The trucking industry should see some improvement in coming months as retailers pack store shelves for the holidays, an analyst with Morgan Keegan said Monday.
Analyst Art Hatfield said trucking demand right now isn't as strong as June, which will likely lead to many trucking companies falling below Wall Street's expectations in their upcoming third-quarter earnings reports. But he thinks that more freight is being contracted now in preparation for a stronger holiday season.
And as demand increases, the current truck shortage will become an even larger problem — boosting prices for the trucks that remain. The fewer trucks on the road, the more difficult-and more expensive-it will be for manufacturers and retailers to get trucks to transport their goods. Rising equipment costs, availability of credit and tighter lending standards are all factors preventing truckers from renewing their fleets.
Hatfield also expects the availability of drivers to become more of an issue as new safety regulations are expected to reduce the number of qualified drivers.
Shares of trucking companies were mixed, as the broader market rose. Arkansas Best Corp. rose 43 cents to $24.03. JB Hunt Transport Services gained 7 cents at $35.33. Con-way Inc. gained 55 cents at $29.60. Heartland Express fell 40 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $15.65. Old Dominion was off 28 cents at $25.72. Werner Enterprises Inc. lost 14 cents at $21.07.
