Landstar’s Fourth-Quarter Income, Revenue Reach Records

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

ruckload carrier Landstar System said Thursday it earned a record $43 million or 72 cents a share in the fourth quarter, up from $24.6 million or 40 cents a year earlier.

Revenue rose to a record $800 million for the quarter, up fro $590 million a year earlier.

Landstar said its fourth-quarter revenue included $138 million related to disaster relief from the big hurricanes last fall.

The company had faced federal scrutiny about contracts related to the cleanup of Hurricane Katrina, which it denied in January. (Click here for previous coverage.)

Its carrier group of companies generated $494 million in revenue for the quarter, up from $401 million in the previous fourth quarter.

The company’s newly named global logistics group generated $298 million in revenue for the quarter.

or the year, Landstar earned $120 million or $1.98 a share, up from $71.9 million or $1.16 in 2004.

Revenue for the 53-week 2005 fiscal year was $2.52 billion, up from $2.02 billion in 2004, a 52-week period.

Landstar is ranked No. 14 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies.