Carriers’ Shares Stay Strong as General Market Declines

espite a steep drop in stock prices in the past month, trucking and transportation stocks continue to be hot commodities, turning what was once considered a highly volatile sector — with fortunes of motor carriers rising and falling with the state of the economy and fuel prices — into one of the strongest and most consistent performers over the past five years.

One indicator of investors’ interest, the S&P Trucking Supercomposite Index of 11 large trucking companies, has more than doubled in value since the beginning of the decade, handily beating all the broader market indexes.

Investors have overlooked the rising price of diesel fuel — which has climbed from just under $1 a gallon in March 1999 to an average of almost $3 a gallon in recent weeks. Fuel is the second-largest expense for trucking after labor, and it historically has taken a big chunk out of earnings because many fleets are unable to quickly adjust their prices to reflect the higher cost of fuel.