8-K

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (date of earliest event reported): October 25, 2005

TRANSPORT CORPORATION OF AMERICA, INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Minnesota
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)

0-24908	41-1386925
(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1715 Yankee Doodle Road Eagan, Minnesota	55121
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code    (651)-686-2500

Not Applicable

Former name or former address, if changed since last report

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting materials pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 2.02.  Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On October 25, 2005, the registrant issued a Press Release regarding the registrant’s results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005 and a subsequent corrected Press Release regarding the registrant’s results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005. The full texts of the Press Releases are furnished as Exhibit 99.1 and 99.2 to this Form 8–K. On June 25, 2005, the registrant held a conference call and web cast on its earnings release.  A transcript of the conference call is furnished as Exhibit 99.3 to this Form 8-K.

Item  9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits

(c) Exhibits

Exhibit 99.1 – Press Release issued on October 25, 2005 regarding the registrant’s results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005 furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 of this Form 8-K.

Exhibit 99.2 – Corrected Press Release issued on October 25, 2005 regarding the registrant’s results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005 furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 of this Form 8-K.

Exhibit 99.3 – A transcript of the conference call held on October 25, 2005 regarding the registrant’s results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005 furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 of this Form 8-K.

SIGNATURES

        Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

		TRANSPORT CORPORATION OF AMERICA, INC.
Date:	October 26, 2005	By:	/s/   Michael J. Paxton
			Michael J. Paxton
			Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

TRANSPORT CORPORATION OF AMERICA, INC.
FORM 8-K REPORT

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

Exhibit No. Description

99.1 Press Release issued on October 25, 2005 regarding the registrant’s results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005 furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 of this Form 8-K.

99.2 Corrected Press Release issued on October 25, 2005 regarding the registrant’s results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005 furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 of this Form 8-K.

99.3 A transcript of the conference call held on October 25, 2005 regarding the registrant’s results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005 furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 of this Form 8-K.

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Transport Corporation of America, Inc.
1715 Yankee Doodle Road
Eagan, MN 55121
Traded: Nasdaq: TCAM

COMPANY CONTACTS:
Michael Paxton	Keith Klein
Chairman, President and CEO	Chief Financial Officer
(651) 686-2500	(651) 686-2500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 25, 2005

TRANSPORT CORPORATION OF AMERICA
REPORTS THIRD QUARTER RESULTS

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, October 25, 2005 – Transport Corporation of America, Inc. (NASDAQ: TCAM) today announced revenues for the third quarter 2005 of $64.3 million, compared to revenues of $65.7 million for the third quarter 2004, a decrease of 2.1 percent. Excluding fuel surcharge revenues, revenues decreased 8.5 percent to $55.7 million in the third quarter 2004 from $60.9 million in the same period of 2003. Third quarter’s net earnings were $433,000 or $0.07 per diluted share, compared with a 2004 third quarter net earnings of $36,000, or $0.01 per diluted share.

Third quarter 2005 results include an after-tax gain on the sale of our Garland, Texas support center of $182,000, or $0.03 per diluted share. The third quarter 2004 results included additional expense related to several serious accidents that occurred during the period. Insurance, claims and damage expense was $3.9 million, or 6.0 percent of revenue, during the third quarter 2004 compared to $2.0 million, or 3.1 percent of revenue, for the same period 2005.

Michael Paxton, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “The challenging driver market continues to impede our ability to grow core truckload revenues. While we have seen an increase in the number of Company drivers during the quarter, we have continued to lose owner operators at a faster pace than we are able to recruit Company drivers. On the Company side, we believe we are seeing the results of our recruiting initiatives, including a renewed focus on recruiting students directly from schools, our commitment to get drivers home weekly in over 60 percent of our recruiting markets, and additional dedicated fleet opportunities. These items have allowed us to increase our hiring numbers and decrease our termination numbers in the third quarter, which reduced the rate of decline in capacity from recent quarter’s levels.”

