Horizon reports lower 3rd quarter profit

Horizon reports lower 3rd quarter profit    Horizon Lines reported third quarter net profit of $7.7 million down from $8.4 million in the same 2009 period.
   Revenue in the quarter ending Sept. 19 was $311 million compared to $308 million in the third quarter of 2009.
   Container volume declined 2.8 percent to 65,726 loads. Puerto Rico and Hawaii/Guam experienced the largest year-over-year declines. Alaska volume was down just marginally. Container volume for the first nine months of 2010 totaled 190,610 loads, down 1.4 percent from 193,305 in the first nine months of 2009.
   Third quarter container rates, net of fuel, rose slightly to $3,247 from $3,229 for the year-earlier period. For the nine-month period container rates were $3,258, marginally below the rate of $3,266 a year ago.

Raymond

   'A summer slowdown in the pace of economic recovery pressured volumes across all of our markets, resulting in a third quarter financial performance that was short of our expectations,' said Chuck Raymond, chairman, president and chief executive officer. 'We had anticipated a firmer overall economic recovery in the third quarter. However, after some initial inventory rebuilding this past spring, economic activity slowed in our trade lanes as consumer spending remained muted in the face of continuing high unemployment. The quarter also was impacted by high fuel prices and lower revenue from transportation services agreements. In addition, vessel-operating expenses increased from a year ago due to the timing of regulatory dry-dockings.
   'Volume declines were greatest in Puerto Rico, which remains in recession, and in Hawaii/Guam, which continues to experience a very slow and uneven economic recovery,' Raymond said. 'The volume declines in Puerto Rico were exacerbated by ongoing competitive pricing pressures, due in part to capacity that was added by a competitor to the depressed market in the spring. We are responding appropriately and will continue to do so in the months ahead. Alaska, while down very slightly in volume, contributed to EBITDA growth amid an improving business environment.'
   In April, Sea Star Line, began operating its own vessel from the Port of Philadelphia to San Juan rather than chartering space from Horizon’s string between Elizabeth, N.J., and the Commonwealth.