LAFAYETTE, Ind., — Trailer-maker Wabash National suffered a net loss of US$10.4 million in the first quarter ended Mar. 31, compared to net gain of $9.1 million a year earlier.

“The transportation market continued to be severely impacted by the reduced level of freight demand during the first quarter,” says company president, chairman and chief executive officer Jerry Ehrlich. “As previously announced, we have taken various actions to address this rapidly changing environment, including the restructuring of our international operations and the elimination of approximately 500 jobs.”

“While these actions had little affect on the first quarter, we believe these actions will reduce our costs by over $35 million annually, beginning in the second quarter,” Ehrlich adds.

“In addition, due to the deterioration in the market conditions, we believe we must actively adjust our inventory levels to continue to reduce our total costs.”

Ehrlich adds that the company “will continue to pursue opportunities to further reduce our costs.”

Net sales for the first quarter were $242.6 million, compared to $352.8 million for the same period last year.