Mammoth charges increase loss for Transport Corporation of America

April 19, 2002
Truckload carrier Transport Corporation of America (TCA) not only posted a $279,000 loss for the first quarter of 2002, it had to take close to $20 million worth of charges, mostly to meet new accounting standards and to dispose of used tractors. TCA's revenues for the quarter were relatively flat at $66 million, compared to $66.1 million in the first quarter of last year. The carrier had narrowed
Truckload carrier Transport Corporation of America (TCA) not only posted a $279,000 loss for the first quarter of 2002, it had to take close to $20 million worth of charges, mostly to meet new accounting standards and to dispose of used tractors.

TCA's revenues for the quarter were relatively flat at $66 million, compared to $66.1 million in the first quarter of last year. The carrier had narrowed its losses to $279,000, compared to a loss of $752,000 in the same period last year.

. However, Minneapolis-based TCA had to take a non-cash $2.5 million charge after taxes to dispose of 260 tractors and 500 trailers. The carrier then had to take a non-cash "goodwill" charge of $16.7 million after taxes as it adopted new accounting standards. Altogether, TCA posted a net loss of $19.5 million for the quarter.

President & CEO Michael Paxton said operating conditions are mixed. Revenue per tractor per week, excluding fuel surcharges, improved 9% and total loaded miles increased 7%.

However, because of continued pricing pressure in the market, TCA's overall freight rates, excluding fuel surcharges, declined by 3-cents per mile compared to last year. Also, insurance cost increases and several large claims increased by 41%, he said.

About the Author

Sean Kilcarr | Editor in Chief

Sean previously reported and commented on trends affecting the many different strata of the trucking industry. Also be sure to visit Sean's blog Trucks at Work where he offers analysis on a variety of different topics inside the trucking industry.

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