Old Dominion Freight Line saw first quarter net income increase 36.3% from a year earlier, totaling $62.5 million, driven by expansion in its market share and a new record in first-quarter operating ratio for the LTL carrier.

Diluted earnings per share increased 37.7% to 73 cents while revenue moved 12.2% higher to $696.2 million for the North Carolina-based fleet.

“Old Dominion began 2015 with another quarter of outstanding performance in terms of first quarter revenue, operating ratio and net income per diluted share,” said David S. Congdon, president and CEO. “We produced strong profitable growth driven by further expansion in our market share."

ODLF said its revenue growth for the first quarter of 2015 was mainly due to an 11.4% increase in LTL tons per day as compared to the same quarter last year, which reflected a 13.5% increase in LTL shipments, partially offset by a 1.8% decline in LTL weight per shipment.

LTL revenue per hundredweight increased 0.4%, as LTL revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharges, increased 6.2%, reflecting a favorable pricing environment as well as the positive impact on this metric from the decrease in weight per shipment, according to the company.

“The combination of the increases in yield and tonnage density contributed to the 200 basis point year-over-year improvement in our operating ratio,” said Congdon. “Our 85.1% operating ratio was a new first quarter record for us, which we achieved despite the impact of severe winter weather and increased costs associated with a slight decline in productivity.”