Covenant Transportation Group narrowed its loss in the first quarter 2010, as demand improved and the economy strengthened.

The company said it lost $2.2 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $5.5 million, or 39 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Freight revenue was up 5.9 percent from the first quarter of 2009, while total revenue increased 13.6 percent to $152 million. This compares to total revenue of $133.8 million in the same quarter of 2009.

In a statement, David R. Parker, chairman, president and CEO, said the company has been seeing some tightening in the driver market, as it had a hard time filling seats in April.

The company is still on track to purchase 900 new trucks this year, and get rid of 900.

"With an average fleet age of 24 months, we believe there is significant flexibility to manage our fleet and we plan to regularly evaluate our tractor replacement cycle and new tractor purchase requirements," said Richard B. Cribbs, senior vice president and chief financial officer.

The consolidated group includes operations from Covenant Transport and Covenant Transport Solutions of Chattanooga, Tenn.; Southern Refrigerated Transport of Texarkana, Ark.; and Star Transportation of Nashville, Tenn.