Transportation
Highlights Portfolio Strategy Internal dynamics warn that a broad market consolidation phase has begun. The jump in growth vs. value stocks has provided an opportunity to shift to a neutral style bias. Transports have sold off sharply, but downside risks have not yet been fully expunged,…
Highlights Portfolio Strategy Pricing power has improved across a number of industries, with the exception of technology, a necessary development to sustain an overall profit recovery. The S&P railroads index has surged to the point where it will take massive upside earnings surprises to…
The S&P railroad index has vaulted higher, along with many other industrial groups, but it may be starting to overshoot fundamental improvement. Technical conditions are becoming overbought. The 52-week rate of change is nearing previous peaks, with the exception of the spike during the GFC…
While we only recently went overweight in early-September, a much shorter time horizon than our desired cyclical calls, we are concerned that the index has front run an improvement in global trade that may be slow to materialize. Our upgrade was predicated on a tightening in inventories relative…
Highlights Portfolio Strategy The strong U.S. dollar is tightening global liquidity conditions, putting the post-election jump in stock prices at risk unless growth imminently accelerates. The spike in large cap industrial stocks represents a massive knee-jerk overreaction and we are adding…
The transport group is a positive exception to our otherwise downbeat view on the relative performance prospects of the overall industrials sector. We expect consumption to continue outpacing capital spending, because corporate sector free cash flow is waning and balance sheets are suspect. The…
In a Special Report published on September 6, we made the case that the transportation sector was already discounting a deep recession, and that only a stabilization rather than acceleration in economic prospects was required to realize good value. As part of that report, we upgraded the S&P…
The S&P air freight & logistics index has been in a long relative performance funk, during which time valuations have been squeezed down to very attractive levels at a time when fundamentals should begin to improve. Business sales are rising relative to inventory. The top panel shows…
In a Special Report published yesterday, we showed that the transport relative performance bear market and valuation squeeze had already matched what has typically occurred during a recession. Consequently, any stabilization in underlying drivers of global trade could produce a positive share…
Transport stocks have discounted a recession, trading below trough bear market relative valuations. That is too cheap given signs of stabilization in global export growth.