News Briefs - Oct. 17
The Latest Headlines:
- Marten's 3Q Earnings Rise
- SCS Reports Higher Profits
- Preliminary October Consumer Sentiment Index Rises
- Swift's Net Income Increases to 29 Cents
- Caterpillar 3Q Profits, Engine Sales Rise Slightly
- AAR: Intermodal Rail Loadings Remain Strong
- Delphi Posts 3Q Loss, Cuts 8,000 Jobs
- Net Sales Decline 14% for Bandag
- Cannon Says It Will Miss SEC Deadline
- SCS Reports Higher Profits
Marten's 3Q Earnings Rise
Refrigerated truckload carrier Marten Transport Ltd. said Friday its net income for the third quarter was $3.4 million or 43 cents per share, compared with $1.9 million or 28 cents a year earlier."Our financial results improved as a result of stronger shipping demand, disciplined freight selection by our operations personnel and continued cost control efforts," Chairman and President Randolph Marten said.
Operating revenue increased 14.9% to $85.9 million, the company said in a release. Average freight revenue per tractor per week increased 4.8% to $2,886.
SCS Reports Higher Profits
SCS Transportation Inc. said Thursday its net income for the third quarter increased $5.1 million or 34 cents per share, compared with $4 million or 27 cents a year earlier.Total revenues rose 5.2% to $211.5 million, the company said in a release. Revenues, operating income and less-than-truckload volumes increased for both its Saia and Jevic units.
Looking ahead, SCS said it expected fourth-quarter earnings to be between 25 cents and 31 cents per share.
SCS is ranked No. 25 on the 2003 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Preliminary October Consumer Sentiment Index Rises
U.S. consumer sentiment rose in October for the first time in three months, the University of Michigan said Friday.The university's preliminary October consumer sentiment index increased to 89.4 from 87.7 in September, Bloomberg reported.
A gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, cheaper gasoline and an increase in September employment buoyed optimism, Bloomberg said.
The preliminary Michigan index is based on a survey of more than 250 households. The final index, to be released Oct. 31, polls about 500 households. Transport Topics
Swift's Net Income Increases to 29 Cents
Truckload carrier Swift Transportation Co. said late Thursday its profit for the third quarter was $24.6 million or 29 cents per share, compared with $16.3 million or 19 cents a year earlier.The results included a $1.8 million pre-tax benefit for the reduction in market value of the interest rate derivative agreements of M.S. Carriersm the company said.
Revenue for the quarter increased 16.2% to $623.9 million.
Swift is ranked No. 13 on the 2003 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies. Transport Topics
Caterpillar 3Q Profits, Engine Sales Rise Slightly
Caterpillar Inc., a maker of diesel engines for heavy-duty trucks, said Thursday its third-quarter net income rose to $222 million or 62 cents a share, from $213 million or 61 cents a year earlier as sales rose 9.3% to $5.55 billion.Engine sales rose about 4% to $1.86 billion because of favorable currency exchange, the company said. Engine sales were strongest in Latin America, jumping 29%.
Profit margins did not widen as much as expected because of sales of cheaper machines and $75 million set aside for executive bonuses, analysts told Bloomberg. Excluding an expense of 11 cents a share to repay debt, Caterpillar said profit in the third quarter was 73 cents.
Caterpillar raised its full-year profit forecast to a range of $2.75 to $2.95. However, that 2003 forecast is still short of all but four of the 17 analysts covering the company, Bloomberg reported. Transport Topics
AAR: Intermodal Rail Loadings Remain Strong
Intermodal rail traffic reached its third-highest weekly total ever during the week ended Oct. 11, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday.Intermodal rail service is the segment of the industry that competes most directly with long-haul trucking.
AAR said a total of 207,806 trailers or containers, up 37.5% from a year earlier when container traffic from West Coast ports was halted by a labor dispute.
The four highest weekly intermodal totals for U.S. railroads have all occurred over the past five weeks, AAR said.
o far this year, intermodal volume totaled 7.8 million, up 6.7% through the same period a year ago. Transport Topics
Delphi Posts 3Q Loss, Cuts 8,000 Jobs
Delphi Corp., a maker of auto parts, said Thursday it would cut another 8,000 jobs after reporting a net loss for the third quarter of $353 million or 63 cents per share.Excluding restructuring charges, earnings were $3 million or 1 cent. The company earned $54 million or 10 cents in the 2002 period.
Revenue rose 1.8% to $6.56 billion from $6.45 billion.
Delphi has cut at least 17,540 jobs since the end of 2000 as the company stops making unprofitable products such as radiators and boosts sales of electronics, Bloomberg reported.
The newest job cuts would cost Delphi $125 million after taxes in 2004 and $200 million annually beyond that, the company said. Transport Topics
Net Sales Decline 14% for Bandag
Tire retreader Bandag Inc. said Friday its net income for the third quarter was $20 million or $1.03 per share, compared with $19.6 million or $1.02 per share a year earlier.Net sales were $211.4 million, a decline of 14%, which was largely attributable to lower sales its distribution subsidiary, the company said in a release.
Bandag also said North American volume was 4% below the third quarter of 2002 due to flat freight demand, which affected replacement tire purchasing decisions. Transport Topics
Cannon Says It Will Miss SEC Deadline
Truckload carrier Cannon Express told the Securities and Exchange Commission Sept. 29 it would miss the deadline for filing its annual 10K report for the year ending June 30.The SEC said it gives companies 90 days from the end of a yearly cycle to file the report, making the report due Sept. 30.
Cannon, in its latest filing, said it expected to file the annual information within 15 days of the due date.
The company told the SEC it could not file the annual report on time “as a result of unresolved issues with respect to possible impaired assets and negotiations with the company’s lenders.”
Cannon reported it lost $9.6 million, or $2.99 per diluted share, on revenues of $48 million for the nine months ending March 31. In the same 2002 period, it lost $7million or $2.17 per share on revenues of $60 million. Transport Topics
This story appeared in the Oct. 13 print edition of Transport Topics.
