Swift Transportation Co. Inc., Phoenix, Ariz., said revenues for the third quarter of 2003 increased 16.2% to $623.9 million, compared with $537.0 million for the corresponding quarter of 2002.

The third quarter of 2003 includes $21.3 million of fuel surcharge revenue versus $10.5 million in the third quarter of 2002. Excluding this fuel surcharge revenue, the increase in revenues would have been 14.5%. Net earnings were $24.6 million compared to $16.3 million for the third quarter of 2002.
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2003, the company's revenues increased 14.2% to $1.760 billion from $1.541 billion in 2002. The first nine months of 2003 include $67.8 million of fuel surcharge revenue versus $21.3 million in 2002.
Jerry Moyes, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Our net earnings grew by more than 50%, driven by 15% top line growth, 4 cents of price improvement and 31 basis points of deadhead improvement, which more than offset a 1.4% of operating revenue increase in insurance cost as we continue to operate in a difficult insurance environment.
"We will continue to focus on increasing our profitability by allocating equipment to those customers which enable us to maximize our return on investment, as well as continuing to examine areas for improvement in our cost structure."