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Transport Stocks Jump to Record High on Economic Optimism
Old Dominion Freight Line Among the Top Performers as Dow Jones Transportation Average Beats Record Set in November 2024
U.S. transportation stocks closed at a record level Jan. 6, capping off a rebound fueled by prospects of strong economic growth this year.
The Dow Jones Transportation Average rose 1.7% to close at 18,033.58 points — above a previous record set in November 2024 — after falling short of a new high a day earlier. Old Dominion Freight Line and Uber Technologies were among the top performers.
ODFL ranks No. 9 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America. Uber Freight ranks No. 14 on the TT Top 100 logistics companies list.
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The gauge slumped last year as President Donald Trump’s trade war rippled through markets and a downturn in the trucking sector dragged on, while flight chaos due to the longest government shutdown in history added to pain for airlines. The rebound came amid broad outperformance in stocks closely linked to the health of the U.S. economy.
“The transports have had a couple of major headwinds over the past 12 months that kept investors cautious — notably the trade war, tariffs and the government shutdown,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at Jonestrading. “The group is catching up to the market and the economy.”
RELATED: Oil Stocks Sharply Higher After US Action in Venezuela
Transport stocks added to a 1.2% advance Jan. 5, when airline and logistics shares gained on expectations that U.S. intervention in oil-rich Venezuela will lead to lower fuel prices. The march to the Jan. 6 record came amid strength across the U.S. equity market, with the S&P 500 Index notching its own fresh high.
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