J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Lowell, Ark., Monday announced first quarter 2002 net earnings of $4.9 million compared with 2001 first quarter earnings of $1.6 million.

Total operating revenue for the current quarter was $510 million, compared with $495 million during the first quarter of 2001. Revenue was affected by a reduction in fuel surcharge revenue of $18.4 million due to lower fuel prices in the first quarter of 2002. Excluding this reduction in fuel surcharge revenue, total revenue increased 7%. During the first quarter of 2002, revenues of the company's truck segment declined 8%, while the intermodal segment revenue rose 10% over the comparable period of 2001. Dedicated segment (DCS) revenue increased 12% during the current quarter.
The company sold a group of older trailers and realized a gain of approximately $5.5 million during the first quarter of 2001.
While the truck operating ratio exceeded 100% for the quarter at 101.2%, improvement vs. the comparable period last year continued for the fourth quarter in a row. Excluding the large gain on the sale of certain assets in the first quarter of 2001, the improvement in the operating ratio was 240 basis points. The operating ratio for the Truck segment exceeded 100% in January and February, but turned profitable in March.
While fuel prices declined in the quarter, the company notes that its fuel surcharge revenue declined at a faster rate, resulting in lower segment profits. Rate yields continued to improve as the loaded rate per mile (excluding fuel surcharges) increased 3.3% relative to a year ago. In spite of the lower freight levels, empty miles declined significantly to 10.3% vs. 12.6% for the first quarter a year ago.
The higher rates and lower empty miles are a result of the company's yield management initiatives launched in the last year. The average number of trucks was 5,880 for the first quarter 2002 and 6,089 for the first quarter 2001. The company says no additions in capacity are planned for the Truck segment until satisfactory margins are achieved.
In the intermodal segment, the operating ratio was 94.3% for the first quarter of 2002. Intermodal revenue per loaded mile (excluding fuel surcharge) was up 1.4% when compared with the same period in 2001. Dray costs per load, the pick-up and delivery portion of the intermodal move, were down 11% in the first quarter of 2002 vs. a year ago. Use of company containers as measured in turns per month also improved vs. a year ago.
The operating ratio for the DCS segment was 96.3% for the current quarter. The increase in DCS revenue was driven by growth in the fleet of 345 tractors, new contractual arrangements and growth with existing customers. Demand in the DCS segment was negatively impacted by the ongoing U.S. economic recession as 200 trucks that had been planned for growth in 2001 remained sidelined. The company is encouraged by recent sales and anticipates those trucks will be activated throughout 2002.