Membership in $1M carrier club rises slightly in early ’07

OTTAWA — About 3,579 for-hire Canadian trucking companies hit revenues of $1 million or more in the first quarter of 2007, up from 3,541 carriers in the first quarter of 2006.

Operating revenues totaled $6.9 billion, down 5.9 percent from the first quarter of 2006, reports Stats Canada. Operating expenses reached $6.5 billion, down 4.8 percent from the same period in 2006. As a result the operating ratio deteriorated somewhat, moving from 0.93 to 0.94.

On a year-over-year basis, average operating revenues declined 6.9 percent to $1.9 million, while average operating revenues decreased 5.8 percent to $1.8 million.

In addition, for-hire trucking transportation revenues from domestic movements decreased by 11.2 percent to $4.5 billion from the $5.0 billion from the year before. In contrast, revenues from international movements increased 9.2 percent, mainly because of an almost 14 percent growth in revenues from outbound movements.