Paxton continued, “Even though our overall seated capacity has decreased, we continue to benefit from programs to identify and achieve cost savings, improved accident frequency and claims development, and improved tractor utilization. Revenue per tractor per week increased to $3,096 in the third quarter 2005 compared to $3,018 during the same period 2004. Our deadhead percentage (empty miles) has decreased to 10.7 percent in the third quarter 2005 compared to 11.2 percent in the same period 2004. In addition to improving the fundamentals of our fleet, we continue to focus on growing new brokerage and intermodal business opportunities. During the third quarter 2005, logistics and intermodal revenues increased to $4.4 million compared to $1.1 million for the same period 2004.”

“Finally, even with increased capital expenditures over the previous year, we were able to reduce outstanding debt for the 22^nd straight quarter. At September 30, 2005, total debt and capital lease obligations were $47.3 million compared to $48.2 million at June 30, 2005.”

Transport America also announced that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) has just completed a follow-up review of the operations and safety management controls of the Company. Upon completion of the review process, the FMCSA confirmed Transport America’s safety fitness rating of “satisfactory”, the highest safety fitness rating given by the FMCSA.

Year-To-Date Results

For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2005, Transport America announced revenues of $188.6 million, compared with 2004 year-to-date revenues of $193.1 million. Net earnings for the nine-month period were $1.0 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, compared with a 2004 net earnings of $902,000, or $0.13 per diluted share.

Included in the 2005 results is an after-tax gain on the sale of our Garland, Texas support center of $182,000, or $0.03 per share. Included in the 2004 results is an after-tax impairment charge of $114,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, related to the difference between the Company’s rent on a portion of its headquarters facility and the expected rental income from a multi-year sub-lease agreement entered into during the second quarter.

The Company will host a conference call and webcast today, October 25, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time. The Internet broadcast can be accessed at the Company’s website, www.transportamerica.com, or at www.fulldisclosure.com.

About Transport America

Transport Corporation of America, Inc., based in the Minneapolis — St. Paul metropolitan area, provides a wide range of truckload freight carriage and logistics services to customers in the United States and Canada. Transport America focuses on providing time-definite and other responsive services through its team of dedicated and committed employees supported by state-of-the-art technology and information systems.

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the Company. The Company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date made. The following important factors, among other things, in some cases have affected and in the future could affect the Company’s actual results and could cause the Company’s actual financial performance to differ materially from that expressed in any forward-looking statement: (1) the highly competitive conditions that currently exist in the Company’s market and the Company’s ability to compete, (2) the Company’s ability to recruit, train, and retain qualified drivers, (3) increases in fuel prices, and the Company’s ability to recover these costs from its customers, (4) the impact of environmental standards and regulations on new revenue equipment, (5) changes in governmental regulations applicable to the Company’s operations, (6) adverse weather conditions, (7) accidents, (8) the financing and resale market for used revenue equipment, (9) changes in interest rates, (10) cost of liability insurance coverage, (11) changes in safety rating by Regulatory authorities, and (12) downturns in general economic conditions affecting the Company and its customers. The foregoing list should not be construed as exhaustive and the Company disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise or update any previously made forward-looking statements. Unanticipated events are likely to occur.

Financial Tables to Follow...

TRANSPORT CORPORATION OF AMERICA, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Three and Nine Months ended September 30, 2005 and 2004
(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)

