The fourth quarter of ‘08 was especially brutal for a number of trucking companies, but transportation providers are doing what they can to stay in the black despite dropping tonnage numbers.
YRC Worldwide Inc. announced a loss per share for the fourth quarter of 2008 of $1.63 and $1.22 for the full year, excluding impairment charges. With impairment charges, which consisted of $141 million related to the integration of Yellow Transportation and Roadway, the company lost $4.14 per share in the fourth quarter and $16.92 per share in 2008.
Both YRC’s national and regional tonnage dropped substantially. YRC National Transportation’s total tonnage per day was down 14.6% in the fourth quarter, and YRC Regional Transportation’s total tonnage per day was down 14% when adjusting for network changes and 23.6% overall.
The fourth quarter of ‘08 was especially brutal for a number of trucking companies, but transportation providers are doing what they can to stay in the black despite dropping tonnage numbers.
YRC Worldwide Inc. announced a loss per share for the fourth quarter of 2008 of $1.63 and $1.22 for the full year, excluding impairment charges. With impairment charges, which consisted of $141 million related to the integration of Yellow Transportation and Roadway, the company lost $4.14 per share in the fourth quarter and $16.92 per share in 2008.
Both YRC’s national and regional tonnage dropped substantially. YRC National Transportation’s total tonnage per day was down 14.6% in the fourth quarter, and YRC Regional Transportation’s total tonnage per day was down 14% when adjusting for network changes and 23.6% overall.
"Our results reflect the significance of the economic recession that has been longer and deeper than anyone anticipated," stated Bill Zollars, chairman, president & CEO of YRC Worldwide. "Even in this economic environment, we generated a significant amount of cash and we have multiple initiatives in place that can further improve liquidity. We recognized $128 million of asset proceeds in 2008 and we expect to generate more than $250 million in 2009 from a combination of sale and financing leaseback transactions and sales of excess facilities."
J.B. Hunt Transport Services recorded total fourth quarter 2008 earnings of $53.3 million, or diluted earnings per share of 41 cents, vs. 2007 fourth quarter earnings of $54.3 million, or 42 cents per diluted share. However, total operating revenue for the quarter dropped to $880 million, down 7% from the fourth quarter of 2007.
“Flat years, as defined by net earnings, are certainly never our goal. However, we are quite pleased that we were able to sustain our earnings in the face of an extremely difficult environment,” said Kirk Thompson, JBHT president & CEO. Our clear strategy over the last few years has been to reduce our exposure to the more cyclical, capital intensive segments of the freight market. At the same time, we have expanded in segments where we believed we could offer our customers a differentiated service at the best value.”
Landstar System, Inc. reported 2008 fourth quarter net income of $24.6 million, or $0.47 per diluted share, compared to a net income of $29.0 million, or $0.54 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Revenue hauled by BCO Independent Contractors in the fourth quarter of 2008 was $317 million, Landstar said, compared to $341 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. $230 million was hauled by third-party truck brokerage carriers in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to $236 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.
"Landstar's 2008 fourth quarter revenue was significantly impacted by lower freight demand related to the severe downturn in the domestic and global economies," said Landstar president & CEO Henry Gerkens. "The number of loads hauled by BCO Independent Contractors, truck brokerage carriers and rail intermodal carriers were each below the number of loads hauled by each of these modes during the 2007 fourth quarter. Pricing, based on rate per load, also softened throughout the quarter as weak freight demand created additional excess capacity. However, rate per load in the 2008 fourth quarter continued to exceed prior year rates, and the current environment continues to present Landstar with great opportunities in adding new agents and capacity."
