News Briefs - July 22
The Latest Headlines:
- UPS' 2Q Profits Rise 18%
- Profits Fall at USA Truck Despite Record Revenues
- Caterpillar's Profits Rise as Engine Sales Surge
- LEI Falls for First Time Since March 2003
- Jobless Claims Fall 11,000 in Latest Week
- Net Income, Revenues Rise at Vitran
- Marten Earns $4.8 Million in 2Q
- Knight's Earnings Rise on Record Revenue
- Heartland's 2Q Net Income Increases
- Profits Grow at Hub Group
- Mitsubishi Fuso to Recall 9,018 Canter Trucks
- OPEC May Increase Output Again This Fall
- Profits Fall at USA Truck Despite Record Revenues
UPS' 2Q Profits Rise 18%
Package-delivery firm UPS Inc. said Thursday its net income for the second quarter rose 18.2% and revenues increased 7.8%.
Profits were $818 million or 72 cents per share, compared with $692 million or 61 cents a year earlier. Consolidated revenue totaled $8.87 billion.
Total average daily package volume worldwide rose to 13.6 million, a net gain of 550,000 packages per day compared with the year-ago period, UPS said.
Looking ahead, the company said third-quarter earnings would be in the range of 69 cents to 72 cents per share.
UPS is ranked No. 1 on the 2004 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Profits Fall at USA Truck Despite Record Revenues
Truckload carrier USA Truck Inc. said Thursday its second-quarter profits fell to $1.3 million or 14 cents per share, compared with $1.9 million or 20 cents a year earlier.Operating revenues before fuel surcharges rose 18.7% to a record $85.8 million, the company said in a statement.
"Unfortunately, what would have been our strongest earnings per share quarter since the third quarter of 1998 was spoiled by significant negative insurance and claims experience," said Robert Powell, chairman and chief executive officer.
USA Truck is ranked No. 64 on the 2004 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Caterpillar's Profits Rise as Engine Sales Surge
Diesel engine maker Caterpillar Inc. said Thursday its second-quarter net income was $554 million or $1.55 per share, compared with $399 million or $1.15 a year earlier.
Total sales and revenues were $7.56 billion, up 27% from the second quarter of 2003, Caterpillar said. Engine sales totaled $2.26 billion, an increase of 23%.
Caterpillar also said its North America sales gain of 16% was strongly influenced by a 37% increase in sales of on-highway truck engines.
Caterpillar said its full-year sales and revenues would be up about 25% and net income per share up 80% to 85%, compared with 2003. Transport Topics
LEI Falls for First Time Since March 2003
The index of leading economic indicators fell 0.2% in June, the first decline since March 2003, the Conference Board said Thursday.The decline in the index followed a revised 0.4% rise in May. The index has advanced 13 of the past 15 months. The LEI is closely watched by trucking companies because it forecasts business activity for the next three to six months.
"Strong economic performance in May gave way to a weaker June," Ken Goldstein, an economist at the Conference Board,
aid in a statement. "Although the leading index declined in June, it is still about 3.4% higher in the second quarter than in the first."
The board said the five of its 10 indicators that improved in June were consumer expectations, stock prices, jobless claims, capital-goods orders and consumer-goods orders.
The index of coincident indicators, a gauge of current economic conditions, rose 0.1% last month, compared with a 0.3% increase in May. The index of lagging indicators was unchanged in June. Transport Topics
Jobless Claims Fall 11,000 in Latest Week
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 11,000 to 339,000 for the week ended July 17, from a revised 350,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.Filings have averaged 345,600 this year, down from 402,000 in 2003, Labor said.
The statistics this month have been distorted because the government said it has difficulty adjusting for seasonal closings at the nation's auto plants as carmakers retool for new models, Bloomberg reported.
The four-week moving average, a less-volatile indicator than the weekly numbers, fell to 336,750 from 339,250. Transport Topics
Net Income, Revenues Rise at Vitran
Canadian transportation company Vitran Corp. said Thursday its net income for the second quarter was $4.4 million or 34 cents per share, compared with $2.7 million or 27 cents a year earlier.
