Horizon Lines Inc. (HRZ) said third-quarter profit slid 24% as weak volume continued to hurt the container shipping company, though earnings handily beat Wall Street’s expectations. Shares jumped 8.5% premarket to $6.91. Chairman and Chief Executive Chuck Raymond said the third quarter’s 5.7% volume drop was the best performance in a year. Still, he said Horizon Lines faces a “challenging” fourth quarter, with lingering economic weakness continuing to hurt volume across all of its trade lanes as well as in its logistics business. He added it expects recovery to be “slow, muted and disparate.”
