USA Truck, BNSF Railway Sign Intermodal Pact

USA Truck is rebounding from the recession and expanding its fast-growing intermodal business. The dry-van truckload carrier said Aug. 18 it is partnering with BNSF Railway to move 53-foot domestic containers on its rail network.

"We believe these private containers will provide a much-needed additional source of environmentally friendly and cost-efficient capacity to our customers," said Cliff Beckham, president and CEO of Van Buren, Ark.-based USA Truck.

Like many truckload carriers, USA Truck is cutting its tractor fleet, shortening its truckload length of haul and relying more on intermodal rail for long-haul service as it re-engineers its network to focus on more profitable, high-density lanes.

By The Numbers: U.S. IMC Intermodal & Highway Yields.

It launched trailer-on-flatcar intermodal service in 2007. Intermodal and brokerage services now account for about 12 percent of its business, but it's a growing share. Year-over-year intermodal revenue jumped 69 percent in 2009, USA Truck said.

That growth -- mainly in TOFC traffic -- continued this year, with a 50 percent year-over-year increase in intermodal revenue in the first half of 2010.

USA Truck reported $900,000 in net income in the second quarter, its first net profit since the end of 2008. It sales rose 16.8 percent to $94.9 million.

-- Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com.