Allied Holdings Inc., the Georgia-based auto hauler, has reported first-quarter revenues of $213.6 million, versus revenues of $213.3 million in the first quarter last year.

The company experienced a net loss of $5.7 million in the first quarter of 2003, compared to a net loss of $5.3 million in the first quarter of 2002. Results for the first quarter of 2002 include a $4.1 million after-tax charge related to the impairment of goodwill at the company's Axis Group subsidiary.
Primarily, significantly higher diesel fuel prices and wage and benefit inflation adversely impacted results for the first quarter of 2003, said Allied. Diesel fuel prices in the first quarter of 2003 were 38% higher than in the first quarter last year. Higher fuel costs, net of fuel surcharges, reduced pre-tax earnings by approximately $4 million for the first quarter of 2003 compared to the same quarter last year.
The company has fuel surcharges with customers representing about 64% of revenues, however, the surcharges typically only reset at the beginning of each quarter. Therefore, the sharp rise in diesel fuel prices did not adjust most customer fuel surcharges until the beginning of the second quarter of 2003.