	Three Months (Unaudited)										Nine Months (Unaudited)
	2005						2004				2005						2004
	Amount			%			Amount		%		Amount			%			Amount			%
Operating revenues	$	64,357			100.0		$	65,730		100.0	$	188,621			100.0		$	193,105			100.0
Operating expenses:
Salaries, wages, and benefits		19,655			30.6			19,888		30.2		57,976			30.8			57,365			29.7
Fuel, maintenance, and other expense		13,092			20.3			11,354		17.3		36,425			19.3			31,005			16.1
Purchased transportation		18,436			28.7			19,496		29.7		54,390			28.9			60,321			31.2
Revenue equipment leases		403			0.6			347		0.5		16,805			0.6			892			0.5
Depreciation and amortization		5,599			8.7			5,988		9.1		1,195			8.9			17,693			9.2
Insurance, claims, and damage		2,003			3.1			3,931		6.0		6,233			3.3			9,824			5.1
Taxes and licenses		1,075			1.7			1,142		1.7		3,357			1.8			3,391			1.8
Communication		339			0.5			441		0.7		1,206			0.6			1,339			0.7
Other general and administrative expenses		2,819			4.4			2,343		3.6		7,780			4.1			7,226			3.7
Impairment of sublease office space		—			—			—		—		—			—			190			0.1
Gain on disposition of equipment		(314	)		(0.5	)		—		—		(332	)		(0.2	)		(22	)		(0.1	)
Total operating expenses		63,107			98.1			64,930		98.8		185,035			98.1			189,224			98.0
Operating income		1,250			1.9			800		1.2		3,586			1.9			3,881			2.0
Interest expense, net		602			0.9			756		1.1		1,928			1.0			2,406			1.2
Earnings before income taxes		648			1.0			44		0.1		1,658			0.9			1,475			0.8
Income tax provision		215			0.3			8		0.0		617			0.3			573			0.3
Net earnings		433			0.7			36		0.1		1,041			0.6			902			0.5
Earnings per common share – basic	$	0.07					$	0.01			$	0.16					$	0.13
Earnings per common share – diluted	$	0.07					$	0.01			$	0.16					$	0.13
Average common shares outstanding
Basic		6,563,440						6,523,417				6,554,142						6,788,123
Diluted		6,647,913						6,655,208				6,672,350						6,904,551

TRANSPORT CORPORATION OF AMERICA, INC.
BALANCE SHEET
September 30, 2005 and 2004
(In thousands)
Unaudited

ASSETS
	2005			2004
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	2,215		$	5,415
Trade receivables, net of allowances		27,504			27,721
Other receivables		1,716			2,450
Operating supplies		986			853
Deferred income taxes		5,354			6,516
Prepaid expenses		2,281			2,655
Total Current Assets		40,056			45,610
Revenue Equipment, at Cost		175,663			183,751
Less: accumulated depreciation		(71,868	)		(82,664	)
Revenue Equipment, Net		103,795			101,087
Property and Other Equipment:
Land, buildings, and improvements		14,892			16,369
Other equipment and leasehold improvements		19,408			21,338
Less: accumulated depreciation		(17,747	)		(18,275	)
Property and Other Equipment, Net		16,553			19,432
Revenue, Property and Other Equipment, Net		120,348			120,519
Other Assets, Net		2,492			945
Total Assets	$	162,896		$	167,074
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
	2005			2004
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt	$	8,836		$	8,544
Current maturities of capital lease obligations		4,962			8,984
Accounts payable		7,918			9,551
Checks issued in excess of cash balances		2,439			1,295
Due to independent contractors		1,366			1,386
Accrued expenses		21,816			22,759
Total Current Liabilities		47,337			52,519
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligations
Long-term debt, less current maturities		33,550			28,549
Capital lease obligations, less current maturities		—			4,947
Total Long-Term Debt
& Capital Lease Obligations		33,550			33,496
Deferred Income Taxes		24,444			25,949
Shareholders’ Equity:
Common stock		66			65
Additional paid-in capital		25,680			25,402
Retained earnings		31,819			29,643
Total Shareholders’ Equity		57,565			55,110
Total Liabilities and Equity	$	162,896		$	167,074

TRANSPORT CORPORATION OF AMERICA, INC.
Selected Consolidated Financial and Operating Data
Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2005 and 2004

