Forward Air Earnings Improve in First Quarter

A trucking provider to the air cargo industry, Forward Air, reports both income and revenue during the first quarter of the year moved higher.

Net income increased to $10.9 million from $10.3 million in the prior-year quarter while revenue increased 3.3% to $141.6 million from $137.1 million for the same quarter in 2012.

“The first quarter proved to be a more challenging operating environment than we originally expected, said Bruce A. Campbell, Chairman, President, and CEO. “Airport-to-airport volumes, which were up slightly at the beginning of the period, did not show their typical end-of-quarter strength. Beyond a continued weakness in the overall macroeconomic environment, we were challenged by consistently harsh weather throughout the quarter as well as increased irrational pricing from our competition.”

Rodney L. Bell, Senior Vice President and CFO, said he believes the company will see second quarter revenue increase between 12% to 18% over the same period last year. “We estimate that approximately 9% of that growth will result from the TQI acquisition”

In early March Forward air purchased Total Quality Inc. a provider of maximum security and temperature-controlled services to the pharmaceutical and life science industries for approximately $66 million.

More details on the company’s first quarter performance is on the Forward Air web site.