3 million of transaction and integration related costs incurred for the acquisition of Towne. The remaining increase was attributable to variable costs, such as vehicle maintenance and dock and terminal supplies, which increased in conjunction with the Towne related volume increases discussed previously.

FASI

FASI other operating expenses increased $0.5 million, or 7.5% , to $7.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to $6.7 million for the same period of 2014.  FASI other operating expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2015 were 13.1% compared to 12.3% for the same period of 2014.  FASI's increase as a percent of revenue was partly due to agent station costs which increased due to a shift in customer shipping destinations to our agent station locations. Vehicle and dock maintenance costs and travel expenses made up the remaining increase, largely due to opening a new facility in the second quarter of 2015.




41
Table of Contents



TQI

TQI other operating expenses was $1.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014.  Other operating expenses as a percentage of TQI operating revenue was 4.8% for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 4.5% in the same period of 2014. TQI other operating expenses included a gain of the sale of old trailers for $0.2 million, but this was offset by 2014 including a reduction of expenses associated with a settlement of state tax issues in which the penalties required to be paid were less than the amounts previously accrued.
 
Intercompany Eliminations

Intercompany eliminations increased to $0.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 from $0.4 million for the same period in 2014.   These intercompany eliminations are the result of handling services our segments provided each other during the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014. 

Income from Operations

Income from operations decreased by $15.7 million, or 35.8%, to $28.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to $43.9 million in the same period of 2014. Income from operations was 6.2% of consolidated operating revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 12.0% in the same period of 2014.

Forward Air

Income from operations decreased by $14.6 million, or 36.0%, to $26.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared with $40.6 million for the same period in 2014.  Income from operations as a percentage of Forward Air operating revenue was 6.8% for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 14.1% in the same period of 2014. The deterioration in income from operations was mostly due to $18.7 million of Towne transaction and integration related costs as well as increased networks costs attributable to the Towne acquisition. The deterioration was partially offset by CST's higher operating income as 2015 included a full six months of CST and related acquisitions.
  
FASI

FASI’s income from operations decreased by $0.7 million, or 70.0%, to $0.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared with $1.0 million for the same period in 2014.  Income from operations as a percentage of FASI operating revenue was 0.6% for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to 1.8% in the same period of 2014.  The decline in FASI operating income was primarily the result of increases in health insurance costs, cargo claims and costs associated with opening a new facility.

TQI

Income from operations was $1.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to $2.3 million for the second quarter of 2014.  Income from operations as a percentage of TQI's operating revenue was 8.2% for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared with 9.3% in the same period of 2014. Deterioration in income from operations as percentage of revenue was mainly attributable to reduced revenue and increased health insurance costs.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $0.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to $0.2 million for the same period of 2014. Increase in interest expense was attributable to interest costs related to the financing of the Towne acquisition.

Other, net

Other, net expenses were $0.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to other income of $0.2 million for June 30, 2014. Other, net primarily represents unrealized gains and losses on trading securities held.

Income Taxes

The combined federal and state effective tax rate for the second quarter of 2015 was 38.5% compared to a rate of 37.6% for the same period in 2014.  The increase in our effective tax rate was primarily due to large non-deductible Towne acquisition costs

42
Table of Contents


incurred in 2015. The prior year quarter also benefited from the settlement of certain TQI related state tax matters and the amounts required to be paid being approximately $0.1 million less than what was previously reserved.

Net Income

As a result of the foregoing factors, net income decreased by $10.7 million, or 39.1%, to $16.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to $27.4 million for the same period in 2014.
 

Critical Accounting Policies

Our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).  The preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires our management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes.  Our estimates and assumptions are based on historical experience and changes in the business environment.  However, actual results may differ from estimates under different conditions, sometimes materially.  Critical accounting policies and estimates are defined as those that are both most important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results and require management’s most subjective judgments.  A summary of significant accounting policies is disclosed in Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our critical accounting policies are further described under the caption “Discussion of Critical Accounting Policies” in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Valuation of Goodwill

We test our goodwill for impairment annually or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate impairment may exist. Examples of such events or circumstances could include a significant change in business climate or a loss of significant customers. We complete our annual analysis of our reporting units as of the last day of our second quarter, June 30th. We first consider our operating segment and related components in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Goodwill is allocated to operating segments that are expected to benefit from the business combinations generating the goodwill. We have four reporting units - Forward Air, CST, FASI and TQI. In evaluating reporting units, we first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of either of its reporting units is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. When performing the qualitative assessment, we consider the impact of factors including, but not limited to, macroeconomic and industry conditions, overall financial performance of each reporting unit, litigation and new legislation. If based on the qualitative assessments we believe it is more likely than not that the fair value of either reporting unit is less than the reporting unit's carrying amount, or as periodically deemed appropriate by management, we will prepare an estimation of the respective reporting unit's fair value. If this estimation of fair value indicates that impairment potentially exists, we will then measure the amount of the impairment, if any. Goodwill impairment exists when the calculated implied fair value of goodwill is less than its carrying value.

