USA Truck reports 2009 loss of $7.1 million

The ongoing national freight recession continues to pummel Van Buren-based USA Truck Inc., which reported a 2009 net income loss of $7.177 million compared to a gain of $3.14 million in 2008.

The long-haul trucking company posted 2009 revenue of $382.36 million, down 28.6% compared to the $535.62 million in 2008.

In the fourth quarter of 2009, the company posted a $2.512 million income loss, compared to a $599,000 gain in the 2008 quarter. Total revenue in the fourth quarter 2009 was $100.31 million, down 13.6% from the 2008 quarter. The company has lost more than $3.64 million in the past five quarters.

USA Truck President and CEO Clifton Beckham said in the earnings statement that industry conditions should improve in 2010.

“We believe industry conditions have bottomed. However, tractor capacity remains abundant and pricing pressure remains severe. We anticipate our first quarter results will be similar to our recent quarters and there will likely be sequential downward pressure on industry pricing as lower priced third and fourth quarter bids take effect,” Beckham said in the earnings statement. “However, we also believe the imbalance between industry tractor capacity and freight demand will gradually improve throughout 2010 as businesses begin restocking inventories and as unsustainably low freight pricing and rising fuel prices begin thinning industry capacity.”

Beckham said the company’s VEVA (Vision for Economic Value Added) strategic plan helped the company produced some positive trends “despite rising fuel costs and the ongoing depression in freight volumes that began in 2006.”

VEVA successes, according to the company, include:
• Year-over-year reduction of fixed costs by 5.9% and trucking variable costs per mile (excluding fuel) by 3.6%;
• Through its “War on Accidents” safety initiative, the company reduced the frequency of our Department of Transportation reportable accidents by 33.3% (fourth quarter 2009 compared to fourth quarter 2007);
• Insurance and claims expense were reduced by about by 11 cents per share;
• The company improved its ration of 3.2 drivers for every staff employee to a 4:1 ratio;
• The intermodal base revenue grew 44.7% to $2.3 million as the company entered new markets and broadened the customer base with “Trailer-on-Flat-Car” rail intermodal service.
• Trucking base revenue per loaded mile and trucking base revenue per total mile improved again this quarter (up 0.7% and 2.8%, respectively) as they have in each quarter of 2009; and,
• Seven of the company’s 10 largest trucking base revenue weeks of 2009 occurred during the fourth quarter of 2009.

Despite the improvements, the company’s loss of 24 cents per share for the fourth quarter missed analyst estimates of 17 cents per share loss.

USA Truck shares (NASDAQ: USAK) closed Wednesday at $12.35. During the past 52 weeks, the share price has ranged from a $16.09 high to a $10.78 low.