Durable Goods Orders Rise on Higher Transportation Orders

Durable goods orders rose in July but declined excluding transportation orders, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Overall orders for goods mean to last at least three years rose 4.2%. Excluding transportation orders, which tend to be volatile, orders slipped 0.4%.

Orders for motor vehicles and parts improved 13%, while civilian aircraft orders jumped 54%.

Bookings for non-defense capital equipment excluding aircraft fell 3.4%, Bloomberg reported. Economists’ median forecast for overall orders was a 2.5% gain, Bloomberg said.

Durable goods include large items like refrigerators and air conditioners. Trucking is a major beneficiary of durable goods manufacturing, hauling both components and finished goods.

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US truck tonnage edges higher in November

ARLINGTON, Va. -- US truck tonnage rose 0.3% in November after rising a revised 0.4% in October, according to the most recent figures from the American Trucking Associations. October's increase was slightly less than the 0.5% gain ATA previously reported.  

Compared with November 2010, seasonally-adjusted tonnage was up 6.0%, the largest year-over-year gain since a 6.5% increase in June. In October, the tonnage index was 5.7% above a year earlier. Year-to-date, compared with the same period last year, tonnage is up 5.4%.
"As I said last month, tonnage levels continue to point to an economy that is growing, not sliding into a recession," said ATA chief economist Bob Costello. "Over the last three months, tonnage is up 2.3% and stands at the highest level since January of this year.
"Two primary factors have helped truck tonnage in recent months. First, manufacturing output, which generates a significant amount of truck freight, has generally been increasing. Second, retail inventories are very lean, which is helping freight as well since retailers don't have much excess stock and need to replenish when sales go up."

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Qualcomm Reports Higher Profits for 4Q, Year

Qualcomm Inc. said its fiscal fourth-quarter net income rose 22% to $1.06 billion, or 62 cents per share, from $865 million, or 53 cents, a year ago.

Revenue increased 39% to $4.12 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 25, the maker of trucking communication devices and wireless chips said in a statement.

The company said it shipped 127 million units of its CDMA-based mobile station modem devices in the quarter, with sales rising 38% to $39 billion.

In the same period last year it shipped 111 million of units and generated sales of $28 million on the mobile station devices.

CDMA, or code division multiple access, allows several users to share a communications channel, or bandwidth.

For fiscal year 2011, Qualcomm said its earnings climbed 31% to $4.26 billion, or $2.52 per share, on revenue of $15 billion, up 36% from the previous year.

CEO Paul Jacobs said the company delivered record revenue, earnings and MSM chipset shipments this year, driven by the popularity of smartphones and continued adoption of 3G technology.

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Daimler Predicts Higher Truck Sales in 4Q

Bruce Harmon/Trans Pixs

Daimler AG predicted a higher fourth-quarter profit on gains at its trucks and vans divisions, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

The maker of Freightliner and Western Star trucks projected “strong” growth in truck sales, Bloomberg said. Freightliner and Western Star are brands of Daimler Trucks North America.

“The need to catch up in both the European and [North American] markets is the main reason for the strong revival of demand compared with last year,” Daimler said in a statement.

Orders received for 107,200 units in the third quarter remained at a high level, and the order backlog is significantly larger than a year ago.

The truck unit anticipates unit sales in the fourth quarter at a higher level than in the prior-year period, the company said.

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Saia Reports Higher 3Q Net Income

Saia Inc. said Wednesday its third-quarter net income nearly doubled from a year ago on higher revenue and improved pricing.

Net income was $4.8 million, or 30 cents a share, compared with $2.5 million, or 16 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose 14% to $268 million.

Operating income jumped 47% to $9.6 million, the less-than-truckload carrier said.

LTL tonnage was up 2.6% from a year ago, while shipments per workday were flat with a 2.6% increase in weight per shipment.

Saia is ranked No. 23 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.

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Oil Companies' Profits Rise on Higher Crude Prices

Several major oil companies cited higher crude prices in reporting higher third-quarter profits. 