Revenues rose 12% to $93.9 million, the company said in a statement. Vitran's less-than-truckload operations reported a 28% increase in income to $5.5 million, while its truckload segment's income from operations rose to $500,000 from $200,000.
Vitran said it was increasing its full-year guidance to a range of $1.05 to $1.12 per share, from 98 cents to $1.05.
Vitran is ranked No. 56 on the 2004 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Marten Earns $4.8 Million in 2Q
Refrigerated truckload carrier Marten Transport Ltd. said late Wednesday its net income for the second quarter was $4.8 million or 33 cents per share, compared with $3.5 million or 35 cents a year earlier.img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/martentransportlogo.gif" width=90 align=right>Operating revenue for the quarter increased 9.1% to $91.9 million, the company said. Marten said net income per share fell because of a 45.1% increase in shares outstanding resulting from the company's equity offering in the third quarter of 2003.
"A combination of higher fuel prices and the lower fuel economy of new tractor engines cost us approximately 50 basis points on our operating ratio, or 2 cents per share, versus the second quarter of 2003, net of the benefit of fuel surcharges in each period," said Chairman and President Randolph Marten.
Marten is ranked No. 55 on the 2004 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Knight's Earnings Rise on Record Revenue
Truckload carrier Knight Transportation Inc. said late Wednesday it net income for the second quarter was $11.4 million or 20 cents per share, compared with $9 million or 16 cents a year earlier.
Revenue before fuel surcharges increased 22.5% to a record $100.2 million, the company said in a statement. The company said high fuel prices had a negative impact of 12 cents per share compared with the second quarter of 2003.
Knight is ranked No. 57 on the 2004 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Heartland's 2Q Net Income Increases
Truckload carrier Heartland Express Inc. said Thursday its second-quarter profits were $15.7 million or 31 cents per share on revenues of $113.5 million.
That compared with a net income of $12.6 million or 25 cents on revenues of $102.8 million a year earlier, Heartland said in a statement.
The company said in a statement it began the replacement of its entire tractor fleet in June. The delivery of new trucks and the trade-in of the current fleet would be completed by Dec. 31, 2006, the company said.
Heartland is ranked No. 43 on the 2004 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Earnings Rise at Hub Group
Logistics provider Hub Group Inc. said Wednedsay its net income for the second quarter was $4.1 million or 48 cents per share, compared with $1.5 million or 20 cents a year earlier.
Transportation-related revenue increased 7.2% to $338.5 million, Hub Group said in a statement. Truckload brokerage revenue increased 7.3% to $56.8 million due primarily to an increase in revenue per load.
Hub said it expected its full-year earnings to be in the range of $1.65 to $1.71 per share. Transport Topics
Mitsubishi Fuso to Recall 9,018 Canter Trucks
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp. said it would recall 9,018 Canter trucks in Japan to repair faulty brake hydraulics that have caused four accidents and one injury, Bloomberg reported.The recall affected trucks built between March 31, 1999, and May 12, 2004, and was part of Fuso's previously announced plan to fix about 450,000 defective vehicles by the end of October, Bloomberg said.
Recalls announced since March by Fuso affected about 525,000 of the company's vehicles, or 40% of the 1.3 million vehicles registered in Japan.
The company is 65% owned by DaimlerChrysler AG. Transport Topics
OPEC May Increase Output Again This Fall
The ministers for Kuwait and Indonesia said that OPEC, the supplier of a third of the world's oil, may increase output after its September meeting to lower prices, Bloomberg reported.Indonesia Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, who is also OPEC's president, told reporters OPEC would discuss quotas because demand continues to push up the price worldwide, Bloomberg said.
Kuwait's Minister of Energy Sheikh Ahmad Fahd al-Ahmad al-Sabah said the increase could be as much as 500,000 barrels a day, Bloomberg said.
OPEC's oil price index has exceeded its $22 to $28 a barrel target range since Dec. 1, 2003, and stood at $36.89 on July 19, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics
