USFreightways Warns on Job Cuts, 1Q Earnings

Trucking company USFreightways Corp. (USFC) warned Friday that it was going to make significant cuts in jobs and spending, and said its first-quarter earnings would fall “substantially below” market estimates.

Wall Street analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial had a consensus forecast for the company to earn 66 cents a share in the first quarter, Reuters noted.

The company, which consolidates and hauls less-than-truckload sized shipments, blamed the slowing economy and extreme U.S. weather conditions for the bleak outlook.

So far, the earthquake in Seattle, blizzards in the Northeast and rain storms in California have decreased revenues in the logistics, reverse logistics, less-than-truckload and freight forwarding units, the company noted in a press release.

President and Chief Executive Officer Samuel Skinner added that he expects freight demand to continue softening throughout March.

Skinner also noted that an analyst had recently described “this current fiscal period as the worst for trucking since the 1980-1982 recession.”

USFreightways is ranked number No. 8 in the Transport Topics 100 list of U.S. trucking companies, based on 1999 data. Transport Topics

(Click here for the full press release.)

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