I went out on a limb last week, and now it's time to see how that decision played out.
I predicted that Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ: CLNE ) would close higher on the week. The provider of natural gas fueling solutions for transportation has been posting narrowing losses, and Wall Street was eyeing a 35% surge in revenue. The company was a solid report. Revenue came in a little light, but bottom-line results improved nicely. Shares of Clean Energy Fuels moved slightly higher on the week. I was right. I predicted that the tech-heavy Nasdaq would outperform the Dow Jones Industrial Average. (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) . This has been a tricky call lately, so how did it play out this time? Well, the market had a strong run this week, fueled be encouraging economic news. Secondary stocks led the way, with the Nasdaq soaring 1.7% on the week. The Dow managed to close just 1% higher. I was right. My final call was for Compass Diversified Holdings (NYSE: CODI ) to beat Wall Street's quarterly profit target. The investor in several middle-market companies has been posting blowout quarterly results over the past year, and I was banking on seeing the trend continue. Analysts were looking for a profit of $0.36 a share during the quarter, but Compass Diversified failed to beat the prognosticators. I was wrong.Two out of three? I'll take it. That makes me eight of nine over the past three weeks.
5 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Own For 2015: Nordic American Tanker Ltd (NAT)
Nordic American Tankers Limited is an international tanker company. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned 20 Suezmax tankers. The Company�� vessels include Nordic Harrier, Nordic Hawk, Nordic Hunter, Nordic Voyager, Nordic Freedom, Nordic Fighter, Nordic Discovery, Nordic Saturn, Nordic Jupiter, Nordic Apollo and Nordic Moon. Its vessels also include Nordic Cosmos, Nordic Sprite, Nordic Grace, Nordic Mistral, Nordic Passat, Nordic Vega, Nordic Breeze, Nordic Aurora and Nordic Zenith. In September 2011, the Company acquired the vessel, Nordic Aurora. It chartered all of its vessels in the spot market pursuant to a cooperative arrangement with Gemini Tankers LLC until November 24, 2011. In November 2011, the Orion Tankers pool was established with Orion Tankers Ltd. as pool manager and its vessels were transferred from the Gemini Tankers LLC arrangement to the Orion Tankers pool. On December 17, 2012, the Company acquired 100% interest in Scandic American Shipping Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tim Melvin]
One of the better-financed shipping companies is Bermuda-based Nordic American Tankers (NAT). NAT has a debt-to-equity ratio of just 0.25, unlike many of its highly levered competitors. The company owns 20 double hulled SuezMax size oil tankers and will benefit when global energy demand picks up.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
Another shipping player that's starting to trend within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade is Nordic American Tankers (NAT), an international tanker company that owns approximately 20 modern double-hull Suezmax tankers, including four newbuilding vessels. This stock is off to a slow start in 2013, with shares off by 7.7%.
If you take a look at the chart for Nordic American Tankers, you'll notice that this stock has been downtrending badly for the last month and change, with shares dropping from its high of $10.31 to its recent low of $7.65 a share. During that downtrend, shares of NAT have been consistently making lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of NAT have just started to bounce higher off that $7.65 low and it's quickly moving within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. This bounce could be signaling that the downside volatility for NAT is over at least in the near-term.
Market players should now look for long-biased trades in NAT if it manages to break out above its 50-day moving average at $8.50 and then once it takes out its 200-day moving average at $8.63 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that registers near or above its three-month average volume of 1.01 million shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then NAT will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $9.89 to $10.31 a share.
Traders can look to buy NAT off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some key near-term support at $7.65 a share. One can also buy NAT off strength once it clears those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Nordic American Tankers (NASDAQ: NAT) was also up, gaining 10.05 percent to $8.87 after the Dow Jones Global Shipping Index showed strength throughout the session on Wednesday.
- [By Taylor Muckerman]
As for the competition, not many companies have fared much better. For example, another Bermuda-based oil carrier, Nordic American Tankers (NYSE: NAT ) , has seen its cash from operations fall below sea level the past two years. In Nordic's case, its fleet size of 20 double-hull Suezmax tankers isn't nearly as diverse as Teekay's, but Suezmax tankers are capable of toting up to 1 million barrels of oil per voyage.
