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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

(1) Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Saia, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (together, the Company or Saia).  All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in the condensed consolidated financial statements.

The condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company without audit by the independent registered public accounting firm.  In the opinion of management, all normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the condensed consolidated balance sheets, statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the interim periods included herein have been made.  These interim condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information, the instructions to Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X.  Certain information and note disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles have been condensed or omitted from these statements.  The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.  Operating results for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations that may be expected for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Business

The Company provides regional and interregional less-than-truckload (LTL) services through a single integrated organization.  While more than 97 percent of its revenue has been derived from transporting LTL shipments across 44 states, the Company also offers customers a wide range of other value-added services, including non-asset truckload, expedited and logistics services across North America.  The Company’s customer base is diversified across numerous industries.

Revenue Recognition

The Company’s revenues are derived primarily from the transportation of freight as it satisfies performance obligations that arise from contracts with its customers.  The Company’s performance obligations arise when it receives a bill of lading (“BOL”) to transport a customer's commodities at negotiated prices contained in either a transportation services agreement or a publicly disclosed tariff rate. Once a BOL is received, a legally-enforceable contract is formed whereby the parties are committed to perform and the rights of the parties, shipping terms and conditions, and payment terms have been identified. A customer may submit many BOLs for transportation services at various times throughout a service agreement term but each shipment represents a distinct service that is a separately identified performance obligation.

The average transit time to complete a shipment is from 1 to 5 days.  Billing for transportation services normally occurs after completion of the service and payment is generally due within 30 days after the invoice date. The Company recognizes revenue related to the Company’s LTL, non-asset truckload and expedited services over the transit time of the shipment as it moves from origin to destination. Revenue for services started but not completed at the reporting date is recognized on actual transit status in each reporting period.

Key estimates included in the recognition and measurement of revenue and related accounts receivable are as follows:

 

Revenue associated with shipments in transit is recognized ratably over transit time; and

 

Adjustments to revenue for billing adjustments and collectability.

The portion of the gross invoice related to interline transportation services that involve the services of another party, such as another LTL service provider, is not recorded in the Company’s revenues.  Revenue from logistics services is recognized as the services are provided.

Remaining performance obligations represent the transaction price allocated to future reporting periods for freight services started but not completed at the reporting date. This includes the unearned portion of billed and unbilled amounts for freight shipments in transit that the Company expects to recognize as revenue in the period subsequent to the reporting date, which is on average less than one week.  The Company has elected to apply the optional exemption in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 606 as it pertains to additional quantitative disclosures pertaining to remaining performance obligations.  

Claims and Insurance Accruals

Effective March 1, 2018, the Company entered into a new bodily injury and property damage liability policy with a three-year term. Generally, the Company is responsible for the risk retention amount per occurrence of $2.0 million under the new policy.  Thereafter, the policy provides insurance coverage for a single loss of $8.0 million, an aggregate loss limit of $24.0 million for each policy year, and a $48.0 million aggregate loss limit for the 36-month term ended March 1, 2021.  Under the policy the Company may elect to commute the policy with respect to the first 12 months of the policy term and concurrently extend the policy for an additional one-year period if paid losses in the first 12 months of the policy are less than $5.2 million.  In August 2019, the Company elected to commute the policy for such period. As a result, the Company received a return of $5.2 million of the premium paid (the maximum return premium available), based on the amount of claims paid and the insurer was released from all liability in connection with claims occurring in such 12-month period.  The Company is now self-insured for the first $10 million per occurrence with respect to such 12-month period and the policy has been extended for one additional year to March 1, 2022.  As a result of the return premium and policy extension, the Company recognized a $0.5 million reduction in insurance premium expense in the third quarter of 2020.  The Company will continue to recognize the remainder of the return premium as a reduction in insurance premium expense ratably over the remainder of the policy period now ending March 1, 2022.  In addition, commencing on August 30, 2022, the Company may elect to commute the policy with respect to the insurer’s entire liability under the policy in which case the Company would be entitled to a return of a portion of the premium paid, up to $15.6 million, based on the amount of claims paid and the insurer would be released from all liability under the policy ending March 1, 2022.  As a result, if the Company elects to commute the policy as to the entire policy term, the Company would be self-insured for $10 million per occurrence for such period.  Additionally, the Company may be required to pay an additional premium of up to $11.0 million if losses paid by the insurer are greater than $15.6 million over the three-year policy period ending March 1, 2022. Based on claims experience since inception of the policy, no such additional premium was accrued at September 30, 2020.

Accounting Pronouncements Adopted in 2020

In 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments.” Under this ASU an entity is required to utilize an “expected credit loss model” on certain financial instruments, including trade and financing receivables. This model requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information and requires an entity to estimate expected credit losses over the lifetime of the asset. This standard became effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company adopted the standard effective January 1, 2020 and upon adoption this standard did not have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements or related disclosures.