News Briefs - April 17
The Latest Headlines:
- Cummins Widened First-Quarter Loss
- Landstar System Boosts 1Q Earnings
- USA Truck Posts Quarterly Loss, Without Surcharge Revenue
- Marten Shows Record 1Q Revenues
- Initial Jobless Claims Rise Close to 2003 High
- Transport Corp. of America Slashes Net Loss
- Knight Transportation Boost 1Q Profit
- Heartland Boosts Income by 15.9% in First Quarter
- Landstar System Boosts 1Q Earnings
Cummins Widened First-Quarter Loss
Diesel engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. said Thursday that its net loss in the first quarter widened to $34 million.The loss of 86 cents per share was larger that the $29 million or 79 cents a share the Columbus, Ind.-based company said it lost in the same quarter last year.
The company said that loss was mainly the result of poor demand for its power-generation equipment. Transport Topics
Landstar System Boosts 1Q Earnings
Landstar System Inc, said Thursday that it improved its first-quarter net income to $10.2 million or 62 cents a share from the $8.5 million or 51 cents a share it reported last year.The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company said that it had revenues of $366 million in the quarter ended March 29, up from the $336 it generated in the same quarter during 2001.
A diversified freight hauler, Landstar is ranked No. 18 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 listing of the largest trucking companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
USA Truck Posts Quarterly Loss, Without Surcharge Revenue
USA Truck Inc. said that in the quarter ended March 31 it posted a net loss to $1.1 million or 12 cents a share from a net profit of $73,853 or 1 cent per share in the year-ago period.During the quarter, the company generated revenues of $65.7 million, up 6.6% from the $61.6 million in reported in the same quarter in 2002.
A truckload carrier, USA Truck is ranked No. 62 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 listing of the largest trucking companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
Marten Shows Record 1Q Revenues
vMarten Transport Ltd. said Thursday that it has first-quarter of $79.3 million, a record for the first three months of the year. In the same period in 2002, the company reported generating revenue of $68 million.The company said that during the quarter it had earnings of $1.4 million or 32 cents a share, up from the $689,000 or 16 cents a share it reported in the same quarter last year.
Marten is ranked No. 59 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 listing of the largest trucking companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Initial Jobless Claims Rise Close to 2003 High
The number of U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits for the first time jumped 30,000 to 442,000, just shy of their high-water mark for the year, the Labor Department said.The increase set initial claims near the 443,000 mark they peaked at in the week ended March 29, Labor said in its report. It was the ninth straight time that claims remained above 400,000, the traditional level that economists associate with a stagnant job market.
The four-week moving average, which stabilizes the weekly statistics, rose 3,500 to 424,750 – its highest level in nearly a year. Transport Topics
Transport Corp. of America Slashes Net Loss
Transport Corp. of America said Thursday that it slashed its first-quarter loss to $454,000 or 6 cents per share from a $19.5 million or $2.70 per share shortfall it reported in the same quarter last year.A truckload carrier and logistics company, Transport Corp. said that its revenues rose to $67.1 million from $66 million in the 2002 first quarter.
The company said that higher fuel prices in the quarter had an impact of 4 cents per share versus the first-quarter performance from 2002.
Based in Minneapolis, Transport Corp. of America is ranked No. 63 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 listing of the largest trucking companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Knight Transportation Boost 1Q Profit
Knight Transportation Inc. said late Wednesday that its net income rose to $7.08 million or 19 cents a share in the first quarter from $5.55 million or 15 cents a share in the company reported a year earlier.The company said that its revenues rose 24% to $77.2 million from $62.4 million.
The Phoenix-based truckload carrier said that fuel prices had a slight impact on its results for the quarter.
"Higher fuel costs, net of fuel surcharge, negatively impacted our earnings per diluted share by approximately $0.01 for this quarter, as compared to the same quarter last year," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kevin P. Knight said in a release.
Knight is ranked No. 64 on the 2002 Transport Topics 100 listing of largest trucking companies in the United States and Canada. Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
Heartland Boosts Income by 15.9% in First Quarter
Heartland Express Inc. said that its net income for the first quarter rose 15.9% to $11 million or 22 cents per share from $9.5 million or 19 cents a share in the same period last year.The company said that it generated revenues of $94.8 million, up 29.4% from the $73.3 million it generated in the first quarter of 2002.
The company said that it could have had a stronger quarterly performance if not for “record high fuel prices, adverse weather conditions in the East, and an uncertain economy.” Transport Topics
(Click here for the full press release.)