	Three Months						Nine Months
	2005			2004			2005			2004
Operating Statistics
Company tractors, seated		851			918			851			918
Company tractors, other		207			116			207			116
Independent contractor		433			601			433			601
Total tractors (at end of period)		1,491			1,635			1,491			1,635
Trailers (at end of period)		4,376			4,992			4,376			4,992
Average tractors in service		1,294			1,548			1,333			1,547
Total loaded miles (000's)		33,073			39,945			101,191			120,621
Total miles (000's)		37,021			44,996			113,628			135,281
Freight revenue per tractor per week*	$	2,941		$	2,882		$	2,906		$	2,865
Fuel surcharge per tractor per week		497			231			413			188
Operating revenue per tractor per week	$	3,438		$	3,113		$	3,319		$	3,053
Freight revenue per loaded mile*	$	1.550		$	1.497		$	1.544		$	1.483
Fuel surcharge per loaded mile		0.262			0.120			0.220			0.097
Operating revenue per loaded mile	$	1.812		$	1.617		$	1.764		$	1.580
Freight revenue per mile*	$	1.385		$	1.329		$	1.375		$	1.322
Fuel surcharge per mile		0.234			0.106			0.196			0.087
Operating revenue per mile	$	1.619		$	1.435		$	1.571		$	1.409
Average empty mile percentage		10.7	%		11.2	%		10.9	%		10.8	%
Average length of haul, all miles		652			681			658			687
Average annual revenues per non-driver employee (000’s)	$	678		$	649		$	649		$	636
Financial Data (000’s)
Freight revenue (excluding fuel surcharge)	$	51,258		$	59,797		$	156,257		$	178,845
Fuel surcharge revenue		8,682			4,785			22,263			11,767
Operating revenue (including fuel surcharge)		59,940			64,582			178,520			190,612
Logistics and other revenue		4,417			1,148			10,101			2,493
Total revenue	$	64,357		$	65,730		$	188,621		$	193,105
Capital expenditures, net of proceeds	$	4,132		$	11,108		$	18,217		$	13,650
Total debt and capital lease obligations	$	47,348		$	51,024		$	47,348		$	51,024
* Excluding fuel surcharge

EX-99.2

Exhibit 99.2

Transport Corporation of America, Inc.
1715 Yankee Doodle Road
Eagan, MN 55121
Traded: Nasdaq: TCAM

COMPANY CONTACTS:
Michael Paxton Chairman, President and CEO (651) 686-2500	Keith Klein Chief Financial Officer (651) 686-2500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 25, 2005

CORRECTION - TRANSPORT CORPORATION OF AMERICA
REPORTS THIRD QUARTER RESULTS

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, October 25, 2005 – On October 25, 2005, Transport Corporation of America, Inc. (NASDAQ: TCAM) issued a press release regarding its operating and financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005. The Company has revised the statement of operations to correct an error whereby the revenue equipment leases amount was erroneously transposed with the depreciation and amortization expense for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2005. This error did not have any impact on overall expenses or earnings per share. A corrected statement of operations is attached.

About Transport America

Transport Corporation of America, Inc., based in the Minneapolis — St. Paul metropolitan area, provides a wide range of truckload freight carriage and logistics services to customers in the United States and Canada. Transport America focuses on providing time-definite and other responsive services through its team of dedicated and committed employees supported by state-of-the-art technology and information systems.

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the Company. The Company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date made. The following important factors, among other things, in some cases have affected and in the future could affect the Company’s actual results and could cause the Company’s actual financial performance to differ materially from that expressed in any forward-looking statement: (1) the highly competitive conditions that currently exist in the Company’s market and the Company’s ability to compete, (2) the Company’s ability to recruit, train, and retain qualified drivers, (3) increases in fuel prices, and the Company’s ability to recover these costs from its customers, (4) the impact of environmental standards and regulations on new revenue equipment, (5) changes in governmental regulations applicable to the Company’s operations, (6) adverse weather conditions, (7) accidents, (8) the financing and resale market for used revenue equipment, (9) changes in interest rates, (10) cost of liability insurance coverage, (11) changes in safety rating by Regulatory authorities, and (12) downturns in general economic conditions affecting the Company and its customers. The foregoing list should not be construed as exhaustive and the Company disclaims any obligation subsequently to revise or update any previously made forward-looking statements. Unanticipated events are likely to occur.

