William B. Cassidy | Jul 21, 2010 3:33PM EDT
Temperature-controlled trucker Marten Transport increased its profit 15.2 percent in the second quarter despite essentially flat revenue compared with a year ago.
The carrier reported $5.2 million in net income on $125.9 million in revenue, compared with a $4.5 million profit on $125.8 million in sales a year ago.
The Mondovi, Wis.-based company increased its profit 33 percent over the first quarter, when it reported net income of $3.9 million on $125.8 million in sales.
Its rising profit is based on cost control, tightening capacity and fuel surcharges, rather than the double digit increases in freight volumes reported by many carriers.
Marten is brokering its way to bigger profits while reorganizing its nationwide truckload operations along regional lines and reducing its length of haul.
"We have increased our regional operations to 40.4 percent of our truckload fleet … from 20.4 percent a year earlier," said Chairman and CEO Randolph L. Marten.
Marten's total truckload revenue decreased 1.9 percent to $97.4 million in the quarter, but average revenue per tractor per week rose 4.7 percent to $2,971.
The company made deep cuts in truckload capacity, eliminating 17 percent of its fleet over the past year and ending the quarter with 2,066 tractors.
Its company drivers and owner-operators logged almost 12 percent fewer miles in the second quarter than the year-ago period, and drove fewer empty miles.
Logistics revenue, which includes third party brokerage and temperature controlled intermodal, was up 7.2 percent from a year ago at $28.5 million.
The loads brokered by Marten and its third-party subsidiary MWL were up 5.5 percent, while intermodal loads rose 1.9 percent.
Intermodal revenue rose 5.1 percent to $11.2 million.
-- Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com.