Stocks of Trucking Companies Not Immune to Drop

Though it kept rolling in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the trucking industry couldn’t buck the downward trend in stock prices Monday as Wall Street reopened for business.

Shares of major trucking companies fell in a market that lost 684 points, the largest single-day point drop in the history of the New York Stock Exchange. The NYSE closed at 8,920.70 – its first sub-9,000 close since 1998.

The drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average was only one-third as big as the 1987 crash.

The Dow Transportation Index fell 404.81 points, but that number may be slightly misleading because of the especially poor performance of airline stocks.

The Nasdaq, where many trucking companies’ shares are traded, dropped 115.83 to 1,579.55.

One of the largest losers for truck stocks was Ryder System Inc. who dropped 6.6% of its value, closing at $19.58.

United Parcel Service was down 5.1% to $50.37. FedEx Corp. was also down, but only by 4.2% to $38.30.

Other drops included Arkansas Best, which was down 1.8%, and CNF Inc. down 6.9%.