Top 10 Transportation Companies To Watch For 2014: Enbridge Energy Partners LP (EEP)
Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (the Partnership) owns and operates crude oil and liquid petroleum transportation and storage assets, and natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and marketing assets in the United States. The Company was formed by its Enbridge Energy Company, Inc. (General Partner), to own and operate the Lakehead system, which is the United States portion of a crude oil and liquid petroleum pipeline system extending from western Canada through the upper and lower Great Lakes region of the United States to eastern Canada. A subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. (Enbridge), owns the Canadian portion of the Mainline system. Enbridge, which is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada is a provider of energy transportation, distribution and related services in North America and internationally. Enbridge is the ultimate parent of its General Partner. As of December 31, 2011, its portfolio of assets included the approximately 6,500 miles of crude oil gathering and transportation lines and 32 million barrels of crude oil storage and terminaling capacity; natural gas gathering and transportation lines totaling approximately 11,500 miles; nine natural gas treating and 25 natural gas processing facilities with an aggregate capacity of approximately 3,255 million cubic feet per day, including plants; trucks, trailers and railcars for transporting natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and carbon dioxide, and marketing assets, which provide natural gas supply, transmission, storage and sales services. The Company conducts its business through three business segments: Liquids, Natural Gas and Marketing.
Liquids Segment
The Company�� Lakehead system consists of crude oil and liquid petroleum common carrier pipelines and terminal assets in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions of the United States. The Mainline system serves refining centers in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions of the United States and the Province of Ontario, Canada. Its Lakehead system spans a distance ! of approximately 1,900 miles, and consists of approximately 5,100 miles of pipe with diameters ranging from 12 inches to 48 inches, and is transporter of crude oil and liquid petroleum from Western Canada to the United States. In addition, the system has 61 pump station locations with a total of approximately 900,000 installed horsepower and 72 crude oil storage tanks with capacity of approximately 13.9 million barrels. The Mainline system operates in a segregation, or batch mode, allowing the transport in excess of 50 crude oil commodities, including light, medium and heavy crude oil, condensate and NGLs.
The Company�� Mid-Continent system is located within PADD II and is consisted of its Ozark pipeline and storage terminals at Cushing and El Dorado, Kansas. Its Mid-Continent system includes over 430 miles of crude oil pipelines and 17.3 million barrels of crude oil storage capacity. Its Ozark pipeline transports crude oil from Cushing to Wood River where it delivers to ConocoPhillips��Wood River refinery and interconnects with the Woodpat Pipeline and the Wood River Pipeline. The storage terminals consist of 91 individual storage tanks ranging in size from 58,000 to 575,000 barrels. Of the 17.3 million barrels of storage capacity on its Mid-Continent system, the Cushing terminal accounts for 16.1 million barrels. A portion of the storage facilities are used for operational purposes, while it contracts the remainder of the facilities with various crude oil market participants for their term storage requirements. Contract fees include fixed monthly capacity fees, as well as utilization fees, which it charges for injecting crude oil into and withdrawing crude oil from the storage facilities.
The Company�� Mid-Continent system operates under month-to-month transportation arrangements and both long-term and short-term storage arrangements with its shippers. Its North Dakota system is a crude oil gathering and interstate transportation system servicing the Williston basin in! North Da! kota and Montana, which includes the Bakken and Three Forks formations. The crude oil gathering pipelines of its North Dakota system collect crude oil from points near producing wells in approximately 22 oil fields in North Dakota and Montana. Its North Dakota system is made at Clearbrook to its Lakehead system and to a third-party pipeline system. As of December 31, 2011, its North Dakota system included approximately 240 miles of crude oil gathering lines connected to a transportation line, which is approximately 730 miles long, with a capacity of approximately 210,000 barrels per day. Its North Dakota system also has 21 pump stations, one delivery station and 11 storage facilities with an aggregate working storage capacity of approximately 870,000 barrels. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it added 25,000 barrels per day of capacity from Berthold, North Dakota to the international border near Lignite, North Dakota.
