SPDR® S&P Transportation ETF

Fuel expense is Delta’s largest expense. It accounted for ~29% of the total operating expense in 3Q14. Fuel consumption per available seat mile decreased by 1.5% during the quarter.

The World Bank estimated Ebola’s impact by analyzing two scenarios—low Ebola and high Ebola. The scenarios are based on the probability of the disease spreading internationally.

Growing capacity is necessary for revenue growth. However, capacity expansion that exceeds demand growth can lead to declining utilization.

Salary, wages, and benefits increased as a result of higher wage rates. Airlines have also had to increase headcount to adhere to the new Federal Aviation Administration (or FAA) regulations on flight, duty, and rest.

The average US on-highway diesel prices in 3Q17 have risen 20% compared to the same quarter last year.

Union Pacific had FCF of $3.02 billion in the first nine months of 2017, compared with $2.86 billion in the corresponding period of 2016.

Apart from improved operational efficiencies, American has outperformed its peers in pre-tax margin (excluding special items) improvement in the first half of 2014 to 8.7% from 4.1% in the previous year.

Chinese airlines have an advantage of having lower employee costs compared to their counterparts in the US. Operational efficiency of US airlines are comparatively higher.

Brazil is the third largest domestic aviation market. With double-digit traffic growth, Brazil was one of the fastest-growing domestic markets in 2010 and 2011.

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.

Growing trade activity drove the recovery in cargo traffic in emerging markets in Asia, but it was slightly offset by the slowing European economy.

Union Pacific (UNP) announced its third-quarter earnings results before the market opened on October 25.

JetBlue’s operating revenue increased by 6% to $1,529 million in 3Q14. The company states that its on-time performance was impacted by congestion in the air space.

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.

During fatal disease outbreaks, rules and restrictions are imposed—especially on air transportation. This includes canceling flights to the affected areas.

In this article, we’ll look at the direction of the Truck Tonnage Index (or TTI) in October 2016.

The share prices for major airline companies in the U.S. dropped substantially after the news of the first Ebola case in U.S. on September 30, 2014.

Currently, American Airlines (AAL), Southwest Airlines (LUV), and Alaska Air Group (ALK) are all trading at ~5x their forward EV-to-EBITDA multiples.

In Week 41, Kansas City Southern (KSU) posted a 2.4% YoY (year-over-year) decline in carload traffic.

Spirit Airlines (SAVE) is headquartered in Miramar, Florida. It’s a pioneer of ultra-low-cost carrier or ULCC airlines.

FedEx Express offers three US overnight package delivery services: FedEx First Overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight, and FedEx Standard Overnight.

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.

The most recent phase of consolidation that began in 2005 has seen 13 airline mergers and acquisitions. Four of these deals are worth special mention because they changed the face of the industry.

The airline industry has maintained its stellar performance in the last five years.

The airline industry contributes to U.S. economic growth. The industry drives $1.5 trillion in U.S. economic activity. It also generates more than 11 million jobs in the U.S.

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 […]

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.

American Airlines (AAL) has received a consensus “buy” rating from analysts polled by Reuters.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s (CHRW) Navisphere is a proprietary global technology platform that matches customer requirements with supplier capabilities to fit customers’ needs.

The average work week The US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ establishment survey includes data on the number of hours worked by manufacturing employees. Changes in the number of working hours help investors assess the health of the sector. A rise in the number of working hours signals that companies are projecting higher demand in the manufacturing sector […]

To demonstrate the power of efficient scale in creating economic moats, we highlight four companies: U.S.-based wide moats CSX Corporation and UPS, and international narrow moats Telefonica SA (Spain) and CapitaLand Commercial (Singapore).

In this article, we’ll analyze the operating cash flows of these LTL (less-than-truckload) carriers in 1H17.

One of the major risks to Frontier Airlines is the fact that almost 45% of its flights originate from a single hub—Denver.

In 4Q16, Southwest Airlines’s (LUV) yields fell 4% year-over-year to 14.7 cents, followed by Alaska Air’s (ALK) 3.3% decline in yield to 13.4 cents.

Revenues from American Airlines’ foreign operations make up about 30% of its total operating revenues. The airline has been consistently expanding its global footprint by adding new routes.

Old Dominion offers access, through agents or strategic alliances, to services in international locations including Canada, Mexico, Europe, and China.

United Parcel Service, through 10,000 routes optimized with ORION, saves up to 1.5 million gallons of fuel per year.

In 2015, United Parcel Service reported total revenues of $58.4 billion. The company’s primary competitor in the US is the Memphis-headquartered FedEx Corporation.

In fiscal 2015, FDX increased its revenues by $1.9 billion. Its total revenue was a $47.4 billion for the year.

Black & Decker was eventually merged with Stanley Works in 2010 to form the Stanley Black & Decker company (SWK).

JHBT calls J.B. Hunt 360 an intuitive transportation management system. The company claims to realize improved workflows, tighter integration, and mobile tools.

Honeywell has an installed base of 6,000 integrated cockpits, which is ten times greater than the next competitor.

Union Pacific’s chemical freight carloads were down by 4% in 4Q15 compared to 4Q14. Petroleum products carloads were down by 18% during the same period.

Norfolk Southern Corporation operates ~20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia. The company mainly transports coal and general merchandise.

Spirit and its competitors have seen their EV/EBITDA decrease in the last six months due to the fear of a large increase in available seat miles.

For the seventh consecutive year, Alaska Airlines held the top spot in Customer Satisfaction among the Traditional Network Carriers survey conducted by J.D. Power.

Spirit Airlines (SAVE) follows a simple business model of reducing base airfares as much as possible. All its other services are charged separately.

Rising costs impacted China Eastern’s (CEA) operating margins, which declined from 5% in FY09 to 1.8% in FY13.

More than half of China Southern’s total operating expenses in FY13 were related to flight operating expenses.