Knight Reports Lower 1Q Earnings

Truckload carrier Knight Transportation’s first-quarter profit fell to $11.4 million, or 13 cents a share, from $16.6 million, or 19 cents, a year ago.

Revenue rose 5.9% to $176.4 million, the company said in a statement late Wednesday.

“The challenging truckload freight environment continued in the first quarter and was accompanied with diesel fuel prices reaching unprecedented highs,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Knight said.

“Pricing and equipment utilization continued to be negatively affected as the supply of for-hire trucks outpaced freight demand in our regional markets,” he said in a statement.

Knight is ranked No. 40 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.