Natural Gas Segment
The Company owns and operates natural gas gathering, treating, processing and transportation systems, as well as trucking, rail and liquids marketing operations. It purchases and gathers natural gas from the wellhead and delivers it to plants for treating and/or processing and to intrastate or interstate pipelines for transmission to wholesale customers, such as power plants, industrial customers and local distribution companies. As of December 31, 2011, it had nine active treating plants and 25 active processing plants, including two hydrocarbon dewpoint control facilities (HCDP) plants. Its treating facilities have a combined capacity, which approximates 1,240 million cubic feet per day while the combined capacity of its processing facilities approximates 2,015 million cubic feet per day, including 350 million cubic feet per day provided by the HCDP plants.
The Company�� natural gas business consists of East Texas system, Anadarko system and North Texas system. East Texas system includes approximately 3,900 miles of nat! ural gas ! gathering and transportation pipelines, eight natural gas treating plants and five natural gas processing plants, including two HCDP plants. Anadarko system consists of approximately 2,900 miles of natural gas gathering and transportation pipelines in southwest Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, one natural gas treating plant and 11 natural gas processing plants. North Texas system includes approximately 4,700 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines and nine natural gas processing plants located in the Fort Worth basin. Its East Texas system is located in the East Texas basin. Natural gas on its North Texas system is produced in the Barnett shale area within the Fort Worth basin conglomerate. Its Anadarko system is located within the Anadarko basin.
As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� Elk City system includes one carbon dioxide treating plant and three cryogenic processing plants with a total capacity of 370 million cubic feet per day, and a NGL production capability of 20,000 barrels per day. It also includes its trucking and NGL marketing operations in its Natural Gas segment. These operations include the transportation of NGLs, crude oil and other products by truck and railcar from wellheads and treating, processing and fractionation facilities to wholesale customers, such as distributors, refiners and chemical facilities. In addition, its trucking and NGL marketing operations resells these products. Its services are provided using trucks, trailers and rail cars, pipeline capacity, fractionation agreements, product treating and handling equipment. Its trucking operations transport NGLs, condensate and crude oil from its processing facilities and from third party producers to its United States Gulf Coast customers. As of December 31, 2011, its fleet consisted of approximately 220 trucks and 375 trailers. Its trucking and NGL marketing operations are wholesale customers, such as refineries and propane distributors. Its trucking and NGL marketing operations also market products to whol! esale cus! tomers, such as petrochemical plants.
Marketing Segment
The Company�� Marketing segment transacts with various counterparties to provide natural gas supply, transportation, balancing, storage and sales services. Its Marketing business uses third-party storage capacity to balance supply and demand factors within its portfolio. Its Marketing business pays third-party storage facilities and pipelines for the right to store gas for various periods of time. These contracts may be denoted as firm storage, interruptible storage or parking and lending services. Its Marketing business leases third-party pipeline capacity downstream from its Natural Gas assets under firm transportation contracts. This capacity is leased for various lengths of time and at rates.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Callum Turcan]
Add in one more
The purpose of the Front Range pipeline is to connect the DJ Basin to Texas, but it only goes part of the way. To get the NGL all the way there, Enterprise Products Partners, Anadarko, Phillips 66, Spectra (through DCP), and Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP ) are working together to build the Texas Express pipeline. - [By Robert Rapier]
Last week,�TC PipeLines�(NYSE: TCP) outperformed all other MLPs, rising more than 20%. Another partnership sponsored by a Canadian midstream giant,�Enbridge Energy Partners�(NYSE: EEP), rallied 10%.
- [By Robert Rapier]
The total market cap of the ANGI is $190 billion, and the one-, three- and five-year total returns are 29 percent, 52 percent and 249 percent. The index yield is 6 percent.