• Chevron Corp. said Friday its profit more than doubled, to $7.83 billion, or $3.92 per share, from $3.77 billion, or $1.87, a year ago. Revenue jumped 26% to $61.3 billion.

• Exxon Mobil Corp.’s net income rose 41% to $10.33 billion, or $2.13 per share from $7.35 billion, or $1.44. Revenue rose 32% to $125.3 billion.

• Royal Dutch Shell’s profit rose to $6.98 billion, from $3.46 billion. Revenue rose 33% to $127 billion.

• ConocoPhillips’ income slipped of $2.6 billion, or $1.91 per share, from $3.1 billion, or $2.05. Revenue rose 33% to $62.78 billion.

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Norfolk Southern Reports Higher 3Q Profit

Norfolk Southern Corp.’s third-quarter profit rose 24 percent from the same quarter last year, the Eastern freight railroad reported.

Net income rose to $554 million, or $1.59 per share, up from $445 million, or $1.19 per share, a year ago, the rail line said in a statement late Wednesday.

Railway operating revenue rose 18% to $2.9 billion.

Intermodal revenue rose 19% to $551 million, and general merchandise revenue rose 12% to $1.4 billion. Coal revenue gained 27% to $899 million.

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Cummins Posts Higher 3Q Profit, Trims 2011 Outlook

Cummins Inc. said Tuesday its third-quarter profit rose 60% from a year ago, but the engine maker trimmed its full-year revenue outlook due to “uncertainty around the macro-economic environment.”

Third-quarter net income climbed to $452 million, or $2.35 a share, from $283 million, or $1.44, a year ago. Sales for the quarter ended Sept. 25 rose 36% to $4.6 billion.

Cummins lowered its full-year sales forecast to $17.5 billion to $18 billion, down from a previously projected $18 billion.

President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Linebarger said “government actions to reduce inflation in India and China resulted in softer near-term demand than we previously expected.”

“This, along with the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar, has caused us to slightly soften full year revenue guidance to a range of $17.5 to $18 billion, which would represent an increase of over $4 billion, or over 30%, compared to 2010,” he said in a statement.

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Rush Enterprises' Income, Sales Jump on Higher Truck Sales

Truck dealership Rush Enterprises said its third-quarter net income improved on higher Class 8 and medium-duty truck sales.

Net income rose to $16 million, or 41 cents a share, from $14.2 million, or 37 cents, a year ago, Rush said late Monday. Revenue jumped 71.6% to $696.4 million.

Truck revenue rose to $487.3 million, from $248.3 million a year ago, while parts, service and body shop sales rose to $182.6 million, from $132.1 million.

Rush delivered 2,474 new heavy-duty trucks in the quarter, up from 1,283 a year ago; 1,427 new medium-duty trucks, up from 650; and 1,170 used trucks, up from 899 a year ago. It also sold 301 light-duty commercial vehicles, up from 28 last year.

Rush said it “continues to pursue its acquisition strategy,” and that its agreement to buy West Texas Peterbilt and Peck Road Ford in Whittier, Calif., are scheduled to close this quarter.

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CSX Reports Higher Third-Quarter Profit

CSX Corp. said its third-quarter net income rose to $464 million, or 43 cents per share, from $414 million, or 36 cents, a year ago.

Revenue climbed 11% to nearly $3 billion, the eastern freight railroad said late Tuesday.

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Marten Reports Higher 3Q Profit

Marten Transport’s third-quarter profit rose 15.5% on improved performance in its truckload and logistics sectors.

Net income rose to $6.3 million, or 29 cents per share, from $5.5 million, or 25 cents, a year ago.

Revenue rose 21.5% to $156.3 million, reflecting a continuing combination of higher shipping volume and increased fuel surcharges.

Fuel surcharges jumped to $28.8 million for the quarter, from $18.8 million in the 2010 third quarter.

Marten Transport is ranked No. 43 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.

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