Temple-Inland Inc. has reported its third-quarter earnings and its year-over-year improvement was notable.

The company saw a net income of $67 million, or $0.61 per diluted share, compared with a third-quarter 2008 net income of $3 million, or $0.03 per diluted share. The numbers remained in line with second-quarter 2009 results that included a net income of $66 million, or $0.61 per diluted share. The bottom line is that net income for the most recent quarter was $27 million, or $0.24 per diluted share.

Doyle Simons, chairman and CEO of Temple-Inland, said in a conference call with investors Thursday that the company brought in $188 million in cash from operations, and reduced long-term debt by $148 million during the quarter.

“For the first nine months of 2009 we generated $440 million from cash from operations and reduced long-term debt by $313 million,” Simons said. “We executed well in the third quarter if our operational improvements offset lower prices for most of our products.”

Rome came up during the call, with Temple-Inland President Pat Maley explaining how the deluge of rain in the South has hampered its virgin wood operations.

“A significant section of the Southern United States from Texas to South Carolina had rainfall totals in some areas reaching 20 inches over the last 30-day period. We’ve lost roughly 11,000 tons of production during the fourth quarter to-date due to lack of wood principally at our Rome, Ga., mill into a lesser degree at our Bogalusa Mill,” said Maley.