Old Dominion Freight (ODFL) Risk Factors

Our business is highly capital intensive. As further described in Part II, Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we generally finance our capital expenditures and planned growth with existing cash, cash flows from operations, issuance of debt (including pursuant to our note purchase and private shelf agreement) and through available borrowings under our existing senior unsecured credit agreement. We may require additional capital to finance long-term real estate purchase opportunities and acquisitions, which we may fund through additional debt or through equity offerings. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash from our operations or raise capital by accessing the debt and equity markets, we may be forced to limit our growth and operate our equipment for longer periods of time, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results. Our business also has significant ongoing operating cash requirements. If our cash requirements are high or our cash flows from operations is low during particular periods, we may need to seek additional financing, which could be costly or difficult to obtain.

We are regulated by the DOT and by various state and federal agencies. These regulatory authorities have broad powers over matters relating to authorized motor carrier operations, as well as motor carrier registration, driver hours of service, safety and fitness of transportation equipment and drivers, transportation of hazardous materials, certain mergers and acquisitions and periodic financial reporting. The trucking industry is also subject to regulatory and legislative changes from a variety of other governmental authorities, which address matters such as increasingly stringent environmental regulations, occupational safety and health regulations, limits on vehicle weight and size, ergonomics, port security, and driver hours of service. We are also subject to the costs and potential adverse impact of compliance associated with FMCSA's ELD regulations and guidance, including the operation of our fleet and safety management systems on the ELD hardware and software platform. In addition, we are subject to compliance with cargo-security and transportation regulations issued by the TSA and CBP within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Regulatory requirements and changes in regulatory requirements or guidance, together with the growing compliance risks presented by increased differences between applicable federal and state regulations, may affect our business or the economics of the industry by requiring changes in operating practices that could influence the demand for and increase the costs of providing transportation services.

The nature of our business exposes us to the potential for various legal proceedings and claims related to labor and employment, personal injury, property damage, cargo claims, safety and contract compliance, environmental liability and other matters. Accordingly, we are, and in the future may be, subject to legal proceedings and claims that have arisen in the ordinary course of our business, and may include collective and/or class action allegations. We have been, and in the future may again be, subject to potential governmental inquiries, notices or investigations, which also exposes us to the potential for various claims and legal proceedings. The parties in such actions may seek amounts from us that may not be covered in whole or in part by insurance. Defending ourselves against such actions could result in significant costs and could require a substantial amount of time and effort by our management team. We cannot predict the outcome of legal proceedings and claims, governmental inquiries, notices or investigations to which we are a party or whether we will be subject to future legal actions. As a result, the potential costs associated with any such matters could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Taxes are a significant part of our expenses. We are subject to U.S. federal and state income, payroll, property, sales and use, fuel, and other types of taxes. Changes to tax laws and regulations or changes to the interpretation thereof, or the ambiguity of tax laws and regulations, the subjectivity of factual interpretations, higher tax rates, claims, audits, investigations or legal proceedings involving taxing authorities, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows.

We arrange for transportation and logistics services to and from various international locations and are subject to both the risks of conducting international business and the requirements of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (the "FCPA"). Failure to comply with the FCPA may result in legal claims against us. In addition, we face other risks associated with international operations and relationships, which may include restrictive trade policies, the renegotiation of international trade agreements, imposition of duties, taxes or government royalties imposed by foreign governments, which could adversely affect our business.

The LTL and transportation industry may be impacted by rapid changes in technologies. Our competitors may implement new technology, including artificial intelligence applications, that could improve their service, price, available capacity or business relationships and increase their market share. If we do not appropriately adapt our operations to these new technologies, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may suffer.