We determine the fair value of our reporting units based on a combination of a market approach, which considers comparable companies, and the income approach, using a discounted cash flow model. Under the market approach, valuation multiples are derived based on a selection of comparable companies and applied to projected operating data for each reporting unit to arrive at an indication of fair value. Under the income approach, the discounted cash flow model determines fair value based on the present value of management prepared projected cash flows over a specific projection period and a residual value related to future cash flows beyond the projection period. Both values are discounted using a rate which reflects our best estimate of the weighted average cost of capital of a market participant and are adjusted for appropriate risk factors. We believe the most sensitive estimate used in our income approach is the management prepared projected cash flows. As deemed appropriate by management, we perform sensitivity tests to ensure reductions of the present value of the projected cash flows by at least 10% would not adversely impact the results of the goodwill impairment tests. Historically, we have equally weighted the income and market approaches as we believed the quality and quantity of the collected information were approximately equal.

In 2015, we performed a fair value estimation for each operating segment. Our 2015 calculations for Forward Air, CST, FASI and TQI indicated that, as of June 30, 2015, the fair value of each reporting unit exceeded their carrying value by approximately 217.0%, 20.0%, 93.0% and 16.0%, respectively. For our 2015 analysis, the significant assumptions used for the income approach were 10 years of projected net cash flows and the following discount and long-term growth rates:


43
Table of Contents


 
Forward Air
CST
FASI
TQI
Discount rate
13.0%
13.5%
16.0%
16.0%
Long-term growth rate
5.0%
4.0%
5.0%
4.0%

Impact of Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the FASB issued guidance on revenue from contracts with customers that will supersede most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. The underlying principle is that an entity will recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers at an amount that the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. The guidance provides a five-step analysis of transactions to determine when and how revenue is recognized. Other major provisions include capitalization of certain contract costs, consideration of time value of money in the transaction price, and allowing estimates of variable consideration to be recognized before contingencies are resolved in certain circumstances. The guidance also requires enhanced disclosures regarding the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from an entity’s contracts with customers. The guidance is effective for the interim and annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2017 (early adoption is permitted for interim and annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2016). The guidance permits the use of either a retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. We have not yet selected a transition method and are currently evaluating the impact of the amended guidance on our consolidated financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
 
We have historically financed our working capital needs, including capital expenditures, with cash flows from operations and borrowings under our bank lines of credit. Net cash provided by operating activities totaled approximately $18.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to approximately $39.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014. The $20.6 million decrease in cash provided by operating activities is mainly attributable to a $9.6 million decrease in net earnings after consideration of non-cash items and a $18.8 million increase in cash used to fund accounts payable and prepaid assets, net of a $7.8 million increase in cash collected from accounts receivable. The decrease in net earnings after consideration of non-cash items is primarily attributable to the decrease in net income, which was driven by Towne acquisition and integration costs previously discussed.The increases in cash used for accounts payable and prepaid assets is mainly attributable to cash paid to settle trade payables assumed with the Towne acquisition. The increases in cash received from accounts receivables are attributable to the collection of acquired Towne trade receivables.

Net cash used in investing activities was approximately $73.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared with approximately $116.1 million used in investing activities during the six months ended June 30, 2014. Investing activities during the six months ended June 30, 2015 consisted primarily of $62.4 million used to acquire Towne and net capital expenditures of $11.3 million primarily for new tractors and trailers to replace aging units.  Investing activities during the six months ended June 30, 2014 consisted primarily of $83.0 million used to acquire CST and net capital expenditures of $33.0 million primarily for new trailers, vehicles and forklifts to replace aging units. The proceeds from disposal of property and equipment during the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014 were primarily from sales of older trailers and vehicles.
  
Net cash provided by financing activities totaled approximately $56.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared with net cash used in financing activities of $25.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014.  The $81.8 million change in cash from financing activities was attributable to $125.0 million of proceeds from executing a two year term loan in conjunction with the Towne acquisition partly offset by a $63.7 million increase in payments on debt and capital leases. Additionally, there was a $0.5 million increase in cash from employee stock transactions and related tax benefits. Payments on debt and capital leases increased as the result of higher debt assumed and settled with the acquisition of Towne as compared to CST. The prior year also included $20.0 million used to repurchase shares of our common stock, with none purchased during the first six months of 2015.

