P.A.M. Transportation Services on Friday, Feb. 8, reported a net loss of $839,909 for the fourth quarter, and net income of $2.65 million for the year, both ended Dec. 31. These results compare to net income of $4.27 million and $17.96 million, respectively, for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2006.
Operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharges, were $84.98 million for the fourth quarter of 2007 compared to $85.33 million for the year-ago period. Operating revenues, excluding fuel surcharges, were $351.70 million for 2007 compared to $351.37 million for 2006.
“The fourth-quarter financial results continued to reflect the difficult operating environment we have experienced throughout 2007,” said Robert W. Weaver, president of Tontitown, Ark.-based P.A.M. Transportation Services. “The weakness in truck freight demand was most evident in December 2007, which accounted for the majority of our fourth-quarter loss, with the low point for the quarter being from Christmas Eve until the end of the year. Although equipment utilization, measured in miles per truck per day, decreased only slightly as compared to the same period a year ago, market economics continued to favor shippers.”
Weaver said P.A.M. Transportation Services incurred two large nonrecurring expense items during the fourth quarter of 2007. “The first of these items was attributable to the closure of the company’s Parsippany, New Jersey terminal, and consisted of approximately $300,000 in severance payments paid to 34 employees who were permanently laid off,” he said. “The company expects to benefit from elimination of expenses incurred by the terminal beginning in the first quarter of 2008.” The second item stems from an adverse settlement that arose from a 1986 environmental remediation claim in which the company was assessed and ordered to pay about $300,000 in damages, Weaver said.
“We do not see indications that our current market environment will improve significantly in the short term and intend to continue to focus on cost control while seeking to mitigate the effect of the continued downward pressure on rates in the freight market,” Weaver said.
