USA Truck Inc., Van Buren, Ark., announced base revenue of $94.5 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2007, a decrease of 2.4 percent from $96.8 million for the same quarter of 2006.

Net income decreased 97.7 percent from $3.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 to $0.08 million for the same quarter of 2007. Diluted earnings per share decreased 96.7 percent from $0.30 for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 to $0.01 for the same quarter of 2007.
In comparing the financial results of the quarter ended March 31, 2007 to the comparable period of 2006, Jerry D. Orler, president and CEO of the company, made the following statement:
"Demand for truckload services was softer than any quarter we have experienced in several years. However, freight demand did improve from lows in January and February to a steadier freight environment in March.
"We began the first quarter with more fleet capacity than freight availability. That imbalance was caused by our fleet growth in 2006, our firm stance on rate increases in 2006 and the decelerating freight conditions over the last few quarters.
"Compounding this problem, we manned over 100 additional tractors that did not previously have drivers during the fourth quarter of 2006, which increased the imbalance between fleet capacity and freight availability, effectively adding 4.3 percent capacity to our fleet during a soft freight environment. In response to that series of events, we implemented a number of internal programs with the goal of balancing fleet capacity and freight availability by March 31. Due to the improving freight environment in March and the progress achieved with our internal programs, we substantially regained that balance at quarter-end. We will now focus our efforts on freight selection in the coming quarters."