Weekly "Focus" and Truckin’ down the Highway

A trip down Highway 401 to Guelph this week reminded me of the incredible volume of trucks on the road. I was on my own so couldn’t take advantage of the HOV lanes that have been built considering that the portion of the highway that intersects Toronto is the busiest in North America (1/3 busier than the main highway in Los Angeles). There are several publicly traded trucking companies and they have posted mixed results this year, reflecting an uneven economy. Same story with the parcel delivery companies although they seem awfully busy delivery packages to my front door. Fadi Chamoun is the BMO Capital Markets analyst covering the sector and he sees overall freight demand most likely picking up in 2025.

 

	Total Return in 2024	Dividend Yield
FedEx (FX)	+9.7%	2.0%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT)	-11.3%	1.0%
Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL)	-2.1%	0.5%
TFI International (TFII)	+3.8%	1.2%
United Parcel Service (UPS)	-8.7%	4.7%
XPO (XPO)	+33.4%	0.0%

Source: FactSet, Values as of October 25, 2024

 

This week’s "Focus" from our economics team is attached.

 

Have a great weekend; a road trip to Cleveland is on my horizon to see the football game this Sunday.

 

Brad

Senior Portfolio Manager and Senior Investment Advisor