Expeditors boss upbeat on economy after strong first quarter

Expeditors boss upbeat on economy after strong first quarter Peter J. Rose, chairman and chief executive officer of Seattle, Wash.-based Expeditors International of Washington Inc., blasted the nation’s economic doomsayers as the international freight forwarder delivered strong first quarter results.

Rose

   Expeditors’ net earnings for the first three months of 2008 were up 12 percent year on year at $66.5 million, compared to $59.3 million in the prior year quarter. Operating income for the quarter was also up 12 percent at $105.6 million, while revenue grew 17 percent to $1.3 billion.
   'We feel very good about these first quarter 2008 results. They are balanced from a global contribution perspective and they reinforce our long-held premise that Expeditors' core growth potential comes from taking market share,' Rose said.
   'Typically every year this business presents some kind of unique challenge. Apart from the ongoing Department of Justice investigation of our industry (which cost us over $1.6 million in legal fees alone during the first quarter), in 2008 we've had to endure the non-stop 24-hour media sound bite harangue about the economy.
   “We understand that while the general public's perception of the state of the economy can't be totally ignored, neither can it be accepted as a justification for lowering our standards or diminishing our intensity,' Rose continued.
   'So much of this is about maintaining confidence through keeping things in proper perspective. For instance, one needs to remember that even by the reckoning of the most pessimistic pundits, the economy in 2008 is pretty much the same size as it was last year in 2007. Given that we all felt pretty good about prospects last year, we don't believe there is any good reason why we can't generate market share gains in 2008.”