TRUCKING MARKET ANALYSIS * USA - Truckers prosper despite rising diesel prices

The Dow Jones U.S. / Trucking Index: has actually outpaced the S&P 500 with a 26% rally

San Francisco,CAL,USA -MarketWatch, by Shawn Langlois -9May 2011: ... For the trucking industry, which is responsible for moving 68% of freight across the country, fuel is expense number one, surpassing even employee costs as the price of diesel continues to build... As it stands, diesel averages about $4.12 in the U.S., up 32% from a year ago. Not quite as bad as gasoline, but enough to send truckers scrambling to offset the cost side with price hikes... Take food hauler Sysco Corp., which reported earnings Monday. The company has managed to improve its profitability as it walks a tightrope of passing on price increases enough to make money, but not too much to send customers elsewhere. It’s a trend seen across the trucking industry during the first quarter. Same formula held true for the likes of Con-Way Inc. and Expeditors International of Washington... Fuel prices rise. Surcharges and higher rates more than offset those increases. Profit improves...   And investors take notice by buying up shares.  In the past year, the Dow Jones U.S. Trucking Index has actually outpaced the S&P 500 with a 26% rally in the face of these nosebleed diesel prices. The S&P benchmark has gained 21%... And if the economic recovery continues to take hold, any relief at the pump could mean more bottom-line improvements for companies that use trucks to distribute goods across the country...

* USA - FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index continues upward trend

Nashville,IND,USA -The Trucker News -9 May 2011: -- FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index rose to 13.30 in March from a February reading of 9.92, as reported in the May Trucking Update. A key driver for the improvement in the TCI was the ability of carriers to garner higher rates as industry capacity tightened... The Trucking Conditions Index is a compilation of factors affecting trucking companies and has been rising steadily since October 2010. Any reading above zero indicates an adequate trucking environment with readings above 10 a sign that volumes, prices and margin are in a good range for trucking companies... Demand for truck transport is growing at a normal rate for this point in the economic recovery, FTR President Eric Starks noted...