Universal Truckload Revenue Tops $600 Million in 2010

Universal Truckload Services increased its operating revenue 20.4 percent to $605.9 million last year, aided by trucking acquisitions and the economic recovery.

The company reported $503.2 million in operating revenue in 2009, a 33.8 percent drop from its pre-recession revenue peak of $759.5 million in 2008.

Universal's net income for the full year more than doubled, rising $7.8 million to $12.7 million, as capacity tightened and rates climbed, the company said.

"We have seen improvements in our operating margins in each quarter this year," said Don Cochran, president and CEO of the Warren, Mich.-based carrier group.

Fourth-quarter operating revenue increased 11.6 percent to $156.1 million. The dry van and flatbed operator's net income rose more than 75 percent to $3.2 million.

Universal reported $370.1 million in truckload sales in 2010, $148 million in brokerage revenue and $87.9 million in intermodal sales, a 14.5 percent increase.

Truckload volume in the fourth quarter, however, dropped 5.1 percent year-over-year. For the full year, volume improved 12.3 percent compared with 2009.

The company's truckload capacity dropped 8.6 percent in 2010 to 2,474 tractors at the end of the year. Universal uses owner-operators to provide that capacity.

Average operating revenue per loaded tractor, excluding fuel surcharges, jumped 7.6 percent in the fourth quarter, indicating a strong quarter for pricing.

In terms of growth, brokerage revenue outpaced truckload sales in 2010, rising 31 percent compared with an 18 percent increase in truckload revenue.

Acquisitions in 2009 and 2010 helped boost revenue at the company, which operates in the U.S. and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Universal's subsidiaries include Universal Am-Can, Cavalry Transportation, Mason & Dixon Lines, Mason Dixon Intermodal, Great American Lines and others.

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