Analyst Says Transportation Stocks Could Rebound

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n analyst said transportation stocks could be set to rebound, the Associated Press reported Monday.

According to analyst Art Hatfield of Morgan Keegan & Co., investors have already priced 20% to 30% declines into the prices of some transportation stocks, overshooting possible impacts from lower earnings, AP said.

Even in the wake of a strong earnings season and projections for a normal peak season, Hatfield said the Dow Jones Transportation Average has declined for the past seven weeks — its longest slide in more than six years, AP reported.

Comparing a possible economic downturn in the current clime to the period between 2000 and 2001 when the gross domestic product increased less than 1%, Hatfield told AP that earnings impacts would be less pronounced for transportation firms.

Hatfield also said such issues as rapidly rising insurance premiums, overcapacity and equipment devaluation pose less of a threat to earnings today than they did at the beginning of the decade, AP reported.