US trucking and intermodal operator Marten Transport saw its fourth-quarter net income rise to US$4.3m from $3.5m the previous quarter, helped by a strong performance from its logistics arm.
Net income in 2009 totalled $16.3m compared with $18.1m in 2008, as operating revenue decreased 16.7% year-on-year to $505.9m.
Logistics revenue, net of intermodal fuel surcharges, grew to $27.9m in the fourth quarter compared to the third, an increase of 23.5%.
Marten’s logistics division also saw revenue rise some 14.4% for the year as a whole to $103.2m net of intermodal fuel surcharges.
The company said its 2009 results had been “adversely impacted by the exceptionally challenging operating environment with reduced freight demand, excess capacity and an unprecedented increase in renegotiated shipper bid packages during 2009 resulting in an unfavourable rate environment”.
But Randolph Marten, chairman and CEO of the temperature-controlled specialist, said he was encouraged by the company’s increased profitability from the third quarter of 2009, despite a 5.3% increase in the average cost of fuel.
“We were able to achieve this by improving our average truckload revenue per tractor per week and by our continued progress in managing our operating costs,” he said.
Net income in 2009 totalled $16.3m compared with $18.1m in 2008, as operating revenue decreased 16.7% year-on-year to $505.9m.
Logistics revenue, net of intermodal fuel surcharges, grew to $27.9m in the fourth quarter compared to the third, an increase of 23.5%.
Marten’s logistics division also saw revenue rise some 14.4% for the year as a whole to $103.2m net of intermodal fuel surcharges.
The company said its 2009 results had been “adversely impacted by the exceptionally challenging operating environment with reduced freight demand, excess capacity and an unprecedented increase in renegotiated shipper bid packages during 2009 resulting in an unfavourable rate environment”.
But Randolph Marten, chairman and CEO of the temperature-controlled specialist, said he was encouraged by the company’s increased profitability from the third quarter of 2009, despite a 5.3% increase in the average cost of fuel.
“We were able to achieve this by improving our average truckload revenue per tractor per week and by our continued progress in managing our operating costs,” he said.
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