Trucking company and logistics parent Con-way Inc. has reported second-quarter net income of $53.7 million, or 93 cents per diluted share. This compares to second-quarter 2013 net income of $42.9 million, or 75 cents per diluted share.

Revenue totaled $1.5 billion for the most recent three-month period compared to $1.38 billion a year earlier

"Our cash balance has supported strategic investments that have lowered our fleet ages, improved our pension funded status, and enabled margin expansion," said Douglas W. Stotlar, Con-way's president and CEO. "Given our progress towards these objectives, we have reached a point where we can redeploy a portion of our cash balance to fund expanded shareholder initiatives, while continuing to support a strong balance sheet."

For the second quarter of 2014, Con-way Freight, the company’s less-than-truckload operation, reported revenue of $940.5 million, a 5.4% increase from last year's second quarter revenue of $892.3 million. Revenue growth in the quarter was attributable to improved yield and slightly higher tonnage per day.

Operating income totaled $83 million, a 51.8% increase from the $54.7 million earned in the year-ago period.

"Our strategic focus on revenue management was reinforced by strong demand and a firming rate environment," said Stotlar. "Against the backdrop of these industry dynamics, we effectively employed our proprietary planning and pricing tools to drive profit improvement."

Con-way’s Menlo Logistics reported revenue of $433.7 million, a 17.1% increase from the prior year second quarter revenue of $370.4 million. The company said higher revenue reflected increases in both transportation-management and warehouse-management services.

Operating income of $6.4 million, an increase of 6.3% over the $6 million earned in last year's second quarter.

For the second quarter of 2014, Con-way Truckload reported revenue of $164.1 million, a 1.4% increase over last year's second-quarter revenue of $161.8 million. Increased revenue was affected by “higher other revenues” and an increase in revenue per loaded mile, partially offset by a decrease in loaded miles, according to the company.

Operating income was $13.5 million, a 24.2% increase over the $10.9 million earned in last year's second quarter.

"Con-way Truckload benefited from solid demand in the second quarter," said Stotlar. "Pricing strengthened as the market dealt with capacity constraints exacerbated by the continuing industry-wide driver shortage. We made strides in reducing driver turnover, which spiked last quarter. At the same time, we are still above our fleet's normal level of unseated trucks, which adversely impacts revenue and profit.”

More information is on the Con-way website.