In what universe does this make sense?

Executives of USA Truck Inc. of Van Buren saw compensation rise in 2011, according to the company's annual proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission...The enhanced compensation for USA Truck's executives came despite a disappointing earnings year in 2011. Although total revenue rose to $519.4 million compared with $460.1 million in 2010, the company posted a net loss of $10.8 million last year compared with a net loss of $3.3 million in 2010.

Beckham's total compensation in 2011 increased to $353,561, compared with 2010's total compensation of $293,770.
The 2011 total compensation of Michael R. Weindel Jr., executive VP and COO for the company's SCS and Intermodal divisions, rose to $236,600 in 2011 compared with $219,213 in 2010.
The 2011 compensation package of Darron R. Ming, executive vice president and chief financial officer, increased to $233,140 compared with $216,991 in 2010.
J. Rodney Mills' 2011 compensation was $231,709. In 2010, before he became an executive officer, his salary was $182,460. Mills has been EVP, chief administrative officer and general counsel of USA Truck since July 2011.
Craig S. Shelly, an executive vice president and chief strategy officer whose employment with the company was terminated in October, received a compensation package of $255,705 in 2011, which included a lump sum severance payment.


vs new quarterly report

VAN BUREN, Ark., April 19, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- USA Truck, Inc. (NASDAQ: USAK) today announced base revenue of $97.8 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, a decrease of 1.8% from $99.7 million for the same quarter of 2011. We incurred a net loss of $4.9 million ($0.47 per share) for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, compared to a net loss of $2.7 million ($0.26 per share) for the same quarter of 2011.

Cliff Beckham, President and CEO, made the following statement concerning financial and operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2012:
"Our results were mixed in the first quarter. Since last August, we have been concentrating on driving sequential improvement in key performance metrics as the first step in building sustained, acceptable financial performance. For the first quarter, several of these metrics continued to improve, while our SCS and Intermodal segments also progressed. Our overall financial performance remained approximately the same as the third and fourth quarters of 2011. The improvements in certain operating metrics were offset by an increase in unmanned tractors and higher fuel prices.
"We are pleased with the continued strong performance in our SCS segment, which posted growth in operating income of 15.8% to $1.5 million year-over-year despite a less robust freight environment that put pressure on our gross margins. We are also encouraged by the improvement in our Intermodal segment in which our operating loss was reduced by 43.5% to a loss of $0.2 million compared to the first quarter of 2011. These two asset-light business units produced over 22% of base revenue for the quarter and contributed a reasonable gross margin.
"In our Trucking segment, the operating metrics were mixed. On the positive side, we saw meaningful improvement in equipment utilization (miles per tractor per week) and velocity (loads per tractor per week) over the second half of 2011. This improvement was better than expected given the increase in unmanned tractors, which are included in the measurements. We also saw improvement in our safety performance (measured by reportable accident frequency) and our core customer on-time service.
"We did experience a sequential decline in revenue per total mile; however, our first quarter total reflected an increase of approximately 0.7% over the same quarter of the prior year. Base rate per loaded mile improved approximately 2.7% year-over-year, but higher empty miles offset some of this gain and also negatively impacted fuel surcharge revenue.
"Also disappointing was an increase in our unmanned tractor count, which rose sharply in February and March. Prior to that, we had reduced unmanned tractors from a peak of 230 to approximately 100 in January. A combination of network changes, less than optimal velocity, and seasonal job alternatives caused an increase in unmanned tractors back to 200 during March."
The attached charts (Miles per Tractor per Week, Load Velocity, Loaded Revenue per Mile and Unmanned Tractors) reflect the results we have experienced for the past four quarters of some of our key operating metrics.

Mr. Beckham also stated, "Higher empty miles (for which we do not receive fuel surcharges) negatively impacted our net fuel cost per mile both sequentially and year-over-year. The Department of Energy average diesel price per gallon was $3.97 for the first quarter of 2012, compared with $3.57 for the first quarter of 2011 and $3.87 for the fourth quarter of 2011. Although the delivery of new, fuel-efficient tractors during 2011 contributed to a year-over-year improvement in miles per gallon, the fuel price increase combined with higher empty miles led to an increase in our net fuel cost per mile.
"At March 31, our outstanding debt, less cash, represented 48.9% of our balance sheet capitalization, compared to 47.4% at December 31, 2011. And at March 31, 2012 we were in compliance with all of our debt covenants.
"All-in-all, the pace of improvement in our one-way domestic truckload business is behind our expectations. We are not yet achieving optimal operating efficiencies from our network which we must attain in order to most effectively improve yield and profitability. In the near term, we believe improving velocity toward and above 3.5 loads per tractor per week is a key factor in achieving profitability. Velocity improvement will require a combination of reducing unmanned tractors, continuing to optimize the network, and enhancing the proficiency of our customer service, load planning, and fleet management personnel. In addition, we also believe improving base revenue per total mile is another key factor, which will require further reducing empty miles, improving freight mix, and obtaining rate increases where justified. We recognize that none of these key factors is a quick fix, and progress may be uneven as we shift assets, refine the network, and implement internal operations initiatives. As we look ahead in 2012, we have pushed out our expectations for improvement over 2011 into the second half of the year."


How do you keep posting losses every quarter and reward your executive officers for it? What business model is that?
Meanwhile the drivers still have no 401k match reinstatement (all other USA employees have 401k contributions matched by the company. Thats everyone EXCEPT the drivers)



I am the wife of a long haul driver.