LTL Freight Carriers’ Stocks Fall
Stock market analysts lowered revenue and profit expectations for major domestic LTL freight cariers, including freight companies YRC Worldwide and SAIA. Carriers are being hurt by increasing fuel costs and lower demand resulting from the growing recession.
“Carriers have experienced a marked decline in freight tonnage than most of us who follow the market had thought would happen,” explains analyst George Hattron. “We predict other carriers like Old Dominion and Con-way to demonstrate some weakness as well.”
The market will be shaky for trucking and freight shipping stocks in the near future, as the economy proceeds through the looming recession. Demand for freight will likely continue to be weaker than it has been in past years. Fuel price increases could spell further divergences in the freight rates that carriers demand the the freight quotes that shippers receive.