We rely heavily on the proper functioning and availability of our information systems for our operations as well as for providing value-added services to our customers. Our information systems, including our accounting, communications and data processing systems, are integral to the efficient operation of our business. It is critical that the data processed by these systems remains confidential, as it often includes competitive customer information, confidential customer payment and transaction information, employee records and key financial and operational results and statistics. The sophistication of efforts by hackers, foreign governments, cyber-terrorists, and cyber-criminals, acting individually or in coordinated groups, to launch distributed denial of service attacks or other coordinated attacks that may cause service outages, gain inappropriate or block legitimate access to systems or information, or result in other business interruptions has continued to increase. The rapid evolution and increased adoption of artificial intelligence technologies may also intensify our cybersecurity risks. We utilize third-party service providers who have access to our systems and certain sensitive data, which exposes us to additional security risks, particularly given the complex and evolving laws and regulations regarding privacy and data protection. While we and our third-party service providers have experienced cyber-attacks and attempted breaches of our and their information technology systems and networks or similar events from time to time, no such incidents have been, individually or in the aggregate, material to us. Cyber incidents that impact the security, availability, reliability, speed, accuracy or other proper functioning of our systems, information and measures, including outages, computer viruses, break-ins and similar disruptions, could have a significant impact on our operations. We have security processes, protocols and standards in place to protect our information systems, including through physical and software safeguards, as well as redundant systems, network security measures and backup systems. Nevertheless, it is difficult to fully protect against the possibility of power loss, telecommunications failures, cyber-attacks, and other cyber incidents in every potential circumstance that may arise. A significant cyber incident, including system failure, security breach, disruption by malware or ransomware, or other damage, could interrupt or delay our operations, damage our reputation and brand, cause a loss of customers, expose us to a risk of loss or litigation, result in regulatory scrutiny, investigations, actions, fines or penalties and/or cause us to incur significant time and expense to remedy such an event, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial position. Furthermore, any failure to comply with data privacy, security or other laws and regulations, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act and other similar laws that have been or are expected to be enacted in the United States, at both the federal and state level, could result in claims, legal or regulatory proceedings, inquiries or investigations. As cyber threats are continually evolving, our controls and procedures may become inadequate and we may be required to devote additional resources to modifying or enhancing our systems in the future. Furthermore, while we maintain insurance intended to address costs associated with aspects of cyber incidents, network failures and data privacy-related concerns, we cannot be certain that we will continue to be able to obtain excess insurance coverage in amounts we deem sufficient, our insurance carriers will pay on our insurance claims, or we will not experience a claim for which coverage is not provided.

We rely heavily on information technology systems. Our information technology systems are complex and require ongoing investments and enhancements to meet both internal requirements and the requirements of our customers. If we are unable to invest in and enhance or modernize our technology systems in a timely manner or at a reasonable cost, or if we are unable to train our employees to operate the new, enhanced or modernized systems, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. We also may not achieve the benefits that we anticipate from any new technology or new or modernized system, and a failure to do so could result in higher than anticipated costs or adversely affect our results of operations. Our information technology systems also depend upon the Internet, third-party service providers, global communications providers, satellite-based communications systems, the electric utilities grid, electric utility providers and telecommunications providers. We have minimal control over the operation, quality, or maintenance of these services or whether vendors will improve their services or continue to provide services that are essential to our business. Disruptions due to transitional challenges in upgrading or enhancing our technology systems; failures in the services upon which our information technology platforms rely, including those that may arise from adverse weather conditions or natural calamities, including but not limited to storms, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes or tornadoes; illegal acts, including terrorist attacks; human error or systems modernization initiatives; and/or other disruptions, may adversely affect our business, which could increase our costs or result in a loss of customers that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Our industry, faced with requirements for faster deliveries and increased visibility into shipments, is rapidly evolving and increasingly competitive. Numerous competitive factors could impair our ability to maintain our current profitability. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: - we compete with other transportation service providers of varying sizes, some of which may have more equipment, a broader global network and brand recognition, a wider range of services, more fully developed information technology systems, greater capital resources or other competitive advantages;- some of our competitors may reduce their prices to gain business, especially during times of reduced growth rates in the economy, which may limit our ability to maintain or increase prices or maintain revenue;- we may be unable to continue to collect fuel surcharges or our fuel surcharge program may become ineffective in mitigating the impact of the fluctuating costs of fuel and other petroleum-based products;- many customers reduce the number of carriers they use by selecting "core carriers" as approved transportation service providers and we may not be selected;- many customers periodically accept bids from multiple carriers for their shipping needs, and this process may depress prices or result in the loss of some business to competitors;- some shippers may choose to acquire their own trucking fleet or may choose to increase the volume of freight they transport if they have an existing trucking fleet;- some customers may choose to consolidate certain LTL shipments through a different mode of transportation, such as truckload, intermodal or rail;- some customers may perceive our environmental, social and governance ("ESG") profile to be less robust than that of our competitors, which could influence the selection of their carrier;- our customers may manage their inventory levels more closely to a "just-in-time" basis, which may increase our costs and adversely affect our ability to meet our customers' needs;- consolidation in the ground transportation industry may create other large carriers with greater financial resources to use in operations and other competitive advantages relating to their size;- advances in technology require increased investments to remain competitive, technological transitions may cause operational challenges and our customers may not be willing to accept higher prices to cover the cost of these investments;- large transportation and e-commerce companies are making significant investments in their capabilities to compete with us;- competition from non-asset-based logistics and freight brokerage companies may adversely affect our customer relationships and ability to maintain sufficient pricing; and - our existing or future competitors may adopt emerging or additional technologies that improve their operating effectiveness, which could negatively affect our ability to remain competitive. If we are unable to effectively compete with other LTL carriers, whether on the basis of price, service, brand recognition or otherwise, we may be unable to retain existing customers or attract new customers, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, continued merger and acquisition or other transaction activity in transportation and logistics could result in stronger or new competitors, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may not be able to compete successfully in an increasingly consolidated LTL industry and cannot predict with certainty how industry consolidation will affect our competitors or us.