Swift Transportation Net Dips 19%
Swift Transportation Co. said net income slipped 19% to $40.2 million, hurt by weaker profit margins at its dedicated and refrigerated units.
Net income was 28 cents per share, including 5 cents per share in one-time costs, and 33 cents per share including those expenses to reduce debt. In the year-earlier period, net income was $49.9 million, or 35 cents.
Revenue increased nearly 5% to $1.076 billion from $1.029 billion.
Profitability rose, however, at the truckload unit, resulting from a 3.7-cent increase in revenue per mile. Profit before interest and taxes rose 7% to $69.6 million, accounting for about 75% of all profit at Swift.
The Phoenix-based firm ranks No. 6 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
“We are continuing to make progress on our goals with utilization improvements, rate increases, dedicated growth and intermodal growth in the second quarter,” the company said in a letter to shareholders posted July 24.
“Despite these improvements, we were constrained in the Truckload and Central Refrigerated segments by the challenging driver market. Our driver turnover and unseated truck count were higher than anticipated.”
