The parent company of the carrier, Covenant Transport and others, Covenant Transportation Group, has announced third quarter net income of $2 million compared with $1 million the same time a year ago.

Total revenue was $170.8 million, an increase of 1.4% compared with the third quarter of 2012 while freight revenue of $135.2 million (excludes revenue from fuel surcharges), an increase of 1.7% compared with the third quarter of 2012;

In a release Chairman, President, and CEO, David R. Parker said, "Average freight revenue per tractor per week decreased to $3,387 during the 2013 quarter from $3,408 during the 2012 quarter. Average freight revenue per total mile increased by 1.1 cents per mile compared to the 2012 quarter, but average miles per unit decreased by 1.3%.”

He said the main factors impacting the lower utilization were a higher unseated truck percentage and new hours of service regulations.

“On average, approximately 5.7% of our fleet lacked drivers during the 2013 quarter, compared with approximately 3.5% during the 2012 quarter,” said Parker.

Covenant Transport Solutions, the company’s non-asset based subsidiary reported revenue increased 57.8%, to $10.7 million from $6.8 million in the same quarter of 2012.

Covenant Transportation Group is the holding company for several transportation providers including Covenant Transport and Covenant Transport Solutions of Chattanooga, Tennessee; Southern Refrigerated Transport of Texarkana, Arkansas and Star Transportation of Nashville, Tennessee. In addition, Transport Enterprise Leasing, of Chattanooga, Tennessee is an affiliated company providing equipment sales and leasing services. 

More details are on the Covenant Transportation Group website.