Con-way sees mixed 3Q results

   In the third quarter, Con-way reported a $5.3-million improvement in net income, year over year, as operating income rose by 22.6 percent to $67.7 million.
   Revenue stayed flat, year over year, at $1.4 billion.
   Con-way Freight saw higher operating income and revenue, year over year, with increases of 4.8 percent and 49.7 percent, respectively. Compared to the 2012 period, revenue per hundredweight ticked up by 2.5 percent, total tonnage increased by 1.8 percent, and tonnage per day rose by 1 percent.
   Con-way’s truckload sector finished the quarter at revenues of $162.2 million, a 1.3 percent increase from last year, but operating income declined from the third quarter of 2012 by 20.4 percent.
   Menlo Worldwide, Con-way’s logistics arm, saw an 11-percent, year over year, decrease in revenue and a 25.6-percent fall in operating income.
   “Our less-than-truckload company is consistently executing against its current initiatives of lane-based pricing and line-haul optimization, both of which are on track and delivering expected results. As we continue to invest in and deploy the next stages of our plans, we expect further improvement,” Douglas Stotlar, Con-way’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
   Explaining the muted results for Menlo, Stotlar said, “Menlo is implementing several large new projects, which have contributed to growth in net revenue while also having an adverse impact on operating income. As these projects become fully operational, we expect their negative impact on operating income to subside.”