That said, there remains an underlying case for long-term optimism. Supported by strong fundamentals, companies such as Expeditors International of Washington EXPD, C.H. Robinson Worldwide CHRW and ZTO Express (Cayman) ZTO are worth keeping an eye on. They are well-positioned to overcome the obstacles and capitalize on opportunities when industry conditions improve.
About the Industry
The companies belonging to the Zacks Transportation-Services industry offer transporters, logistics, leasing and maintenance services. Some industry players focus on the business of global logistics management, including international freight forwarding. Third-party logistics entities provide innovative supply-chain solutions. They also focus on services like product sourcing, warehousing and freight shipping. These companies have expertise in trucking, air and ocean transportation. Some players in this industry deliver domestic and international express delivery services. The well-being of the companies in this industrial cohort is directly proportional to the health of the economy. An uptick in manufactured and retail goods, favorable pricing and improvement in global economic conditions bode well for industry participants.
3 Trends Shaping the Future of the Transportation-Services Industry
Freight Downturn Persists : Although economic activities picked up from the pandemic gloom, lingering supply-chain disruptions continue to dent stocks in the industry. Below-par freight rates led by the oversupply of capacity are squeezing profit margins, thereby denting the industry’s prospects. Highlighting the weak freight demand, the Cass Freight Shipments Index declined 1.2% year over year in May. This measure has deteriorated year over year each of the past nine months, which confirms the overall declining trend.
Economic Uncertainty Refuses to Fade: The industry’s prospects are highly correlated with the prevalent economic health. Volatile inflation data, geopolitical tensions and labor market concerns have dented consumer confidence and have time and again unsettled markets. In its latest policy meeting, the Fed did not go for a rate cut but held rates at 3.50-3.75%. The central bank, while adopting a hawkish stance, also trimmed its 2026 GDP growth forecast to 2.2% from 2.4%. The recent intensification of the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict has aggravated the uncertain scenario.
Cost Cuts to Boost Margins: The industry is facing input cost inflation, transport and logistics costs, and the impact of tariffs. Industry players are constantly implementing cost-reduction actions, which are likely to help sustain margins in this scenario. The companies are focused on streamlining their operations and realigning around high-growth key markets or customer segments to enhance performance.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Dull Prospects
The Zacks Transportation-Services industry is a 20-stock group within the broader Zacks Transportation sector. The industry currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #161, which places it in the bottom 35% of 247 Zacks industries.
The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, the average of the Zacks Rank of all member stocks, indicates dismal 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 10% year over year.
Before we present a few stocks from the industry that you may want to retain or buy, let’s take a look at the industry’s recent stock market performance and the valuation picture.
Industry Lags S&P 500 and Sector
The Zacks Transportation-Services industry has underperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite and the broader Transportation sector in a year.
The industry has improved 15.3% over this period compared with the S&P 500's appreciation of 24.4% and the broader sector’s uptick of 22.3%.
One-Year Price Performance
Industry's Current Valuation
Based on the forward 12-month price-to-sales, a commonly used multiple for valuing transportation services stocks, the industry is currently trading at 1.56X compared with the S&P 500's 5.01X. The value is higher than the sector's trailing 12-month P/S of 1.49X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 3.16X, as low as 1.44X and at the median of 1.85X.
Price-to-Sales Ratio (F12M)
3 Transport Services Stocks to Watch Now
Expeditors, a leading third-party logistics provider, is based in Seattle, WA. The company currently sports a Zacks Rank# 1 (Strong Buy). EXPD’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 14%.
While weak volumes (concerning air-freight tonnage and ocean containers) stemming from soft demand and declining rates are hurting EXPD’s performance, efforts to cut costs in the face of demand weakness are driving its bottom line.
Price and Consensus: EXPD
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
ZTO Express is a leading player in the field of express delivery in China. This Shanghai-based company went public in 2016. ZTO Express and its network partners provide domestic and international express delivery services. Other value-added services supplement the offerings. In China, it mainly focuses on providing express deliveries of parcels, which mostly weigh below 50 kilograms. The expected delivery time ranges from 24-72 hours.
ZTO Express carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 13.5%, primarily driven by parcel volume. ZTO Express expects its 2026 parcel volume guidance to be in the range of 42.37-43.52 billion, reflecting an increase of 10-13% year over year.
Price and Consensus: ZTO
C.H. Robinson’s consistent initiatives to reward shareholders through dividends and share repurchases are encouraging. Such shareholder-friendly moves instill investor confidence and positively impact the company's bottom line. A decrease in operating expenses aids CHRW's bottom-line growth.
C.H. Robinson currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). CHRW’s AI integration drives real-time pricing, costing and automation through a powerful mix of machine learning, large language models and autonomous agents. By acting on live supply-demand signals with humans in the loop, CHRW boosts margins, speeds execution and strengthens its competitive edge across quoting, booking, tracking and payments.
Price and Consensus: CHRW
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C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW): Free Stock Analysis Report
Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (EXPD): Free Stock Analysis Report
ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (ZTO): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).