Werner Enterprises didn’t slow down for the “soft patch” the U.S. economy slipped into during the first quarter. The truckload carrier today said it increased revenue 1 percent year over year to $495.7 million in the quarter, and raised net profit 61 percent to $23.1 million.

Despite slower growth in manufacturing and congestion at West and East Coast ports, U.S. freight markets demonstrated “consistent strength” in the first three months of 2015, creating “one of the better first quarter freight markets in the last six years,” the company said.

Although total revenue rose only 1 percent, trucking revenue, net of fuel surcharges, rose 6 percent year-over-year to $329.1 million, and value-added logistics revenue increased 7 percent to $90.9 million.

Werner’s average daily freight pre-books (based on loads available each morning) were higher than in a normal first quarter, the carrier said in a statement. “A strengthening economy combined with constrained truck capacity is contributing to improved freight demand.”

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