OTTAWA — There were about 3,552 Canadian for-hire trucking companies with annual revenues of $1 million or more in the fourth quarter of 2006, up from 3,432 in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Their operating revenues totaled $7.1 billion, down 1.5 percent from the same quarter in 2005, according to Stats Canada. Their operating expenses reached $6.7 billion, down 0.4 percent. These were the first decreases in year-over-year comparisons since the third quarter of 2002.

Both average operating revenues (-4.8%) and expenses (-3.8%) fell in the fourth quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2005. Average expenses reached $2.0 million, compared with $2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The decrease was mainly driven by lower miscellaneous expenses combined with lower labor expenditures. The operating ratio (operating expenses divided by operating revenues) deteriorated from 0.93 to 0.94.