Financial Table to Follow...

TRANSPORT CORPORATION OF AMERICA, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Three and Nine Months ended September 30, 2005 and 2004
(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)

	Three Months (Unaudited)										Nine Months (Unaudited)
	2005						2004				2005						2004
	Amount			%			Amount		%		Amount			%			Amount			%
Operating revenues	$	64,357			100.0		$	65,730		100.0	$	188,621			100.0		$	193,105			100.0
Operating expenses:
Salaries, wages, and benefits		19,655			30.6			19,888		30.2		57,976			30.8			57,365			29.7
Fuel, maintenance, and other expense		13,092			20.3			11,354		17.3		36,425			19.3			31,005			16.1
Purchased transportation		18,436			28.7			19,496		29.7		54,390			28.9			60,321			31.2
Revenue equipment leases		403			0.6			347		0.5		1,195			0.6			892			0.5
Depreciation and amortization		5,599			8.7			5,988		9.1		16,805			8.9			17,693			9.2
Insurance, claims, and damage		2,003			3.1			3,931		6.0		6,233			3.3			9,824			5.1
Taxes and licenses		1,075			1.7			1,142		1.7		3,357			1.8			3,391			1.8
Communication		339			0.5			441		0.7		1,206			0.6			1,339			0.7
Other general and administrative expenses		2,819			4.4			2,343		3.6		7,780			4.1			7,226			3.7
Impairment of sublease office space		—			—			—		—		—			—			190			0.1
Gain on disposition of equipment		(314	)		(0.5	)		—		—		(332	)		(0.2	)		(22	)		(0.1	)
Total operating expenses		63,107			98.1			64,930		98.8		185,035			98.1			189,224			98.0
Operating income		1,250			1.9			800		1.2		3,586			1.9			3,881			2.0
Interest expense, net		602			0.9			756		1.1		1,928			1.0			2,406			1.2
Earnings before income taxes		648			1.0			44		0.1		1,658			0.9			1,475			0.8
Income tax provision		215			0.3			8		0.0		617			0.3			573			0.3
Net earnings		433			0.7			36		0.1		1,041			0.6			902			0.5
Earnings per common share - basic	$	0.07					$	0.01			$	0.16					$	0.13
Earnings per common share - diluted	$	0.07					$	0.01			$	0.16					$	0.13
Average common shares outstanding
Basic		6,563,440						6,523,417				6,554,142						6,788,123
Diluted		6,647,913						6,655,208				6,672,350						6,904,551

EX-99.3

Exhibit 99.3

Conference Call Transcript

TCAM — Q3 2005 Transport Corp. Earnings Conference Call

Event Date/Time: Oct. 25. 2005 / 11:00AM ET

TRANSPORT AMERICA PARTICIPANTS

Keith Klein
Transport Corporation of America, Inc — CFO & CIO

Michael Paxton
Transport Corporation of America, Inc — Chairman, President & CEO

PRESENTATION

Operator

Good afternoon. My name is Mondelle and I’ll be your conference facilitator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Transport America Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call. Joining us on today’s call are Mike Paxton, Chairman, President and CEO, and Keith Klein, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers’ remarks, there will be a question and answer period. [OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS].

Thank you Mr. Klein. You may begin your conference.

Keith Klein — Transport Corporation of America, Inc — CFO & CIO

Good morning and thank you for joining us for our third-quarter earnings conference call. Before we get started I would like to remind everyone that today’s conference call includes forward-looking statements that are covered under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ from those expressed. Factors that may cause results to differ are covered in the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

I will now provide some brief comments on the third quarter financial results and then turn the conference call over to Mike Paxton, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer for his comments on the business and plans as we move forward. After Mike’s comments, we will open the call up for questions.

