Wabash National Corp. Reports Second Quarter Loss

Trailer manufacturer Wabash National Corp. reported a net loss of $3.2 million, or 11 cents a share, for the second quarter of 2008, down from earnings of $5.9 million, or 18 cents, a year ago.

Sales totaled $201.5 million for the quarter, down from $294.8 million in 2007, Wabash said late Wednesday in its latest quarterly earnings report.

Dick Giromini, the company’s chief executive officer, said in a statement that ongoing weakness in U.S. housing markets depressed trailer demand in the quarter. He projected that trailer sales for 2008 would be between 32,000 and 33,000 units.

Giromini added that “despite the near-term challenges, we are beginning to see encouraging signs for the future, such as the rightsizing of carrier capacity and an improving rate environment which bode well for our customers and will eventually increase demand for our core trailer product.”