Q4 Loss Dents P.A.M. Transportation Earnings

P.A.M. Transportation Services, Inc. reported a net loss of $311,010 in its fourth quarter, but the Tontitown-based trucking firm still finished the year in the black.

P.A.M. Transportation closed 2012 with a $2.178 million profit compared to a $2.857 million loss in the previous year.

Operating revenues in the fourth quarter were $95.77 million, a 7.1% increase compared to $89.388 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. For the full year, revenues topped $380.63 million, a 6% increase from 2011.

“We finished the year with eleven consecutive profitable months, followed by a single month of loss in December,” said P.A.M. Transportation President Daniel Cushman.

“Fourth quarter freight demand began up year-over-year and remained strong through the Friday before Christmas. However, demand fell off more drastically the last ten days of 2012 than in 2011, which is largely attributable to the mid-week holiday in 2012, compared to the weekend holiday in 2011,” Cushman said. “This had the effect of reducing the momentum of year-over-year revenue growth from 7.2% in October and November, to a slight decrease year over year in December. We reduced our fourth quarter operating loss slightly from $433,000 for the fourth quarter 2011 to $395,000 for the fourth quarter 2012.”

Cushman said that the driver market tightened in 2012, but the trucking firm ended the year with 260 more drivers and 143 more owner operators than in 2011.