USA Truck Inc. of Van Buren on Wednesday reported a second-quarter loss of $1.3 million, a decrease from the $2.8 million profit it reported in the same quarter of 2015.
Quarterly revenue was also down: the company reported $109.9 million, compared to $133.6 million a year ago. Earnings per share was a loss of 15 cents, down from a profit of 26 cents in the same quarter of 2015.
It is the second consecutive down quarter for USA Truck (Nasdaq: USAK), whose income is a net loss of $3.2 million for the first two quarters of 2016 compared to a profit of $4.4 million in 2016. Revenue is also down, to $220.5 million compared to $266.5 million in 2015.
USA Truck CEO Randy Rogers said the disappointing results were partially caused by lower rates as well as smaller shipments by some of its customers. The company reported almost two million fewer shipped miles in the quarter and a decrease in revenue per mile from $1.88 to $1.71.
The trucking division reported revenue of $75.5 million, a steep drop from the $93.4 million in reported in the same quarter a year ago. USAT Logistics reported revenue of $34.4 million, compared to $40.1 million a year ago.
“Despite the disappointing quarterly results, the company generated incremental progress from previously announced initiatives, and believes it can produce substantially improved results through the following actions,” Rogers said.
Rogers then stated the actions included: disposal of expensive equipment; more stringent cost control measures; shrinking its route network geographically and covering it with a smaller fleet; and expanding the market share of USAT Logistics, its brokerage service. The company reported it had reduced its company-owned tractors by more than 5 percent and said it expects to shed at least another 130 tractors in 2016, or approximately 8.4 percent of its current total.
USA Truck said it would delay purchasing new tractors until the economic environment improves.
The company said it was scaling back its maintenance costs by outsourcing about 80 percent of its work. USA Truck said it had “implemented a further reduction in force” but did not specify how many jobs were eliminated; USA Truck said it was not filling open positions, either, and expected savings of $2 million.
USA Truck reported it spent $30.6 million on salaries, wages and employee benefits in the second quarter of 2016, compared to $35.6 million in the same quarter a year ago.
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