MONTREAL — Business is very good at the country’s biggest trucking company.

TransForce’s Alain Bedard reported Tuesday that his company earned $26.2 million or 27 cents per share for the first quarter of 2011, compared with $17 million, or 18 cents per share, a year earlier.

Most of the growth, Bedard reported, was the result of cost-cutting and recent acquisitions.

"With the addition of Dynamex and the creation of Loomis Express through the acquisition of DHL Express Canada’s domestic operations, we are positioned to further leverage the strength of our expanded Package and Courier network," he said.

Despite its growing courier fleet, TransForce was not able to profit much from Canada Post’s 11-day lockout in June.

Bedard said the rotating strikes didn’t last long enough for TransForce to attract many customers away from the public postal service.

If anything, it hurt a little. "The impact of Canada Post was negative to us in terms of cash flow, in terms of business it was very insignificant," TransForce CEO Bedard said.

What helped boost profits was stronger demand from the energy sector.

TransForce also announced that it has purchased Toronto-based Concord Transportation Inc., an expedited carrier with revenues in the $35-million range, with offices in Ontario, B.C., Illinois, California and Washington state.

Concord has 96 employees, and maintains about 130 owner-ops.

Bedard reported that with this latest addition to its stable, TransForce provides full coverage throughout North America.
The purchase price was less than $10 million and included payment of $2 million worth of TransForce shares.

TransForce, created in 1999, perennially tops the Today’s Trucking Magazine’s Top 100 list.