Key Highlights

● Landstar, C.H. Robinson and Old Dominion all declined.

● Rising insurance and claims costs weighed on profit.

● Not every transport name struggled the same day.

● Fuel costs added further pressure on carriers.

Trucking and freight stocks took a beating, as Landstar System plunged, C.H. Robinson Worldwide tumbled and Old Dominion Freight Line slid as quarterly reports pointed to rising costs and soft freight demand. Transport stocks are often watched as an early signal for the broader economy, since trucks move the goods that consumers and businesses buy.

Landstar, which runs a network of independent truck owners and agents, was one of the worst performers in the market, with third-quarter revenue growing and beating expectations, but earnings falling short as elevated insurance and claims expenses weighed on profit.

Brokers and LTL Carriers Slide

C.H. Robinson, one of the largest freight brokers in North America, tumbled despite operating income rising, as a freight recession weighed on rates. Old Dominion, a less-than-truckload carrier, slid after its LTL volumes slipped, a metric closely tied to industrial and retail activity.

FedEx dipped after its own report despite beating estimates and raising its full-year outlook, in its first report after a fiscal-year realignment and a business spin-off.

Bright Spots

Not every transport name struggled, as Forward Air soared after announcing a two-year agreement under which a major customer will keep using a significant portion of its services, and Kirby, a marine transportation company, beat estimates.

Fuel is another pressure point, with crude settling back above $100 a barrel, a cost pressure that can squeeze carriers' margins, especially when weak freight demand makes it harder to pass those costs on.