On February 4, 2015, we entered into a five-year senior, unsecured credit facility (the “Facility”) with a maximum aggregate principal amount of $275.0 million, including a revolving credit facility of $150.0 million and a term loan facility of $125.0 million. The revolving credit facility has a sublimit of $25.0 million for letters of credit and a sublimit of $15.0 million for swing line loans. The revolving credit facility is scheduled to expire in February 2020 and may be used to refinance our existing indebtedness and for working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes. Unless we elect otherwise under the credit agreement, interest on borrowings under the Facility are based on the highest of (a) the federal funds rate plus 0.5%, (b) the administrative agent's prime rate and (c) the LIBOR Rate plus 1.0%, in each case plus a margin that can range from 0.1% to 0.6% with respect to the term loan facility and from 0.3% to 0.8% with respect to the revolving credit facility depending on our ratio of consolidated funded indebtedness to earnings as set forth in the credit agreement. The Facility contains financial covenants and other covenants that, among other things, restrict our ability, without the approval of the lenders, to engage in certain mergers,

44
Table of Contents


consolidations, asset sales, investments, transactions or to incur liens or indebtedness, as set forth in the credit agreement. As of June 30, 2015, we had no borrowings outstanding under the revolving credit facility. At June 30, 2015, we had utilized $13.7 of availability for outstanding letters of credit and had $136.3 of available borrowing capacity outstanding under the revolving credit facility.

In conjunction with the acquisition of Towne, we borrowed $125.0 million on the available term loan. The term loan is payable in quarterly installments of 11.1% of the original principal amount of the term loan plus accrued and unpaid interest, and matures in March 2017. The interest rate on the term loan was 1.3% at June 30, 2015.

On February 7, 2014, our Board of Directors approved a new stock repurchase authorization for up to two million shares of our common stock. There were no shares repurchased during for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015. During the three months ended June 30, 2014, we repurchased 446,986 for $19,985, or $44.71 per share. As of June 30, 2015, 1,118,021 shares remain that may be repurchased.

During each quarter of 2014 and the first and second quarters of 2015, our Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.12 per share of common stock. We expect to continue to pay regular quarterly cash dividends, though each subsequent quarterly dividend is subject to review and approval by the Board of Directors.

We believe that our available cash, investments, expected cash generated from future operations and borrowings under the available credit facility will be sufficient to satisfy our anticipated cash needs for at least the next twelve months.

Forward-Looking Statements

This report contains “forward-looking statements,” as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical information or statements of current condition and relate to future events or our future financial performance.  Some forward-looking statements may be identified by use of such terms as “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “projects” or “expects.”  Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  The following is a list of factors, among others, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements: economic factors such as recessions, inflation, higher interest rates and downturns in customer business cycles, our inability to maintain our historical growth rate because of a decreased volume of freight moving through our network or decreased average revenue per pound of freight moving through our network, increasing competition and pricing pressure, surplus inventories, loss of a major customer, the creditworthiness of our customers and their ability to pay for services rendered, our ability to secure terminal facilities in desirable locations at reasonable rates, the inability of our information systems to handle an increased volume of freight moving through our network, changes in fuel prices, claims for property damage, personal injuries or workers’ compensation, employment matters including rising health care costs, enforcement of and changes in governmental regulations, environmental and tax matters, the handling of hazardous materials, the availability and compensation of qualified independent owner-operators and freight handlers needed to serve our transportation needs and our inability to successfully integrate acquisitions. As a result of the foregoing, no assurance can be given as to future financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.  We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.


45

Item 3.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

Our exposure to market risk related to our outstanding debt is not significant and has not changed materially since December 31, 2014.

Item 4.
Controls and Procedures.

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We maintain controls and procedures designed to ensure that we are able to collect the information required to be disclosed in the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and to process, summarize and disclose this information within the time periods specified in the rules of the SEC. Based on an evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report conducted by management, with the participation of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer believe that these controls and procedures are effective to ensure that we are able to collect, process and disclose the information we are required to disclose in the reports we file with the SEC within the required time periods.

Changes in Internal Control

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the six months ended June 30, 2015 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Part II.
Other Information
 
 
Item 1.
Legal Proceedings.

