USA Truck reports $1.37M loss, blames ‘challenging’ quarter

USA Truck Inc. said Thursday that a “challenging freight environment” caused third-quarter revenue to drop 1.3% from last year, to $130.9 million.

The Van Buren trucking and logistics firm reported a net loss of $1.37 million, or 16 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared with profit of $3.3 million, or 40 cents per share, for the same quarter a year ago. The consensus earnings estimate of four analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters was 3 cents per share.

The company released its third-quarter results after the markets closed. USA Truck shares fell 30 cents, or 3.7%, to close at $7.93 on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Its shares have traded between $7.31 and $22.64 over the past year.

“The third quarter marked a continuation of the challenging freight environment the industry has experienced in 2019,” James Reed, USA Truck’s president and chief executive, said in a news release. “A seasonally soft market, coupled with increased trucking capacity in the market, has created an environment where shippers are motivated to allocate a larger portion of their freight to the spot market and lowpriced carrier options.”

According to recent research from trucking industry consulting firm DAT, freight volumes remain healthy, but plentiful capacChinese

ity is pushing down load-totruck ratios and keeping spot rates in check.

Reed said these challenges adversely affected both USA Truck’s trucking and logistics segments.

The trucking segment’s operating revenue for the quarter grew 7.8% to $93.6 million. However, base revenue per loaded mile dipped slightly, to $2.1 million compared from $2.2 million a year ago. Average loaded miles per trip fell 5.4% to 488, compared with 516 the previous year.

USA Truck’s logistics segment, USAT Logistics, took a much harder hit. Its operating revenue plunged 19.8% from the same quarter last year, to $39.37 million.

The company has adopted several measures aimed at stabilizing operational and financial performance for the rest of the year, Reed said in the release. These include cutting fixed costs by 5% to 10% across all departments; implementing bid award tracking procedures; expanding its terminal network with a new facility in Pennsylvania and maintenance facilities in Illinois and Georgia; and adding sales staff to USAT Logistics to increase volume.

USA Truck executives will hold a conference call with investors at 8 a.m. today to discuss the company’s thirdquarter results. The call can be accessed by dialing (844) 824-3828. A live webcast of the call will be available through the investor relations section of the company’s website, www. usa-truck.com.