Photo by Evan Lockridge.

Photo by Evan Lockridge.

Marten Transport reported profit in the first quarter of the year nearly doubled from the same time in 2014.

It increased 92.7% to $10.2 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, from $5.3 million, or 16 cents per diluted share, during the first quarter of 2014 for the Wisconsin-based carrier.

Operating revenue, consisting of revenue from truckload, dedicated, intermodal and brokerage operations, increased 1.2% to $161.3 million from $159.4 million. Operating revenue net of fuel surcharges improved 10.3% to $140.7 million for the 2015 quarter, while fuel surcharge revenue fell to $20.6 million for the first quarter of 2015 from $31.9 million for the 2014 quarter.

“We are pleased with our strong performance in the first quarter and believe we can leverage the solid foundation provided by our truckload, dedicated, intermodal and brokerage operations to take advantage of the current and expected tightening capacity for continued profitable growth,” said Chairman and CEO Randy Marten.

He said the company was also encouraged by the growth of its dedicated operations, with its operating revenue, net of fuel surcharges, growing 85.2% to $19.9 million for the first quarter from $10.7 million for last year’s first quarter.

“We have also continued to make great strides in the profitability of our intermodal operations, improving our operating ratio, net of fuel surcharges, to 92.6% for the first quarter of 2015 from 94.7% for last year’s fourth quarter,” he said. “We expect this positive trend to continue in 2015 as we continue to see the benefit of rate increases, lane selectivity and improvements in rail service, along with our disposal of the overhead-intensive containers that were used in a portion of our intermodal operations.”

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