From time to time, we are a party to ordinary, routine litigation incidental to and arising in the normal course of our business, most of which involve claims for personal injury and property damage related to the transportation and handling of freight, or workers’ compensation. We do not believe that any of these pending actions, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Item 1A.
Risk Factors.

A summary of factors which could affect results and cause results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by us, or on our behalf, are further described under the caption “Risk Factors” in the Business portion of our 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K. There have been no changes in the nature of these factors since December 31, 2014.


46

Item 2.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.

Not applicable.
Item 3.
Defaults Upon Senior Securities.

Not applicable.

Item 4.
Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

Item 5.
Other Information.

Not applicable.


47
Table of Contents


Item 6.
Exhibits.

In accordance with SEC Release No. 33-8212, Exhibits 32.1 and 32.2 are to be treated as “accompanying” this report rather than “filed” as part of the report.
 
No.
 
Exhibit
3.1
 
Restated Charter of the registrant (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 28, 1999 (File No. 0-22490))
3.2
 
Amended and Restated Bylaws of the registrant (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3-1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on July 6, 2009 (File No. 0-22490))
4.1
 
Form of Forward Air Corporation Common Stock Certificate (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 1998, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 16, 1998 (File No. 0-22490))
10.1
 
Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated February 4, 2015 by and among CLP Towne Inc., Forward Air, Inc., FAC Subsidiary, Inc., ZM Private Equity Fund I, L.P., as the Equity Holders' Representative, and the Indemnifying Equity Holders party therto (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 5, 2015 (File No. 0-22490))
10.2
 
Credit Agreement dated February 4, 2015 among Forward Air Corporation and Forward Air, Inc., as borrowers, the subsidiaries of the borrowers identified therein, Bank of America, N.A., First Tennessee Bank, N.A. and the other lenders party thereto (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 5, 2015 (File No. 0-22490))
10.3
 
First Amendment dated June 19, 2015 to the Credit Agreement dated February 4, 2015 among Forward Air Corporation and Forward Air, Inc., as borrowers, the subsidiaries of the borrowers identified therein, Bank of America, N.A., First Tennessee Bank, N.A. and the other lenders party thereto
31.1
 
Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a) (17 CFR 240.13a-14(a))
31.2
 
Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a) (17 CFR 240.13a-14(a))
32.1
 
Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.2
 
Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
101.INS
 
XBRL Instance Document 
101.SCH
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema 
101.CAL
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase 
101.DEF
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase 
101.LAB
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase 
101.PRE
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase 


48
Table of Contents



Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 
 
Forward Air Corporation
Date: July 24, 2015
By: 
/s/ Rodney L. Bell
 
 
Rodney L. Bell
Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President and Treasurer
(Principal Financial Officer)


 
By: 
/s/ Michael P. McLean
 
 
Michael P. McLean
Chief Accounting Officer, Vice President and Controller
(Principal Accounting Officer)


49

EXHIBIT INDEX

No.
 
Exhibit
3.1
 
Restated Charter of the registrant (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 28, 1999 (File No. 0-22490))
3.2
 
Amended and Restated Bylaws of the registrant (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3-1 to the registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on July 6, 2009 (File No. 0-22490))
4.1
 
Form of Forward Air Corporation Common Stock Certificate (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 1998, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 16, 1998 (File No. 0-22490))
10.1
 
Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated February 4, 2015 by and among CLP Towne Inc., Forward Air, Inc., FAC Subsidiary, Inc., ZM Private Equity Fund I, L.P., as the Equity Holders' Representative, and the Indemnifying Equity Holders party therto (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 5, 2015 (File No. 0-22490))
10.2
 
Credit Agreement dated February 4, 2015 among Forward Air Corporation and Forward Air, Inc., as borrowers, the subsidiaries of the borrowers identified therein, Bank of America, N.A., First Tennessee Bank, N.A. and the other lenders party thereto (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 5, 2015 (File No. 0-22490))
10.3
 
First Amendment dated June 19, 2015 to the Credit Agreement dated February 4, 2015 among Forward Air Corporation and Forward Air, Inc., as borrowers, the subsidiaries of the borrowers identified therein, Bank of America, N.A., First Tennessee Bank, N.A. and the other lenders party thereto
31.1
 
Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a) (17 CFR 240.13a-14(a))
31.2
 
Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a) (17 CFR 240.13a-14(a))
32.1
 
Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.2
 
Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
101.INS
 
XBRL Instance Document 
101.SCH
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema 
101.CAL
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase 
101.DEF
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase 
101.LAB
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase 
101.PRE
 
XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase 


50