Operational problems at its Variant trucking company led to disappointing financial results for Chattanooga’s U.S. Xpress in the fourth quarter of 2021, said CEO Eric Fuller in a statement released Wednesday.
The company reported an operating loss of $5.1 million compared to operating income of $15.1 million in the same quarter of 2020, and losses per share of 10 cents compared to earnings per share of 15 cents in 2020. Analysts had predicted earnings of 8 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2021.
(READ MORE: Keep on trucking: U.S. Xpress CEO Eric Fuller weighs in on his industry, innovation)
In December, U.S. Xpress reported it had terminated the president of Variant, Cameron Ramsdell, shifting Variant’s technology and operations teams to report directly to Fuller.
“We built Variant purposely outside of U.S. Xpress with a team that had technology expertise, but not necessarily trucking expertise, and provided them with a mandate to build a technology-enabled fleet,” Fuller said in the statement. “For most of Variant’s history, this framework was successful, as the fleet grew rapidly and produced a better experience for drivers and customers while enhancing utilization, safety and revenue per tractor. However, as Variant began to achieve significant scale, we found that the team needed to shift their focus from idea generation to execution to ensure that the fleet ran smoothly while maintaining its superior operating metrics.”