Knight Transportation Inc., Phoenix, Ariz., said its third quarter revenues increased 16% to $84,445,000 from $72,777,000 for the same quarter of 2002.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2003, net income increased 27.2% to $9,463,000 from $7,437,000 for the same period of 2002.
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2003, revenue, before fuel surcharge, increased 18.1% to $239,786,000 from $202,974,000 for the same period of 2002. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2003, net income increased 29.4% to $25,490,000 from $19,694,000 for the same period of 2002.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kevin P. Knight said, "Again we are pleased with our company's results, as we posted an 81.3 operating ratio. We continued to benefit from improving our revenue per mile, as compared to the same quarter of the previous year, for the sixth consecutive quarter.
"We expect to add an additional 75 new units between now and the end of the year. We have increased our driver pay scale by $.01 per mile, and plan to make an additional $.01 per mile available for our higher performing driving associates by the end of the first quarter of 2004.
"We finished the quarter with $44.8 million in cash, $12.2 million in debt, and $8.7 million remaining on off-balance sheet equipment operating leases.
"Net capital expenditures were $15.1 million for the quarter, with approximately $10.0 million estimated for the remainder of 2003."