OTTAWA, Ont. – The top 83 for-hire carriers’ operating ratio (expenses divided by revenues) was 0.94, similar to the second quarter of 2001, according to Statistics Canada.

This means that for every 94 cents spent there is a profit of six pennies. Thus, a ratio of greater than 1.00 would represent an operating loss.

In the second quarter of 2002, the top for-hire fleets, all of which earn $25 million or more annually, generated operating revenues of $1.78 billion and expenses of $1.68 billion.

Average per-carrier revenue and expenses both slipped 0.9 per cent from the second quarter of 2001.

The federal stat-trackers also say the freight carried by Canada-based long-distance for-hire carriers amounted to 288 million metric tonnes in 2001, up 3.4 per cent from 2000.

Although domestic activities accounted for 74 per cent of the total tonnage and 79 per cent of the total shipments, transborder movements generated 46 per cent of the total revenues earned.

As well, they also translate into 49 per cent of the total tonne-kilometres for these carriers.