USA Truck Inc., Van Buren, Ark., has announced record quarterly operating revenues, before fuel surcharge, of $85,800,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2004,
an increase of 18.7% from $72,265,000 for the same quarter of 2003.
Net income decreased 27.7% from $1,853,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2003, to $1,339,000 for the same quarter of 2004.
Operating revenues, before fuel surcharge, increased 19.8% from $137,979,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2003, to $165,306,000 for the same period of 2004. Net income increased 231.5% from $705,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2003 to $2,336,000 for the same period of 2004.
Robert M. Powell, chairman and CEO of the company, said, "The North American economy continued its recovery during the second quarter with some economists forecasting full year 2004 U.S. GDP growth in excess of 4.5%, which would be a 20-year high. That recovery and growth are reflected in our revenue per mile and empty-mile factor as shipping volumes were robust throughout the second quarter, thus allowing us to improve the quality of our freight mix.
"We are encouraged by the strong fundamental operating factors underlying our second quarter financial results. Revenue, before fuel surcharge, surged ahead 18.7% on 14.8% tractor fleet growth. While tractor utilization was relatively flat, revenue per mile, before fuel surcharge, grew by 4.9% and we posted our best quarterly empty mile factor (8.0%) since our initial public offering in 1992.
"Tractor utilization was constricted by unmanned equipment, which crept up to 5.7% of the fleet this quarter versus 3.9% for the same quarter a year ago. We plan to take a 60-day break from growing our tractor fleet this summer to give our recruiting efforts time to reduce our percentage of unmanned tractors."