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3 Truck Stocks Holding Ground Despite Industry Challenges
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The Zacks Transportation-Truck industry continues to face a tough operating environment. A prolonged freight recession, led by declining freight demand, is weighing on the industry participants. Concerns around tariffs and potential retaliatory trade actions are adding pressure to global trade flows. High inflation has led to reduced consumer spending on goods. Low hiring rates add to the list of concerns.
Despite the above-mentioned headwinds and the resulting demand uncertainty, the industry has demonstrated resilience, particularly among companies that focus on growth strategies and operational efficiency. Notable players expected to withstand these hiccups include Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL - Free Report) , J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT - Free Report) and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX - Free Report) .
Industry Description
The Zacks Transportation-Truck industry houses truck operators transporting freight to diverse customers, mainly across North America. These companies provide full-truckload or less-than-truckload (“LTL”) services over the short, medium or long haul. The range of trucking services these companies provide includes dry-van, dedicated, refrigerated, flatbed and expedited. Some companies have an extensive fleet of company-owned tractors and trucks, and independent contractor trucks. Besides trucking, most entities offer logistics and intermodal services as well as value-added services like container drayage, truckload brokerage, supply-chain consulting and warehousing. A few also offer asset-light services to other third-party logistics companies in the transportation sector.
3 Trends Shaping the Future of the Trucking Industry
Weak Freight Demand Hurts Industry Bigtime: Soft freight demand is straining the trucking industry by cutting shipment volumes and pushing rates lower. As manufacturers and retailers reduce orders amid slowing economic conditions or surplus inventory, the amount of freight available declines. This mismatch between truck capacity and fewer loads intensifies competition among carriers, often compelling them to accept lower prices just to keep their fleets running. Highlighting weak freight demand, the Cass Freight Shipments Index declined 7.2% year over year in February 2026. This measure has deteriorated year over year each of the past 11 months, which confirms the overall declining trend.
Efficient Cost-Reduction Strategies: In a bid to improve efficiency, companies have been reducing the cost structure of their facilities through the sale or shutdown of underperforming units and manufacturing facilities, as well as investments in technology. Also, the industry players have been focusing on operational excellence to drive their bottom lines in the face of demand weakness.
Persistent Volatility and Prolonged Economic Uncertainty: The industry’s outlook is being negatively impacted by ongoing tariff-driven economic uncertainty. The conflict involving Iran has further increased market volatility, affecting freight demand, pricing power and operational planning. As businesses and consumers cut back on spending, shipment volumes drop, resulting in reduced load availability and downward pressure on freight rates. Meanwhile, fluctuations in fuel costs, interest rates and input expenses make margin management more challenging. This uncertainty also leads shippers to postpone contracts or move toward spot markets, intensifying rate variability and limiting revenue visibility for trucking companies. Collectively, these factors are creating an environment marked by lower profitability, tighter cash flows and heightened financial risk across the industry.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Dull Prospects
The Zacks Transportation-Truck industry is a 12-stock group within the broader Zacks Transportation sector. The industry currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #173, which places it in the bottom 29% of 244 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, the average of the Zacks Rank of all member stocks, indicates murky near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
The industry’s position in the bottom 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of a negative earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts are gradually losing confidence in this group’s earnings growth potential. The industry's earnings estimate for 2026 has decreased 19.6% on a year-over-year basis.
Before we present a few stocks from the industry that you may want to hold on to, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock market performance and the valuation picture.
Truck Industry Outperforms the S&P 500 and the Sector
The Zacks Transportation-Truck industry has surpassed the Zacks S&P 500 composite as well as the Transportation sector over the past year.
The industry has surged 48.5% over this period compared with the S&P 500's appreciation of 29.6% and the broader sector’s uptick of 26.3%.
One-Year Price Performance
Truck Industry's Current Valuation
Based on the trailing 12-month EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization), a commonly used multiple for valuing trucking stocks, the industry is currently trading at 16.55X compared with the S&P 500’s 17.78X. It is above the sector’s EV/EBITDA of 11.35X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 17.01X and as low as 7.83X, with the median being 12.33X, as the chart below shows.
Enterprise Value-to-EBITDA Ratio (TTM)
3 Transport Truck Stocks to Keep an Eye on
Old Dominion is a leading LTL entity based in Thomasville, NC. The company has been benefiting from its consistent shareholder-friendly measures through dividends and share buybacks.
ODFL’s liquidity position is another tailwind. Old Dominion expects its 2026 earnings per share to increase 5.4% from 2025 actuals. ODFL currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
J.B. Hunt Transport Services provides a broad range of transportation services to a diverse group of customers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. JBHT is benefiting from efforts to reward its shareholders through dividend payments and share repurchases.
Shares of JBHT have increased 65% in a year. JBHT currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3. The company’s earnings have surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the past four quarters (missing the mark in the remaining). The average beat is 6.1%.
Price and Consensus: JBHT
Knight-Swift is based in Phoenix, AZ. This company’s efforts to reward its investors through dividends and buybacks bode well. Earlier in the year, Knight-Swift raised its quarterly dividend to 20 cents per share from 18 cents.
Knight-Swift’s cash position is worrisome. KNX currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3. The company’s earnings have surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the past four quarters (missing the mark on the other two occasions). The average miss is 3.7%.