For the third quarter 2005, revenues decreased 2.1% year-over-year from $65.7 million in the third quarter of 2004 to $64.4 million in the third quarter of 2005. Including fuel surcharge, revenues decreased by $5.3 million or 8.5% compared to prior year. Third quarter’s revenues included $8.7 million of fuel surcharge recovery compared to $4.8 million in the third quarter of last year.

For our truckload business, loaded miles in the third quarter were down 17.2% compared to last year’s levels. The decrease in customer miles was primarily due to lower seated capacity than in the prior year, driven by a decrease in the number of owner-operators and seated Company trucks in the fleet. On a sequential basis, our Company-seated fleet did increase by 29 tractors from the end of the second quarter to the end of the third quarter; however, our owner operator counts decreased by 52 tractors during the same period.

In the third quarter we averaged 10.7% deadhead miles compared to 11.0% in the second quarter of 2005. The deadhead percentage is also down approximately 50 basis points when compared to the third quarter of 2004.

Our average revenue per customer paid mile in the third quarter excluding fuel surcharge increased by $0.053 over the previous year or 3.5%. Our average rate for the quarter was $1.55 per loaded mile, compared to $1.497 in the third quarter of 2004. This rate trend is due to improved customer mix and rate adjustments. Revenue per tractor per week excluding fuel surcharge increased by 2% to $2,941 for the third quarter from $2,882 in the third quarter of 2004, primarily due to increased rates and reduced deadhead miles offset by increased unseated company-owned capacity. Revenue per seated tractor increased for the quarter from prior year levels by 2.6% driven by increased rates and reduced deadhead offset somewhat by lower seated tractor utilization.

Our logistics and other revenue grew during the third quarter by almost 300% to $4.4 million compared to $1.1 million in the third quarter of 2004. This is due to increased inter-modal and brokerage activities achieved during the quarter.

We continue to drive cost reduction in many areas based upon our broad cost reduction efforts over the past several years. Our accident frequency rates are down 26% in the third quarter compared to last year and down 28% year-to-date. In addition, our accident severity in the quarter was substantially lower than it was in the third quarter of 2004. Because of these items, our insurance claims and damage expense decreased from $3.9 million in Q3 2004 to $2.0 million in Q3 2005. We have also driven significant savings in areas of maintenance cost, depreciation, communication cost, worker’s compensation cost, and other G&A expenses.

However, we continue to see upward cost pressure in a number of significant cost areas. The tight driver market has put upward pressure on our driver hiring expenses, which show up in other general and administrative expenses. We implemented pay rate increases in 2005 of approximately 11% for our Company drivers, with an equivalent increase in pay for our owner-operators. The impact of these changes is approximately $0.05 per mile in the third quarter when compared to the third quarter of last year.

Company-provided healthcare costs continue to rise consistent with the medical cost inflation rates. Tractor costs have increased in 2004 and 2005 because of the new EPA-compliant engines and increased raw material costs, and trailer prices have increased due to raw material cost increases as well. As we continue to replace tractors and trailers in 2005, depreciation costs will increase. Additionally, many states have implemented, or are planning to implement, significant increases for toll road use.

As demonstrated in our rates over the past few years, we are working with customers to reimburse us for the cost increases. In addition, we are working to identify and implement additional cost and productivity savings in our business.

During the quarter, we recognized a pretax gain on the sale of our Garland, Texas facility of approximately $300,000 or $0.03 per share. Our net interest cost decreased this quarter by 20% to $602,000 compared to $756,000 in the previous year. This decrease is primarily as a result of our continued reduction of debt and lower interest rates.

The effective tax rate for the quarter was approximately 33%, which is lower than our normal rate of approximately 40% due to the true up of tax contingency reserves.

Our net income in the third quarter was $433,000 or $0.07 per diluted share compared to net income of $36,000 or $0.01 per diluted share in the third quarter of last year.

Looking at the balance sheet, we reduced total outstanding debt to $47.3 million at September 30, 2005 and ended the quarter with $2.2 million of cash in the balance sheet. This compared to total debt of $49.1 million and total cash of $3.7 million at the end of last year. Year-to-date, we have taken delivery of 151 new tractors and 670 new trailers. Net Cap-ex spending during the first nine months of the year was $18.2 million compared to $13.6 million from the first nine months of last year.

During 2005, we plan to acquire and finance a total of 214 tractors and 750 trailers. We expect capital spending for the full-year, net of proceeds to be approximately $25 to $30 million in total, similar to what we were estimating at the end of last quarter. Currently, we have no borrowings outstanding on our line of credit, but do utilize the line to support outstanding letters of credit to facilitate our insurance arrangement.

That concludes the financial review. I would now like to turn things over to Mike for his comments. Mike?

Mike Paxton — Transport Corporation of America, Inc — Chairman, President & CEO

Thanks, Keith. Good morning everyone. On a year-to-date basis through September 30, 2005, our revenues were $188.6 million, compared to $193.1 million in 2004. Net earnings for the nine-month period were $1.0 million or $0.16 per diluted share, compared with 2004 net earnings of $902,000 or $0.13 per diluted share.

Our revenue per loaded mile of $1.54 excluding fuel surcharge for the first nine months of 2005 was 44.1% higher than year ago. Revenue per available tractor per week for the first nine months of $2,906 is 1.4% higher than a year ago reflecting more unseated tractors than expected. Our year-to-date miles per seated tractor are down 2% from last year, but up sequentially in the third quarter due to a strengthening freight market. Year-to-date deadhead of 10.9% is about equal to year ago.

We continue to experience excellent growth in brokerage and inter-modal freight. On a year-to-date basis, our revenues are $10.1 million versus $2.5 million in 2004. This has been extremely helpful to us as we work to increase our seated capacity in the Company.

We sequentially increased our Company-seated trucks in each month of the third quarter. This has not happened since the first quarter of 2004. We attribute this accomplishment primarily to the growing success of our school-recruiting program. We believe that trend will continue. Unfortunately we have not been able to stabilize our owner operator base of drivers. Our annualized turnover is down to 55.8% from 62% a year ago but we’re having difficulty finding enough qualified owner-operators to offset our losses. We are evaluating some new programs we hope will help us turn this situation around.

From a safety perspective, we have several pieces of good news. First, our year-to-date accidents per million miles of 5.4 are the lowest we have recorded in the history of the Company. The changes we’ve made in driving higher standards, our driver orientation program, and our safety awareness programs are paying dividends. Second, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, (FMCSA), just completed a follow-up review of the operations and safety management controls for the Company. They confirmed our safety fitness rating as ‘satisfactory’, the highest safety fitness rating given by the FMCSA.

As we look forward, we expect rates to remain strong in the fourth quarter. Rates should improve modestly as capacity remains tight. We are more cautious about 2006. The unknowns include additional fuel spikes, insurance costs, and consumer confidence. Hopefully we’ll get a better read as the fourth quarter unfolds. Thanks for your attention.

Keith and I will now entertain any questions you have. Mondelle, we will now turn it over to you to coordinate the questions.

QUESTION AND ANSWER

Operator

[OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS]. At this time there are no questions.

Mike Paxton — Transport Corporation of America, Inc — Chairman, President & CEO

Well, then that would conclude the conference call.

Keith Klein — Transport Corporation of America, Inc — CFO & CIO

Thanks everyone.

Mike Paxton — Transport Corporation of America, Inc — Chairman, President & CEO

Thanks very much.

Operator

This concludes today’s conference call. You may now disconnect.