ETF STER

IYT: Shipping Stocks Deliver Modest Gains Despite U.S. Slowdown

U.S. trucking firms are more of a bell-weather for the direction of the U.S. economy. They are the first to feel the downturn and the first to recover. Railroads and ocean freight companies do not mirror the U.S. economy as efficiently as trucking industry stocks, due to the international nature of the products that they ship. (ex), More commodities such as grains, coal and ore are becoming international commodities that will be increasingly shipped more efficiently by rail to the ports where ocean freight companies ship to the world.

Consumer goods that are used by U.S. consumers are mainly shipped by trucks, thus the trucking industry would be a better leading indicator to the direction of the U. S. economy.