Earnings up, revenue down at Ryder

President & CEO Gregory T. Swienton said revenue was impacted by continuing soft economic conditions in the U.S., which led to reduced transportation miles run within all business segments, and volume reductions within some sectors of the Supply Chain Solutions business segment.

Ryder's revenue for the first half of 2003 was $2.39 billion, up 1% from 2002, and earnings before accounting changes for the six months ended were $55.6 million, up 20% from last year.

Commercial rental revenue for the second quarter of 2003 grew 5% compared with the year-earlier period, marking the third consecutive quarter of year-over-year rental revenue improvement, the company said.