| Accounting Policies (Policies) | 12 Months Ended |
| Sep. 30, 2018 |
| Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] | |
| Description of Business | DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS - The business
of the Company, conducted through our wholly owned subsidiary, Florida Rock & Tank Lines, Inc., is to transport petroleum and
other liquids and dry bulk commodities. We do not own any of the products we haul, rather, we act as a third party carrier to deliver
our customer’s products from point A to point B predominately using Company employees driving Company owned tractors and
tank trailers. Approximately 86% of our business consists of hauling liquid petroleum products (mostly gas and diesel fuel) from
large scale fuel storage facilities to our customers’ retail outlets (e.g. convenience stores, truck stops and fuel depots)
where we off-load the product into our customer’s fuel storage tanks for ultimate sale to the retail consumer. The remaining
14% of our business consists of hauling our customer’s dry bulk commodities such as cement, lime and various industrial powder
products and liquid chemicals. |
| Principles of consolidation | PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION - The
consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”)
and include the accounts, certain assets, liabilities, and expenses of Patriot and its wholly owned subsidiaries that comprise
the Company. All significant intercompany transactions within the consolidated entity have been eliminated. |
| Cash and Cash Equivalents | CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS -The Company
considers all highly liquid debt instruments with maturities of three months or less at time of purchase to be cash equivalents.
Bank overdrafts consist of outstanding checks not yet presented to a bank for settlement, net of cash held in accounts with right
of offset. |
| Treasury Bills Available for Sale | TREASURY BILLS AVAILABLE FOR SALE - Consists of maturities of 3 months to 1 year at time of purchase. |
| Inventory | INVENTORY - Inventory of parts and
supplies is valued at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out) or market. |
| Tires on Equipment | TIRES ON EQUIPMENT - The value of
tires on tractors and trailers is accounted for as a prepaid expense and amortized over the life of the tires as a function of
miles driven. |
| Revenue and Expense Recognition | REVENUE AND EXPENSE RECOGNITION -
Transportation revenue, including fuel surcharges, is recognized when the services have been rendered to customers or delivery
has occurred, the pricing is fixed or determinable and collectibility is reasonably assured. Transportation expenses are recognized
as incurred. |
| Accounts Receivable | ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE - Accounts receivable are recorded net of discounts and provisions for estimated allowances. We estimate allowances
on an ongoing basis by considering historical and current trends. We record estimated bad debts expense as a selling, general and
administrative expense. We estimate the net collectibility of our accounts receivable and establish an allowance for doubtful accounts
based upon this assessment. Specifically, we analyze the aging of accounts receivable balances, historical bad debts, customer
concentrations, customer credit-worthiness, current economic trends and changes in customer payment terms. Any trade accounts receivable
balances written off are charged against the allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company has not experienced any significant credit-related
losses in the past three years. |
| Property and Equipment | PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT - Property
and equipment is recorded at cost less accumulated depreciation. Provision for depreciation of property and equipment is computed
using the straight-line method based on the following estimated useful lives:
Years
Building and improvements 7-39
Revenue equipment 7-10
Other equipment 3-10 The Company recorded depreciation
expenses for 2018, 2017 and 2016 of $9,298,000, $10,089,000 and $9,487,000, respectively. |
| Impairment of Long-Lived assets | IMPAIRMENT OF LONG-LIVED ASSETS - The Company periodically reviews its long-lived assets, which include property and equipment and purchased
intangible assets subject to amortization, for potential impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate the carrying amount
of a long-lived asset may not be recoverable. The analysis consists of a review of future anticipated results considering business
prospects and asset utilization. If the sum of these future cash flows (undiscounted and without interest charges) is less than
the carrying amount of the assets, the Company would record an impairment loss based on the fair value of the assets with the fair
value of the assets generally based upon an estimate of the discounted future cash flows expected with regards to the assets and
their eventual disposition. |
| Goodwill | GOODWILL – Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair value of the net assets acquired
in the acquisition of a business. Goodwill is not amortized, but rather is tested for impairment annually and when events or changes
in circumstances indicate that the fair value of a reporting unit with goodwill has been reduced below carrying value. The impairment
test requires allocating goodwill and other assets and liabilities to reporting units. The fair value of each reporting unit is
determined and compared to the book value of the reporting unit. If the fair value of the reporting unit is less than the book
value, including goodwill, then the recorded goodwill is impaired to its implied fair value with a charge to operating expense. |
| Insurance | INSURANCE - The Company has a $250,000
to $500,000 self-insured retention per occurrence in connection with certain of its workers’ compensation, automobile liability,
and general liability insurance programs (“risk insurance”). The Company is also self-insured for its employee health
insurance benefits and carries stop loss coverage for losses over $250,000 per covered participant per year plus a $84,500 aggregate.
