WRAPUP 2-US truckers post lower profits; optimistic about 2010

* Knight net down 19 pct, JB Hunt profit down 22 pct

* Werner sees better pricing market in 2010

* Knight says market in early stages of a turnaround (Recasts; adds JB Hunt results)

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Three of the largest truckload carriers in the United States, including J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc (JBHT.O), posted lower quarterly profits, but said they were optimistic about a gradual recovery in 2010.

Trucking companies have been hit by weak demand since the fourth quarter of 2007 as freight volumes dropped due to industries cutting production and consumers backtracking on spending.

Knight Transportation Inc (KNX.N) and Werner Enterprises (WERN.O) were the other companies to report results on Wednesday.

Werner, in a statement, said, "The company is planning for a better relative freight pricing market and more freight opportunities in 2010 compared to what transpired in the first half of 2009." It added that shipment volumes continued to stabilize in fourth quarter.

Knight's Chief Executive Kevin Knight said the truckload freight market was in the early stages of a turnaround.

The companies expressed concern over excess capacity and pricing in the market, with Werner saying excess capacity continues to be supported by lender leniency, which was not ultimately sustainable.

JB Hunt's fourth-quarter net income fell 22 percent to $41.7 million, or 32 cents a share. Total operating revenue fell marginally to $877 million.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 32 cents a share on revenue of $840.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"All of our business segments experienced pricing pressure and resulting margin contraction aggravated by the on-going recession," said JB Hunt's CEO Kirk Thompson.

The trucking segment's profitability is "hindered by freight rates that are insufficient to produce acceptable financial results," the company said.

Earlier in the day, another truckload carrier Heartland Express (HTLD.O) posted lower quarterly results and said it was unable to project when freight volumes would improve. [ID:nSGE60O0MH]

Knight, which also provides trucking brokerage services, reported fourth-quarter net income of $13.1 million, or 16 cents a share, compared with $16.1 million, or 19 cents a share, a year ago.

Total revenue was $167.8 million. [ID:nWNAB9175]

Knight, with $97.8 million in cash and short-term investments, said it continued to evaluate strategic acquisition opportunities.

"We expect the challenging truckload market to yield opportunities to continue to capture market share over time," Knight's chief executive said in a statement.

Werner's fourth-quarter net income fell to $18.0 million, or 25 cents a share, from $18.6 million, or 26 cents a share a year earlier. Revenue was $439.6 million, down 10 percent. [ID:nWNAB9232]

Werner has reduced its average fleet size by about 10 percent to about 7,300 trucks to bring capacity in line with demand.

Shares of Werner closed at $21.23, while JB Hunt's shares closed up 1 percent at $32.83 Wednesday on Nasdaq. Knight's shares closed at $19.37 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by A.Ananthalakshmi in Bangalore, Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Savio D'Souza)