TOP 100 TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS SITES
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| Rail Data Shows Recovery Is Still Meager The latest rail traffic trends are continuing to show signs of stability and a very modest economic recovery. Intermodal rail traffic was down 12.6% versus the same period last year. This was down marginally from last weeks reading. The weakness was abroad across all segments of the economy: Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Earnings Preview: Lockheed Martin Corp. theflyonthewall.com submits: Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) is expected to report Q4 earnings on Thursday, January 28 before the market open with a conference call scheduled for 3:00 pm ET. GuidanceAnalysts are looking for EPS of $1.99 on revenue of $12.47B. The consensus range is $1.84-$2.09 for EPS, and $12.15B-$12.65B for revenue, according to First Call. On October 20, the company raised its FY09 EPS guidance to $7.40-$7.60 from prior $7.15-$7.35. It also expects its FY11 and FY12 revenue to grow roughly 5% due to the expansion of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. It is clear that Lockheed executives believe the company will grow top and bottom line results over the next several years specifically because of this program. A recent report from Reuters claiming that the government plans to cut production of the plan by 122 planes through FY15 did little to discourage that positive sentiment. Concerns about cost overruns and delays have only added to investor anxiety. While short term results will not be affected by the F-35 program, it’s clear that the 2-5 year growth estimates of the company rest squarely with its success or failure. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
What FedEx Earnings Say About Global Recovery Marc Chandler submits:At the end of last week, Federal Express (FDX) reported Q3 earnings. Rarely are corporate earnings reviewed closely by currency strategists, but this report seems to shed light on the global economic recovery. FedEx, like others in this space, typically do well in the beginning of economic recoveries. Its quarterly profit more than doubled due to a strong pick-up in Asian export volumes. The high profit-margin "International Priority" business jumped almost 18%. The volume of daily domestic packages was up a little more than 1%. This would seem to confirm the relative strength of the Asian economies and the improved trade flows.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Look Out Below: The Baltic Dry Index Is in Freefall Brett Owens submits:Remember a few weeks ago, when the Baltic Dry Index was on the ropes?Well, it's off the ropes - and in complete freefall. Support has NOT held for the BDI, a favorite leading indicator of many investors. And one, might I add, that has performed quite well since the equity markets topped in 2007 (in '09, the BDI turned up 3 months before stocks).Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Truck Tonnage Index Increases for 8th Month Mark J. Perry submits: ARLINGTON, VA — The American Trucking Associations’ advance seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 1.5% in July, although June’s reduction was revised from 1.4% to 1.6%. The latest improvement raised the SA index from 108.3 (2000=100) in June to 110 in July. Compared with July 2009, SA tonnage climbed 7.4%, which matched June’s increase and was the eighth consecutive year-over-year gain (see chart above). Year-to-date, tonnage is up 6.7% compared with the same period in 2009. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that July’s data didn’t change his outlook for subdued tonnage growth in the months ahead, stating, “The economy is slowing and truck freight tonnage has essentially gone sideways since April 2010.” Nevertheless, Costello believes that tonnage will post moderate gains, on average, for the second half of the year. “After accounting for the reduction in supply over the last few years, even small gains in tonnage will have a larger impact on the industry than in past.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |