On Tuesday, one trucking operation reported a wider loss for the first quarter of the year, another reported they have closed the gap in the past year, while a logistics provider showed high profits.


Consolidated Freightways, Vancouver, Wash., incurred an operating loss of $30.9 million and a net loss of $36.5 million on revenue of $463 million for the first quarter of 2002.
This compares with operating income of $230,000 and a net loss of $1.8 million on revenue of $574.6 million for the first quarter last year. (Last year's results included capital gains of $19 million, $11.6 million net of tax, from the sale of CF's Portland, Ore. administrative facility.)
The company says revenue decline of 19.4% for the quarter was the result of the difficult economic environment, unusual competitive pressures in the marketplace and the loss in the fourth quarter of a major account to very aggressive competitive pricing. These factors caused total tonnage to decrease 17.1%. Revenue per hundredweight for the U.S. motor carrier, excluding fuel surcharge, was up 0.7%.
"The impact of the economic slowdown is apparent throughout the entire LTL industry, but we are taking the appropriate steps to position CF for the long term," said CEO Pat Blake. "We are continuing programs to improve both our freight mix and yield and we have begun to see encouraging revenue and mix trends in April."

The parent of several haulers of new and used passenger vehicles, Allied Holdings, Decatur, Ga., saw a significant improvement.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the first quarter of 2002 were a positive $16.4 million, a significant improvement over the negative $8.2 million of EBITDA reported during the first quarter last year. (EBITDA for the first quarter of 2001 included a $5 million charge for severance and workforce reduction expenses.)
Revenues for the first quarter of 2002 were $213.3 million compared to revenues of $218.2 million in the first quarter last year. The company reported a net loss of $1.2 million during the first quarter of 2002, versus a net loss of $18.9 million during the first quarter last year. (The first quarter 2002 net loss included a $1.7 million after-tax gain on the early extinguishment of the company's subordinated notes and a $550,000 after-tax gain on the sale of assets. The first quarter 2001 net loss included an after-tax charge of $3.2 million for severance and workforce reduction expenses.)
"While the company experienced a net loss during the first quarter, Allied did make a small net profit in the month of March," said Hugh E. Sawyer, president and CEO. "This was the first month the Company has been profitable since September 2000, excluding extraordinary gains.
"Allied's performance has improved due to the execution of our turnaround initiatives which included raising pricing, eliminating non- contributory expenses and assets, and closing non-performing locations."

Third party logistics provider C.H. Robinson, Minneapolis, reported gross profits increased 0.3% to $113.6 million from $113.3 million in 2001. Income from operations increased 15.2% to $33.8 million from $29.4 million in 2001. Net income increased 14.9% to $20.8 million from $18.1 million in 2001.
"We're pleased with our performance this quarter," said John Wiehoff, president of C.H. Robinson. "As we expected, the environment continued to be challenging for revenue growth. We continue to concentrate on sales and profitable growth, while aggressively managing our expenses. We believe that this focus, combined with our strong core competencies and long-term growth strategy, position us very well for the future."
For the first quarter, transportation gross profits decreased 0.2%. The decline in truck gross profits of 1.4% was due to a decline in truckload volumes.
The company continues to see the trend of less volume with its traditional business with produce wholesalers, which is offset by increases in volumes with large retailers.
For the first quarter, information services gross profits increased 12.9% . T-Chek related revenues, which now comprise 100 percent of information services, increased 19.4% during the quarter.