Statscan reports 2Q trucking company revenues

OTTAWA — Canadian trucking companies earned operating revenue of $8.9 billion in the second quarter of 2009.

After deducting operating expenses of $8.0 billion, the carriers realized an operating profit of $914 million, resulting in an operating ratio of 0.898, reports Stats Canada.

The 32,000 incorporated businesses in the trucking industry accounted for 83 percent of revenue and 85 percent of expenses.

These firms tend to be larger, reporting, on average, revenue of $234,000, compared with $75,000 for the 20,000 unincorporated businesses.

For the corporations, salary expenses (26%) and operating profit (9%) represented 35 percent of operating revenue.

In comparison, unincorporated firms had nearly the same combined salary expense and operating profit distribution (36%), but the split was very different, says Statscan, 18 percent each for salary expenses and operating profit, an indication that many of these are owner-operator businesses where the owners drive the trucks and earn a substantial portion of their take-home income from operating profit.