Trucking, Transport Stocks Gain, Outperform Overall Economy
This story appears in the Dec. 24 & 31 print edition of Transport Topics.
Trucking and transportation stocks generally appreciated at a lower rate in 2012 than did the large, broad market indexes.
However, trucking stocks did outpace U.S. gross domestic product growth of 2% a year for the first nine months.
Investor Carl Icahn experienced mixed results in trying to deepen his presence among truck makers during the year, mounting an unsuccessful takeover bid for specialty equipment maker Oshkosh Corp. and winning representation on the Navistar International Corp. board of directors along with Mark Rachesky, another major investor.
The transportation index that did best was the Standard & Poor’s trucking index, which gained 7.2% from Dec. 7, 2011, to Dec. 5, 2012. The nine-member index includes truckload and less-than-truckload carriers and truck-leasing company Ryder System.
Over the same 52 weeks, the Dow Jones transportation average did less well, gaining just 2.7%, while a Dow Jones trucking index grew by 2.5%.
Three of the most well-known indexes generally did better during the same period that ended Dec. 5. The Standard & Poor’s 500 grew by 11.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 12.2%. The Dow Jones industrial average was more sluggish, adding just 6.9%.
Among less-than-truckload carriers, Saia Inc. posted the highest percentage increase in share price for the 52 weeks that ended Dec. 5. Saia closed at $21.01 that day, a gain of 61% from Dec. 7, 2011.
Arkansas Best Corp., the owner of ABF Freight System, did the worst in the LTL sector, losing 56.1%.
In the truckload sector, Covenant Transportation Group had the greatest appreciation in price, 71.2%, with Celadon Group coming in second with 48.6%. USA Truck had the greatest falloff at 61.1%.
Among Canadian carriers, TransForce Inc. had the greatest appreciation, 37%, with Trimac Transportation a close second at 34.3%. Vitran Corp. shares dropped 25% over the 52 weeks.
Some other large names in transportation and logistics posted small changes during the 52 weeks. FedEx Corp. gained 6.2% and UPS Inc. added just 0.3%, while Ryder System, C.H. Robinson Worldwide and Expeditors International each lost between 9.4% and 10.4% of share price.
Icahn designated one of his associates to sit on the Navistar board of directors, and Rachesky claimed a seat for himself. The two investors then agreed on another person to join the 10-member Navistar board, Icahn associate Samuel Merksamer, who joined Dec. 10.
As for Oshkosh, Icahn abandoned his attempt to take over the company in early December when he could not get 25% of shareholders to tender their stock to him.
While there were no significant initial public offerings in trucking, Panther Expedited Services did go public indirectly when Arkansas Best purchased Panther for $180 million in June. Panther had filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010 saying it might go public.
That was this year’s only merger by members of the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers. Before the merger, Arkansas Best ranked No. 14 and Panther ranked No. 97. The new company ranks No. 13.
There were no stock splits by members of the TT Transportation Stocks Table. There was one departure and no new additions.
Trailer Bridge Inc. — the Jacksonville, Fla., truck-marine intermodal carrier — emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, with former debt-holders Seacor Holdings and Whippoorwill Associates owning 91% of the new equity. While Trailer Bridge still operates between Florida and the Caribbean, it is no longer publicly traded.