Price and Consensus: KNX
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3 Truck Stocks Holding Ground Despite Industry Challenges
The Zacks Transportation-Truck industry continues to face a tough operating environment. A prolonged freight recession, led by declining freight demand, is weighing on the industry participants. Concerns around tariffs and potential retaliatory trade actions are adding pressure to global trade flows. High inflation has led to reduced consumer spending on goods. Low hiring rates add to the list of concerns.
Despite the above-mentioned headwinds and the resulting demand uncertainty, the industry has demonstrated resilience, particularly among companies that focus on growth strategies and operational efficiency. Notable players expected to withstand these hiccups include Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL - Free Report) , J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT - Free Report) and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX - Free Report) .
Industry Description
The Zacks Transportation-Truck industry houses truck operators transporting freight to diverse customers, mainly across North America. These companies provide full-truckload or less-than-truckload (“LTL”) services over the short, medium or long haul. The range of trucking services these companies provide includes dry-van, dedicated, refrigerated, flatbed and expedited. Some companies have an extensive fleet of company-owned tractors and trucks, and independent contractor trucks. Besides trucking, most entities offer logistics and intermodal services as well as value-added services like container drayage, truckload brokerage, supply-chain consulting and warehousing. A few also offer asset-light services to other third-party logistics companies in the transportation sector.
3 Trends Shaping the Future of the Trucking Industry
Weak Freight Demand Hurts Industry Bigtime: Soft freight demand is straining the trucking industry by cutting shipment volumes and pushing rates lower. As manufacturers and retailers reduce orders amid slowing economic conditions or surplus inventory, the amount of freight available declines. This mismatch between truck capacity and fewer loads intensifies competition among carriers, often compelling them to accept lower prices just to keep their fleets running. Highlighting weak freight demand, the Cass Freight Shipments Index declined 7.2% year over year in February 2026. This measure has deteriorated year over year each of the past 11 months, which confirms the overall declining trend.
Efficient Cost-Reduction Strategies: In a bid to improve efficiency, companies have been reducing the cost structure of their facilities through the sale or shutdown of underperforming units and manufacturing facilities, as well as investments in technology. Also, the industry players have been focusing on operational excellence to drive their bottom lines in the face of demand weakness.
Persistent Volatility and Prolonged Economic Uncertainty: The industry’s outlook is being negatively impacted by ongoing tariff-driven economic uncertainty. The conflict involving Iran has further increased market volatility, affecting freight demand, pricing power and operational planning. As businesses and consumers cut back on spending, shipment volumes drop, resulting in reduced load availability and downward pressure on freight rates. Meanwhile, fluctuations in fuel costs, interest rates and input expenses make margin management more challenging. This uncertainty also leads shippers to postpone contracts or move toward spot markets, intensifying rate variability and limiting revenue visibility for trucking companies. Collectively, these factors are creating an environment marked by lower profitability, tighter cash flows and heightened financial risk across the industry.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Dull Prospects
The Zacks Transportation-Truck industry is a 12-stock group within the broader Zacks Transportation sector. The industry currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #173, which places it in the bottom 29% of 244 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, the average of the Zacks Rank of all member stocks, indicates murky near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
The industry’s position in the bottom 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of a negative earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts are gradually losing confidence in this group’s earnings growth potential. The industry's earnings estimate for 2026 has decreased 19.6% on a year-over-year basis.
Before we present a few stocks from the industry that you may want to hold on to, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock market performance and the valuation picture.
Truck Industry Outperforms the S&P 500 and the Sector
The Zacks Transportation-Truck industry has surpassed the Zacks S&P 500 composite as well as the Transportation sector over the past year.
The industry has surged 48.5% over this period compared with the S&P 500's appreciation of 29.6% and the broader sector’s uptick of 26.3%.
One-Year Price Performance
Truck Industry's Current Valuation
Based on the trailing 12-month EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization), a commonly used multiple for valuing trucking stocks, the industry is currently trading at 16.55X compared with the S&P 500’s 17.78X. It is above the sector’s EV/EBITDA of 11.35X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 17.01X and as low as 7.83X, with the median being 12.33X, as the chart below shows.
Enterprise Value-to-EBITDA Ratio (TTM)
3 Transport Truck Stocks to Keep an Eye on
Old Dominion is a leading LTL entity based in Thomasville, NC. The company has been benefiting from its consistent shareholder-friendly measures through dividends and share buybacks.
ODFL’s liquidity position is another tailwind. Old Dominion expects its 2026 earnings per share to increase 5.4% from 2025 actuals. ODFL currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Price and Consensus: ODFL
J.B. Hunt Transport Services provides a broad range of transportation services to a diverse group of customers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. JBHT is benefiting from efforts to reward its shareholders through dividend payments and share repurchases.
Shares of JBHT have increased 65% in a year. JBHT currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3. The company’s earnings have surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the past four quarters (missing the mark in the remaining). The average beat is 6.1%.
Price and Consensus: JBHT
Knight-Swift is based in Phoenix, AZ. This company’s efforts to reward its investors through dividends and buybacks bode well. Earlier in the year, Knight-Swift raised its quarterly dividend to 20 cents per share from 18 cents.
Knight-Swift’s cash position is worrisome. KNX currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3. The company’s earnings have surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the past four quarters (missing the mark on the other two occasions). The average miss is 3.7%.
Price and Consensus: KNX