Usa Truck Inc (USAK) SEC Filing 10-Q Quarterly report for the period ending Tuesday, June 30, 2020

EXHIBIT 99.1

USA Truck Reports Second Quarter 2020 Results

Van Buren, AR – July 27, 2020 –

For the quarter ended June 30, 2020, consolidated operating revenue was $123.7 million compared to $133.6 million for the prior-year period.  Base revenue^(a), which excludes fuel surcharge revenue, was $113.2 million compared to $116.7 million for the 2019 period.  The Company reported a net loss of $0.9 million, or $0.11 per diluted share for the second quarter 2020 and adjusted net loss^(a) of $0.5 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to net income of $0.0 million, or $0.00 per diluted share and adjusted net income^(a) of $0.3 million, or $0.03 per diluted share for the same quarter in 2019.  The Company’s second quarter 2020 consolidated operating ratio was 99.2%, compared to 98.5% in the comparable 2019 quarter.

President and CEO James Reed commented, “The second quarter of 2020 was unlike any quarter we have seen in transportation, producing unprecedented day to day and week to week swings in freight and pricing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our diversified customer base - we classify approximately 80% of our customers as essential / quasi-essential – kept our asset-based freight moving consistently through the quarter.  Although our non-essential customers, which are critical to our network despite being a smaller relative percentage of the freight basket, have yet to make a full recovery.  We supplemented this shortfall with lower priced spot freight and consequently saw an overall degradation in our base revenue per available tractor per week.  Despite the challenges, the Trucking segment improved its adjusted operating ratio^(a) by 370 basis points sequentially.  

USAT Logistics’ efficiency continued to improve as we saw a 15.7% increase year over year in load count, continuing the recent trend of efficiency gains and throughput capacity.  But the broader environment proved challenging as spot prices alternated between near all-time lows and near all-time highs all within the same quarter.  We expect this segment will continue to track ahead of the market in coming quarters.

Our organization is continuing to show progress in key initiatives of regionalization, technology, and cost control.  Regionalization is starting to gain traction, as we anticipate the opening of a terminal in the Dallas, Texas market by the end of third quarter. We expect the addition of this terminal to result in lower over the road maintenance costs, improved driver retention, and better network execution.  Additionally, we have entered into an agreement for delivery of an additional 189 new tractors that we expect to be completed during 2020.  This transaction will reduce our average age of the fleet, improve maintenance costs further, and contribute to our cost reduction initiatives.

We believe we are well positioned as market capacity is tightening: we continue to focus on providing great service to our customers, improving utilization on our trucks, and increasing volumes through our USAT Logistics segment.”