·

Customers who we consider “core” to our long-term prospects represented 33% of our total revenue during the quarter compared to just 24% during the comparable quarter.  Those customers were specifically selected as “core” customers because, among other things, their freight has tended to remain consistent seasonally and cyclically.

 

·	Fifty-three percent of our loads moved in our Spider Web network compared to 46% a year ago.  The improved density in our preferred lanes and a generally favorable industry environment for pricing led to an 8.5% increase in our loaded rate per mile to $1.655, the highest in our history.

 

·	Our freight network is becoming increasingly regionalized as our Spider Web density grows.  Our loaded length of haul was 534 miles, the shortest in our history.

 

·	The growing ability of our team members to profitably service our customers' capacity needs and balance our freight network was increasingly evident throughout the course of the quarter.

 

·	The major impediment to greater earnings in Trucking was a lack of qualified drivers:

 

·

Though our turnover rate was actually lower than the second quarter of 2010, the carryover of unmanned trucks from the first quarter led to elevated driver-related costs as we worked to man those trucks with highly qualified drivers.  As a result, driver compensation costs increased nearly $0.03 per mile or approximately $0.08 per share for the quarter.  Driver recruiting and training costs also increased by 20%, or approximately $0.03 per share.  We expect that most of these costs will subside upon reaching our goal of 3% unmanned tractors.

 

·

An average of 9.1% of our fleet was unmanned during the quarter compared to 6.5% last year.  The 2.6% difference reduced earnings by nearly $0.05 per share due to a reduction in miles per tractor per week (achieving our goal of no more than 3% of unmanned trucks would have added approximately another $0.07 of earnings to the quarter).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

USA TRUCK, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(UNAUDITED)
	(in thousands, except per share data)
	Three Months Ended						Six Months Ended
	June 30,						June 30,
	2011			2010			2011			2010
Revenue:
Trucking revenue	$	85,309		$	83,620		$	168,184		$	164,310
Strategic Capacity Solutions revenue		17,871			8,502			29,439			14,713
Intermodal revenue		5,294			2,760			10,503			5,085
Base revenue		108,474			94,882			208,126			184,108
Fuel surcharge revenue		30,553			18,791			54,943			35,198
Total revenue		139,027			113,673			263,069			219,306
Operating expenses and costs:
Fuel and fuel taxes		36,332			27,217			71,058			55,612
Salaries, wages and employee benefits		34,704			32,082			67,805			65,309
Purchased transportation		31,480			18,995			56,861			34,600
Depreciation and amortization		12,489			12,135			25,102			24,634
Operations and maintenance		10,415			8,304			20,292			15,968
Insurance and claims		5,700			5,525			11,563			11,596
Operating taxes and licenses		1,375			1,411			2,773			2,804
Communications and utilities		1,049			1,019			2,034			1,965
Gain on disposal of revenue equipment, net		(1,341)			(36)			(2,256)			(43)
Other		4,612			3,983			8,807			7,322
Total operating expenses and costs		136,815			110,635			264,039			219,767
Operating income (loss)		2,212			3,038			(970)			(461)
Other expenses (income):
Interest expense		821			944			1,564			1,713
Other, net		(26)			127			(37)			178
Total other expenses, net		795			1,071			1,527			1,891
Income (loss) before income taxes		1,417			1,967			(2,497)			(2,352)
Income tax expense (benefit)		819			1,067			(379)			(256)
Net income (loss)	$	598		$	900		$	(2,118)		$	(2,096)
Net earnings (loss) per share information:
Average shares outstanding (Basic)		10,306			10,293			10,302			10,287
Basic earnings (loss) per share	$	0.06		$	0.09		$	(0.21)		$	(0.20)
Average shares outstanding (Diluted)		10,317			10,320			10,302			10,287
Diluted earnings (loss) per share	$	0.06		$	0.09		$	(0.21)		$	(0.20)

 

 

	Three Months Ended							Six Months Ended
	June 30,							June 30,
	2011			2010				2011				2010
Trucking:
Operating income (loss) (in thousands) (1)	$	37		$	1,970			$	(4,080)			$	(1,789)
Operating ratio (2)		99.9	%		97.7	%			102.4	%			101.1	%
Total miles (in thousands) (3)		57,846			60,624				116,508				122,105
Empty mile factor		10.9	%		9.6	%			10.4	%			9.9	%
Weighted average number of tractors (4)		2,341			2,331				2,341				2,338
Average miles per tractor per period		24,710			26,008				49,769				52,226
Average miles per tractor per week		1,901			2,001				1,925				2,020
Average miles per trip		534			539				545				557
Base Trucking revenue per tractor per week	$	2,803		$	2,759			$	2,778			$	2,718
Number of tractors at end of period (4)		2,354			2,331				2,354				2,331
Strategic Capacity Solutions:
Operating income (in thousands) (1)	$	2,273		$	923			$	3,606			$	1,243
Gross margin (5)		15.8	%		15.3	%			15.8	%			14.3	%
Intermodal:
Operating (loss) income (in thousands) (1)	$	(98)		$	145			$	(496)			$	85
Gross margin (5)		11.4	%		10.6	%			8.8	%			7.4	%

(2)           Operating ratio is calculated by dividing total operating expenses, net of fuel surcharge, by base revenue.

(3)           Total miles include both loaded and empty miles.

(4)           Tractors include Company-operated tractors in service plus tractors operated by independent contractors.

(5)           Gross margin is calculated by taking total base revenue, less purchased transportation expense net of fuel surcharge revenue and dividing that amount by total base revenue.  This calculation includes intercompany revenues and expenses.

 

				(in thousands)
				June 30,						December 31,
				2011						2010
	Assets
	Current assets:
	Cash			$	1,776					$	2,726
	Receivables, net				66,627						47,983
	Inventories				2,712						2,080
	Prepaid expenses and other current asse				13,870						12,885
	Total current assets				84,985						65,674
	Property and equipment, at cost				432,854						423,115
	Accumulated depreciation and amortization				(162,905)						(163,867)
	Property and equipment, net				269,949						259,248
	Note receivable				2,038						2,048
	Other assets				433						415
	Total assets			$	357,405					$	327,385
	Liabilities and Stockholders’ equity
	Current liabilities:
	Bank drafts payable			$	4,502					$	4,233
	Trade accounts payable				29,973						16,691
	Current portion of insurance and claims accruals				4,519						4,725
	Accrued expenses				10,874						8,401
	Note payable				338						1,009
	Current maturities of long-term debt and capital leases				26,798						18,766
	Deferred income taxes				1,296						1,094
	Total current liabilities				78,300						54,919
	Deferred gain				615						618
	Long-term debt and capital leases, less current maturities				88,737						79,750
	Deferred income taxes				50,165						50,782
	Insurance and claims accruals, less current portion				4,050						3,608
	Total stockholders’ equity				135,538						137,708
	Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity			$	357,405					$	327,385
Selected other financial information:
		(in thousands)
		Six Months Ended June 30,
		2011					2010
Net cash provided by operating activities		$	9,545				$		24,911
Capital expenditures, net			27,119						27,825

 

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements generally may be identified by their use of terms or phrases such as “expects,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “believes,” “plans,” “goals,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “potential,” “continue,” “future,” and terms or phrases of similar substance.  Forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our management and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, which could cause future events and actual results to differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements.  Accordingly, actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.  Readers should review and consider the factors that may affect future results and other disclosures by the Company in its press releases, Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or changes in the factors affecting the forward-looking information.  In light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release might not occur.

 

All forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.