U.S. Economic Crisis Impacting Publicly Traded Trucking Companies

With the nation’s trucking industry feeling the squeeze from the economic downturn here in the U.S., the large publicly traded less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers are no exception. Con-way Inc. (CNW: NYSE), one of the largest U.S. LTL carriers, recently adjusted their earnings per share forecast down for the year, citing weaker demand for cargo shipments and price pressure due to the economic slowdown. As a result, Con-way’s stock price has fallen nearly 20% in recent days in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Other publicly traded trucking companies have also fallen victim to the same market conditions as Con-way. Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (ODFL: NASDAQ) and other trucking firms have also seen significant drops in stock prices as they struggle to manage the impact of lower freight volume and high fuel prices on business operations.

The trucking industry has long been a barometer of the vitality of the U.S. economy. Historically, there has been a strong correlation between the condition of the U.S. economy and the volume of freight shipments hauled by the nation’s trucking companies. Manufacturing output has seen a significant slowdown over the last two months, thus contributing to the gloomy outlook for the trucking industry as a whole. Many experts believe that cargo volume will stabilize in the near future, but that a major recovery for publicly traded LTL trucking companies may not happen anytime soon.