Quarterly income and revenue for USA Truck increase, beat estimates

Van Buren-based USA Truck on Thursday (Oct. 29) reported third quarter net income of $2.295 million, much better than the $1.373 million loss in the same quarter of 2019. Per share earnings of 29 cents beat the consensus estimate of 6 cents.

Total revenue during the quarter was $141.786 million, up from $130.924 million in the same quarter of 2019 and better than the consensus estimate of $132.63 million.

President and CEO James Reed said the freight markets began to improve in the second half of the quarter.

“The third quarter of 2020 was the tale of two freight markets. The first half of the quarter was similar to the second quarter of 2020, with unpredictable week to week swings in freight, pricing and seasonally softer demand. The market turned toward the middle of August as capacity constraints emerged and demand strengthened. The tightening capacity was driven by many factors including the implementation of the new Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse screening requirements, driver school shut downs in the face of COVID-19 concerns, general COVID-19 cautiousness among drivers, and expanded unemployment insurance and federal and state relief programs,” Reed noted in the earnings report.

For the first nine months of the year, the company has a net income loss of $1.187 million compared with a $129,000 gain in the same period of 2019. Revenue in the first nine months of 2020 totaled $392.296 million, down from the $398.52 million in the same period of 2019.

TRUCKING, LOGISTICS SEGMENTS
Revenue in the trucking segment during the quarter was $96.732 million, better than the $93.354 million in the same quarter of 2019. Operating income in the segment was $3.453 million, better than the $278,000 loss during the same period of 2019.

Following are other trucking sector metrics noted in the report.
• Base revenue per available tractor per week increased $318, or 10.1%, compared to the third quarter of 2019, primarily due to an increase in base revenue per loaded mile and a decrease in tractor count.
• Base revenue per loaded mile increased $0.191, or 9.1% year over year and $0.271. This change was the result of increased demand and tightening supply resulting in higher rate realizations.
• Loaded miles per available tractor per week increased 14 miles, or 0.9%, compared to the third quarter of 2019.
• The average seated tractor count for the third quarter of 2020 was 1,827, which represented a decrease of 1.9% over the third quarter 2019 average of 1,862. Average unseated tractor percentage for third quarter 2020 was 7.2%, an unfavorable change from 6.5% for the third quarter of 2019.

USAT Logistics had quarterly revenue of $45.054 million, better than the $37.57 million during the same period of 2019. Operating income in the segment during the quarter was $981,000, up from $244,000 in the same period of 2019.

“USAT Logistics capitalized on the increasing market rates and executed through increased volume during the quarter, which generated the two highest revenue months in the history of this operating segment during this quarter,” the company noted in the earnings report.

Company shares (NASDAQ: USAK) closed Thursday at $8.70. During the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged between $12.85 and $2.36.