Average daily package volume rose to 13.6 million at UPS, a net gain of 550,000 packages per day from the year-earlier period. The carrier reported an 18.2% gain in net income for the period on a 7.8% increase in revenue – with strong growth in its global package business.
FedEx, which closed its fiscal year May 31st, reported revenues were up 21% to $7.04 billion and operating income rose 39% to $685 million. Net income was $412 million, up 47% from the prior year. Total daily package volume at FedEx Express and FedEx Ground rose 7% in the quarter due to growth in U.S. domestic express shipments and strong growth in international express shipments.
Yellow Roadway Corp. reported second quarter operating revenue of $1.67 billion, up 15% from pro forma second quarter 2003 operating revenue. The company posted pre-tax income of $76.28 million.
Yellow Roadway Corp.’s Yellow Transportation unit reported record revenue of $793 million for the quarter, a 14.6% increase over second-quarter 2003. Roadway Express had revenues of $768 million, up 3.5% from the 2003 quarter. New Penn Motor Express, another Yellow Roadway unit, had revenues of $64.3 million, up 17.6% from 2003.
Operating ratios for Yellow Roadway companies in the first half of 2004 were: Yellow Transportation 95.3, Roadway Express 96.5, and New Penn 87.6.
Swift Transportation saw its second quarter and first half improve over the prior-year periods. Revenues for the quarter rose 18.1% to $691 million. This included 7% from the acquisition of Merit Distribution Services. Excluding fuel surcharge revenues, the carrier’s second quarter was 15.8% ahead of the same period in 2003.
For the first half of 2004, revenues were up 15.6% to $1.3 billion (including Merit Distribution). Excluding fuel surcharges, revenues increased 14.4% and net earnings were $41 million.
Truckload carrier Heartland Express saw a 10.4% increase in revenues during the second quarter and improved its operating ratio to 79.3. USF reported trucking revenues of $518 million, up 9.7% and income of $37.3 million, up 46.9% from 2Q2003. Its operating ratio improved to 92.8.
