iShares Transportation Average

Out of the 18 analysts tracking Southwest Airlines (LUV), 11 analysts (61.1%) have a “buy” recommendation on the stock versus 71% analysts that had a “buy” recommendation on Southwest in 2Q16.

Adding newer destinations Alaska Air Group (ALK) added a number of new routes in the second quarter of 2015, such as: Boise to Reno Eugene to San Jose, California Los Angeles to Baltimore Los Angeles to Gunnison–Crested Butte Los Angeles to Monterey Los Angeles to San Jose, Costa Rica Portland to Austin Seattle to Charleston […]

Alaska Air Group saw the highest surge in traffic demand and was the leader in capacity growth, with a 6.4% YoY increase in its capacity in July 2015.

Alaska Air Group’s (ALK) consensus 12-month target price is $80.55, which indicates a 15.2% return potential on October 10, 2016.

Airline capacity utilization is measured using the passenger load factor, which is calculated by dividing traffic numbers by capacity numbers.

United achieved significant fuel cost savings during 3Q14 in the form of lower purchase costs and improved fuel efficiency.

According to the IATA, global air freight volume has increased by 4.5%. Capacity, measured by available freight ton kilometers (or AFTK), increased by 3.5% year-over-year in August 2014.

United Parcel Service’s international package segment includes small package operations in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Canada, Latin America, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and Africa.

In 2015, most airline stocks have fallen, and the NYSE ARCA Airline Index (XAL), which is composed of the major US airline stocks, has also tumbled as much as 13.5% year-to-date.

Load factor measures capacity utilization. It indicates the percentage of total capacity that an airline utilizes. Airlines are capital intensive. They have high fixed costs.

Global passenger traffic has increased by 5.8% year-over-year during the first eight months of 2014. Europe (29.7%), Asia-Pacifc (29.2%), and North America (25%) comprise ~85% of global market share by passenger traffic.

FedEx suffered a loss of $895.0 million in connection with the shift to new pension accounting in 2015.

UPS’s Domestic Package segment provides an array of guaranteed ground and air package transportation services, depending on the customer’s need.

FedEx (FDX) CEO Frederick Smith slammed the New York Times for its story about FDX’s tax bill. In a statement, Smith challenged the publisher to a debate.

Decreasing load factors across the airline industry mean that airlines are not able to fill up their seats as fast as they are adding seats. This justifies investor fears of overcapacity.

Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) is the United States’ major provider of regional, interregional, and national LTL (less-than-truckload) services.

FedEx (FDX) announced its fourth-quarter earnings after the market closed on June 19. FedEx surpassed analysts’ adjusted EPS estimate by 3.6%.

The demand for air travel experienced considerable growth in the month of August, driven by traditional vacation travel as well as lower fares of major air carriers.

On April 4, 2016, Alaska Air Group (ALK) announced its acquisition of Virgin America for $57 per share in cash, which amounted to $2.6 billion.

Effective January 2015, FedEx changed its pricing policy for all of its FedEx Ground packages less than 3 cubic feet to a “dimensional weight pricing” mechanism.

The economic upturn since 2009 has improved growth prospects for the courier companies. This coupled with improving industry margins has led to improving industry valuations.

Passenger yield declined by 8% year-over-year for August 2015 to 15.3 cents from 16.6 cents. This is the highest decline since the start of the year.

With 16,000 unique city pairs, connectivity by air is estimated to have doubled in the past two decades. Moreover, although demand continues to rise, the price of travel has fallen.

Just a few days ago, we wrote about how Trump had received very little support from the travel industry. Now that he’s been elected, what’s next?

Climate-related policies and a transition to a low-carbon economy require capital, and most countries are already burdened with high debt.

UPS’s forward PE ratio stands at 17.1x compared to its current PE ratio of 22.3. Analysts are expecting UPS’s earnings to grow in the next four quarters.

Investors should keep an eye on airfare trends. Despite a 40% fall in crude oil prices—the major cost for airlines—airfares have remained fairly stable.

Revenue drivers There are three main drivers of revenue growth for United Parcel Service (UPS): package volumes, product mix and pricing, and fuel surcharges. Package volumes and product mix and pricing are in turn driven by economic growth.   Economic growth Increasing economic growth increases e-commerce demand, which in turn increases demand for courier services. […]

Of the 15 analysts rating Spirit Airlines’ stock, 80% (12 analysts) have a “buy” rating, 20% (three analysts) have a “hold” rating, and none of the analysts have a “sell” rating.

In 1Q17, Alaska Air Group’s (ALK) EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) is expected to fall 5.8% to $385 million.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) has maintained a low-capacity growth profile throughout 2017. For May 2017, DAL’s capacity growth was flat at 22,072 million miles.

Short-term outlook above expectations The IATA (International Air Transport Association) has revised its forecast upwards on global airline profitability after the free fall of crude oil prices in the second half of 2014. Global net profit for 2014 is now estimated at $19.9 billion, higher than $18 billion projected in June. Profitability is expected to […]

FedEx stock fell 4.4% yesterday following an earnings estimate reduction and fears that a trade deal between the US and China could be delayed.

There was an overall increase in worldwide passenger traffic and capacity in August. Passenger capacity increase of 5.5% year-over-year and was driven by strong growth in the international market.

With a year-to-date return of 21.9%, JetBlue Airways (JBLU) stock is one of the airline industry’s top performers. Here are analysts’ views on the stock.

Analysts have remained bullish about United Airlines stock. The analysts polled by Reuters provided a consensus “buy” recommendation on the stock.

The global airline industry is large and complex, offering opportunity for informed investors. The largest U.S. carriers are Delta Air Lines (DAL), United Continental (UAL), American Airlines (AAL), and Southwest Airlines (LUV).

Back-to-back dismal quarterly performance and a downbeat outlook have kept analysts increasingly cautious about FedEx’s (FDX) growth prospects.

FedEx (FDX) has teamed up with Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Wing to make drone delivery a reality. Let’s take a closer look at how.

In August, Delta Air Lines had the lowest flight cancellation rate and the best on-time performance versus its top peers—Southwest, United, and American.

Two major US airlines that own Boeing’s (BA) 737 MAX planes have pulled the model from their schedules until early December.

United Parcel Service (UPS) has joined the self-driving vehicle race. Last week, the company announced its purchase of a minority stake in autonomous tech startup TuSimple. The delivery giant made the investment following the results of ongoing self-driving truck road tests. However, neither company has disclosed the investment amount. Founded in 2015, TuSimple is trying […]

Kansas City Southern (KSU) stock opened nearly 3% higher on Friday after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results.

FedEx’s (FDX) fiscal 2019 third-quarter adjusted EPS of $3.03 fell 18.5% from its EPS of $3.72 in the third quarter of fiscal 2018.

Most analysts reduced their target prices on FedEx after the delivery giant trimmed its fiscal 2019 earnings outlook.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) rose over 4% yesterday on social media speculation that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is considering a takeover bid.

On February 15, UPS announced that it raised its quarterly dividend rate 5.5% to $0.96 from $0.91 paid in November.

Disciplined capacity additions, promotional offers, and marketing strategies to drive traffic have helped United Airlines improve its utilization rate.

Southwest Airlines’ (LUV) traffic or RPM continued to lag its capacity or ASM. The company reported its operating performance on January 8.

In the third quarter, the US Domestic Package segment’s revenues jumped 8.1% YoY to $10.4 billion from $9.6 billion in the third quarter of 2017.