Usually Hopeful March Turning Out a Tough Month in Freight

Many trucking companies that usually see their freight business pick up in March, after a seasonally slow start to the year, are seeing disappointing results so far in 2001 as the economy continues to cool.

Multi-modal freight hauler CNF Inc. said Wednesday that while March is traditionally the strongest month of the first quarter it appears this year to be at least as disappointing as January and February.

In addition, trucking company US Freightways Corp. said last week that it was planning significant cuts in jobs and spending, and that its first-quarter earnings would fall “substantially below” estimates.

Besides blaming the economic climate, the carrier said revenues would be hurt due to the recent earthquake in Seattle, as well as severe winter storms in the Northeast and California.

However, USFreightways also said it was expecting freight demand to continue softening at least through March.

Another trucking company, Swift Transportation, said it may experience its weakest first quarter since going public in 1990, and is continuing to see a drop in the volume of shipments coming from the West Coast so far this month.

M.S. Carriers, the trucking company that Swift is merging with, also said it was having a slower-than-usual March as it warned first-quarter earnings will be below estimates.

This reduced strength for freight haulers is being shared by some related companies.

This has forced vehicle parts companies like Hayes Lemmerz International to take steps to reduce costs and cut back on production as its own sales slow. That company said Thursday that it lost $16.5 million or 58 cents per share during its fiscal quarter that ended Jan. 31, and blamed cutbacks in truck output as one reason.