Marten Transport 1Q net income up 4.9 percent

Marten Transport announced that for the first quarter of 2006, net income increased 4.9 percent to $5.1 million, up from $4.8 million for the same quarter of 2005. Operating revenue increased 16.2 percent to $119.6 million from $102.9 million for the year-ago period. Operating revenue included fuel surcharges of $15.8 million, compared with $9.7 million for the same quarter of 2005.

Operating revenue also included non-freight revenue, principally from Marten’s logistics operations, of $6.7 million for the 2006 quarter, compared with $2.9 million for the first quarter of 2005. Freight revenue, which excludes fuel surcharge and non-freight revenue, increased 7.4 percent to $97.1 million, compared with $90.4 million for the 2005 quarter.

“The strength of our operating model and customer relationships were demonstrated by first-quarter earnings that improved over an unusually strong first quarter of 2005,” says Randolph L. Marten, chairman and president of Mondovi, Wis.-based Marten. “The key contributor to the increase in earnings was higher freight rates, which more than overcame a decrease in average miles per tractor.”