The Company has established an accrued liability for the estimated cost in connection with its portion of its risk and health
insurance losses incurred and reported. Claims paid by the Company are charged against the liability. Additionally, the Company
maintains an accrued liability for incurred but not reported claims based on historical analysis of such claims. Payments made
under a captive agreement for each year’s loss fund are scheduled in advance using actuarial methodology. The captive agreement
provides that we will share in the underwriting results, good or bad, within a $250,000 per occurrence layer of loss through retrospective
premium adjustments. The method of calculating the accrual liability is subject to inherent uncertainty. If actual results are
less favorable than the estimates used to calculate the liabilities, the Company would have to record expenses in excess of what
has been accrued. |
| Income Taxes | INCOME TAXES - Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on differences between financial statement and tax
bases of assets and liabilities using presently enacted tax rates. Deferred income taxes result from temporary differences between
pre-tax income reported in the financial statements and taxable income. The Company recognizes liabilities for uncertain tax positions
based on a two-step process. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available
evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit. The second step is to estimate
and measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement. It is inherently
difficult and subjective to estimate such amounts, as the amounts rely upon the determination of the probability of various possible
outcomes. The Company reevaluates these uncertain tax positions on a quarterly basis. This evaluation is based on factors including,
but not limited to, changes in facts or circumstances, changes in tax law and expiration of statutes of limitations, effectively
settled issues under audit, and audit activity. Such a change in recognition or measurement would result in the recognition of
a tax benefit or an additional charge to the tax provision. It is the Company’s policy to recognize as additional income
tax expense the items of interest and penalties directly related to income taxes. |
| Stock Based Compensation | STOCK BASED COMPENSATION –
The Company accounts for compensation related to share based plans by recognizing the grant date fair value of stock options and
other equity-based compensation issued to Company employees in Patriot’s income statement over the requisite employee service
period using the straight-line attribution model. In addition, compensation expense must be recognized for the change in fair
value of any awards modified, repurchased or cancelled after the grant date. The fair value of each grant is estimated on the
date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The assumptions used in the model and related impact are discussed
in Footnote 6. |
| Pension Plan | PENSION PLAN - The Company accounts
for its pension plan following the requirements of FASB ASC Topic 715, “Compensation – Retirement Benefits”,
which requires an employer to: (a) recognize in its statement of financial position the funded status of a benefit plan; (b) measure
defined benefit plan assets and obligations as of the end of the employer’s fiscal year (with limited exceptions); and (c)
recognize as a component of other comprehensive income, net of tax, the gains or losses and prior service costs or credits that
arise but are not recognized as components of net periodic benefit costs pursuant to prior existing guidance. |
| Earnings Per Common Share | EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE - Basic
earnings per common share are based on the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the periods. Diluted earnings
per common share are based on the weighted average number of common shares and potential dilution of securities that could share
in earnings. The differences between basic and diluted shares used for the calculation are the effect of employee and director
stock options and restricted stock. |
| Use of Estimates | USE OF ESTIMATES - The preparation
of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to
make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets
and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting
period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Certain accounting policies and estimates are of more significance in the financial statement preparation
process than others. The most critical accounting policies and estimates include the economic useful lives and salvage values of
our vehicles and equipment, provisions for uncollectible accounts receivable, estimates of exposures related to our insurance claims
plans, and estimates for taxes. To the extent that actual, final outcomes are different than these estimates, or that additional
facts and circumstances result in a revision to these estimates, earnings during that accounting period will be affected. |
| Environmental | ENVIRONMENTAL - Environmental expenditures
that benefit future periods are capitalized. Expenditures that relate to an existing condition caused by past operations, and
which do not contribute to current or future revenue generation, are expensed. Liabilities are recorded for the estimated amount
of expected environmental assessments and/or remedial efforts. Estimation of such liabilities includes an assessment of engineering
estimates, continually evolving governmental laws and standards, and potential involvement of other potentially responsible parties. |
| Comprehensive Income | COMPREHENSIVE INCOME – Comprehensive income consists of net income and other comprehensive income (loss). Other comprehensive income
(loss) refers to expenses, gains, and losses that are not included in net income, but rather are recorded directly in shareholder’s
equity. |
| Recently Issued Accounting Standards | RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS –
In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” which replaces existing revenue
recognition standards and significantly expand the disclosure requirements for revenue arrangements. The new standard requires
an entity to recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration
the entity expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. This update also requires additional disclosure about the
nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments
and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract. It may be adopted either retrospectively
or on a modified retrospective basis to new contracts and existing contracts with remaining performance obligations as of the effective
date. Management has identified that a legally enforceable contract with its customers is executed by both parties at the point
of pickup of the shipper’s product, as evidenced by the bill of lading. Although the Company may have master agreements with
its customers, these master agreements only establish terms. There is no financial obligation to the shipper until the Company
takes possession of the load. Revenue is recognized for each individual load and the amount of revenue in progress at the end of
each quarter is insignificant. There is no significant amount of judgment or uncertainty in recording revenue. The new standard
is effective for the Company on October 1, 2018, the beginning of the first quarter of fiscal 2019. The Company’s adoption
of this guidance did not result in a material impact on its financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02,
“Leases”, which requires lessees to recognize a right-to-use asset and a lease obligation for all leases. Lessees are
permitted to make an accounting policy election to not recognize an asset and liability for leases with a term of twelve months
or less. Additional qualitative and quantitative disclosures, including significant judgments made by management, will be required.
The new standard will become effective for the Company beginning with the first quarter 2020 and requires a modified retrospective
transition approach and includes a number of practical expedients. Early adoption of the standard is permitted. The Company is
currently evaluating the impacts the adoption of this accounting guidance will have on the consolidated financial statements. The
Company has relatively few leases extending over 12 months, primarily the corporate office and 30 leased tractors. The total gross
contractual obligation for leases with commitments greater than 12 months at September 30, 2018 was $3,875,000. |
