More carriers have reported second quarter financial results with both Covenant Transport and Universal Truckload showing a decline in profit, Pacer showing a slighter bigger one, and Saia and P.A.M. showing increases in both profit and revenue.

Covenant Transport

Profit for Tennessee-based truckload carrier Covenant Transport fell in the second quarter of the year despite increased revenue.

It posted net income of $1.9 million, compared with net income of $4.3 million in the second quarter of 2012, while total revenue was $172.5 million, an increase of 0.7% compared to the same time.

Freight revenue was $136.9 million, which excludes revenue from fuel surcharges, an increase of 2% compared with the second quarter of 2012.

Operating results were comparable to last year's second quarter, excluding the net $3.5 million gain relating to a refund of insurance premiums in the 2012 quarter, according to the company.

“Our recent re-allocation of assets to our team and refrigerated operations, reducing exposure to solo dry van operations, along with further improving on our drivers' employment experience resulted in improved asset productivity,” said Chairman, President, and CEO David R. Parker. "These factors contributed to a 3.6% increase in average freight revenue per tractor compared with the second quarter of 2012.”

Parked also noted average freight revenue per tractor per week increased to $3,456 during the 2013 quarter from $3,335 during the 2012 quarter. Average freight revenue per total mile increased by 1.5 cents per mile, or 1%, compared to the 2012 quarter and average miles per unit increased by 2.6%.

More details are available online.

Pacer Transportation

Asset-light and logistics services provider, Pacer International, says in the second quarter net income increased $0.6 million from the second quarter of 2012 to $1.9 million while total revenues decreased $130.3 million from the second quarter of 2012.

The Ohio-based operation says the decline in revenue was expected, “due to the implementation of the new cross border agreement with Union Pacific and is no longer able to collect and pass through the rail transportation costs to automotive intermediaries servicing the U.S.-Mexico business, as well as due to lower volumes in both the intermodal and logistics segments.

Pacer noted in the first six months of the year income from operations more than doubled from the 2012 period to $5.4 million, primarily due to improved intermodal margins.

More information is on the Pacer website.

Saia

Less-than-truckload provider Saia reported second-quarter revenue of  $293 million, an increase of 2% from the same time a year ago while net income increased to 13.5 million from $11.9 million during the same period.

The Georgia-based company noted while its operating ratio was 92.0 compared to 92.6 a year earlier, LTL tonnage decreased by 1.6%, as shipments were down 0.9%, with a 0.7% decrease in weight per shipment.

For the first half of 2013, Saia says revenue was $566 million compared to $556 million a year earlier, while net income was $22.7 million compared to $17.4 million during the same time frame.

More details are on the Saia website.

Universal Truckload

Asset-light truckload carrier and logistics provider Universal Truckload Service reports total revenue in the second quarter of the year was $264.2 million, down just a fraction from $265 million a year earlier while net income declined to $14.2 million from $15.7 million during the same time.

The company said demand for its intermodal and value-added services continued to grow in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the second quarter of 2012, however this growth was outpaced by reduced demand for transportation services. In the second quarter of 2013, intermodal services increased 15.5% and value-added services increased 15.0%, while transportation services decreased 6.3% compared to the same period last year.

“We are starting to see some traction in our transportation services in the second quarter of 2013," said Universal's President, Don Cochran. "However, our load count continues to lag behind the levels we saw last year by about 9.5%. 

More information is available online.

P.A.M. Transportation

Dry-van truckload operation, P.A.M. Transportation has reported net income of $2,682,191 for the second quarter of the year, and net income of $2,225,923, for the first six months of 2013.

This compared to net income of $934,791 for the second quarter a year ago and net income of $1,608,984 for the six months ended June 30, 2012 for the Arkansas-based operation.

“Revenue, excluding revenue from fuel surcharges, grew by approximately $7.0 million and represented a 9.4% increase from second quarter 2012 revenues,” said Daniel H. Cushman, president. “The factors that contributed to this improvement included fleet growth of 3.1%, improved tractor utilization of 4.7%, a reduction of 1.7% in the empty miles ratio, and a 2.3% increase in our rate per total mile charged to customers.

He noted demand for the company’s services was relatively strong and steady through the second quarter with the exception of a couple of valuable 'project lanes' that transitioned back to intermodal suppliers and away from its trucks.

You can get more details about the company’s results online.