News Details

Swift Transportation Company, a multi-faceted transportation services company and the largest truckload carrier in North America, today announces certain preliminary financial information for its fiscal first quarter ended March 31, 2011.

Due to adverse weather in January and February, combined with rising fuel costs throughout the quarter, we expect Adjusted Earnings Per Share (Adjusted EPS) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 to be in the range of $0.05 to $0.08, compared to the current consensus of analyst estimates of $0.11. Adjusted EPS, as discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10K filed with the SEC earlier this evening, assumes our statutory tax rate of 39% and for the first quarter of 2011 excludes the amortization of a) certain intangible assets associated with our going-private transaction in 2007 and b) previous losses associated with interest rates swaps we terminated in 2010.

Despite rapid increases in fuel prices and severe weather in the quarter, we are encouraged by improving industry fundamentals, specifically strengthening demand in March and pricing trends throughout the quarter. Our trucking volumes as measured by total loaded miles for the first quarter of 2011 are expected to be up 5-6% compared to the first quarter of 2010 and average trucking rates per loaded mile are expected to be approximately 4% higher year over year.

A more comprehensive earnings release with actual results for the first quarter will be released in April following our normal quarterly close and review process, as such the preliminary indications discussed above are subject to change.

About Swift

Swift is based in Phoenix, Arizona. As of December 31, 2010, Swift operated a tractor fleet of approximately 16,100 units comprised of 12,200 tractors driven by company drivers and 3,900 owner-operator tractors, a fleet of 49,000 trailers, and 4,800 intermodal containers from 34 major terminals positioned near major freight centers and traffic lanes in the United States and Mexico. Swift offers customers the opportunity for "one-stop shopping" for their truckload transportation needs through a broad spectrum of services and equipment. Swift's extensive suite of services includes general, dedicated, and cross-border U.S./Mexico truckload services through dry van, temperature-controlled, flatbed, and specialized trailers, in addition to rail intermodal and non-asset based freight brokerage and logistics management services, making it an attractive choice for a broad array of customers.

Forward-looking statement disclosure:

This press release contains statements that may constitute forward-looking statements, which are based on information currently available, usually identified by words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates, "plans," "projects," "expects," "intends," "will," "could," "may," or similar expressions which speak only as of the date the statement was made. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning expected adjusted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2011 and expectations for the remainder of 2011. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Swift's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

The factors that we believe could affect our results include, but are not limited to: the amount and velocity of changes in fuel prices and our ability to recover fuel prices through our fuel surcharge program; the absence of abnormally adverse or unusual weather conditions and events during the remainder of 2011; the direction and duration of any pricing trends, rates and volumes; assumptions regarding demand; any future recessionary economic cycles and downturns in customers' business cycles, particularly in market segments and industries in which we have a significant concentration of customers; increasing competition from trucking, rail, intermodal, and brokerage competitors; a significant reduction in, or termination of, our trucking services by a key customer; our ability to sustain cost savings realized as part of our recent cost reduction initiatives; our ability to achieve our strategy of growing our revenue; our history of net losses; volatility in the price or availability of fuel; increases in new equipment prices or replacement costs; our significant ongoing capital requirements; the regulatory environment in which we operate, including existing regulations and changes in existing regulations, or violations by us of existing or future regulations; the costs of environmental and safety compliance and/or the imposition of liabilities under environmental and safety laws and regulations; difficulties in driver recruitment and retention; increases in driver compensation to the extent not offset by increases in freight rates; potential volatility or decrease in the amount of earnings as a result of our claims exposure through our wholly-owned captive insurance companies; risks relating to our captive insurance companies; uncertainties associated with our operations in Mexico; our ability to attract and maintain relationships with owner-operators; the possible re-classification of our owner operators as employees; our ability to retain or replace key personnel; conflicts of interest or potential litigation that may arise from other businesses owned by Jerry Moyes; potential failure in computer or communications systems; our labor relations; our ability to execute or integrate any future acquisitions successfully; seasonal factors such as harsh weather conditions that increase operating costs; goodwill impairment; compliance with federal securities laws; and our ability to service our outstanding indebtedness, including compliance with our indebtedness covenants, and the impact such indebtedness may have on the way we operate our business.

A more detailed discussion of factors that could cause Swift's results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at the Securities and Exchange Commission's internet site (http://www.sec.gov). Swift undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Furthermore, nothing herein shall constitute an adoption or approval of any analyst report regarding Swift, nor any undertaking to update or comment upon analysts' expectations in the future.