The Alerian Large Cap MLP Index (ALCI) is another subset of the AMZ. It’s an equal-weighted basket of the 15 largest energy MLPs by market capitalization, all of which are also in the AMZ. The top performer since the most recent quarterly rebalancing has been Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE: MMP), which comprises 7.4 percent of the index at present. At the bottom since the latest rebalancing is Enbridge Energy Partners (NYSE: EEP), at 6.47 of the overall index.
The total market cap of the ALCI is $232 billion, and the one-, three- and five-year total returns are 20 percent, 39 percent, and 167 percent. The index yield is 5.1 percent.
- [By Vanina Egea]
Midstream companies have seen a boom in activities recently that has paid increasing dividends to shareholders. Cash distributions in the industry, however, have not been equal, and some firms have disbursed greater amounts than others. Moreover, financial institutions have highlighted Enbridge Energy Partners (EEP) as a potential market outperformer, granting the stock a ��uy��rating. Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are the two institutions in question, raising the target price to the low $30s, barely above the $29 value assigned by Zacks last month. The upside to this side of the oil and gas industry is cash flow, and high return on capital invested, coupled with a high-yield offering a good opportunity for a long-term investment. But, will the trend last long enough to make the investment worthwhile?
Top 10 Transportation Companies To Watch For 2014: United Parcel Service Inc.(UPS)
United Parcel Service, Inc., a package delivery company, provides transportation, logistics, and financial services in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain & Freight. The U.S. Domestic Package segment engages in the time-definite delivery of letters, documents, and packages in the United States. The International Package segment offers air and ground delivery of small packages and letters to approximately 220 countries and territories, including shipments outside the United States, as well as shipments with either origin or distribution outside the United States; export services; and domestic services move shipments within a country?s borders. The Supply Chain & Freight segment provides forwarding and logistics services, such as supply chain design and management, freight distribution, customs brokerage, mail, and consulting services in approximately 195 countries and territorie s; and less-than-truckload and truckload services to customers in North America. In addition, the company offers various technology solutions for automated shipping, visibility, and billing; information technology systems and distribution facilities to various industries comprising healthcare, technology, and consumer/retail; and a portfolio of financial services that provides customers with short-term working capital, government guaranteed lending, global trade financing, credit cards, and export financing. It operates a fleet of approximately 99,800 package cars, vans, tractors, and motorcycles; an air fleet of 527 aircraft; and 33,800 containers used to transport cargo in its aircraft. The company was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Gary Jakacky]
A look at CHRW, then. While the company does some shipping, including fresh produce to wholesalers and restaurants, their real niche is logistics. If you do not like math, do not study logistics: it is the science of analyzing the least cost alternative for the shipment of goods. CHRW does it well: according to Etrade data, return on Assets, Equity, and Invested Capital, at 23%, 42% and 43% respectively, are at the very top in the industry. United Parcel Service (UPS) for example posts a trio of numbers only in the low teens or single digits. The same for FedEx (FDX). With soaring international trade as Asia regains its footing and even stodgy Europe joins the party, CHRW should continue to post record results. Yet valuations are compelling: PE is at a decade low.
- [By Bloomberg]
Associated Press/Brennan Linsley When Hostess Brands went bankrupt in 2012, it triggered anxiety among employees at Ottenberg's Bakery, a family-owned enterprise in Maryland. The companies shared a pension plan, and if Hostess couldn't pay its retirees, Ottenberg's would have to pick up the tab. Gary League, 53, who has delivered Ottenberg's bread for almost three decades, worried he might lose his nest egg, maybe even his job. "If you have all these guys out on retirement and you only have Ottenberg's paying into it, the math doesn't add up," he said. "I was thinking I would have to work forever." Last week, he got the good news -- the U.S. government saved his benefits by sacrificing those of Hostess' drivers, who will now get a reduced payout financed by the government. League is one of 10.4 million Americans with retirements tied to multiemployer pension plans, large investment pools long considered low risk because they don't rely on a single company for financing. Two recessions, industry consolidation prompted by deregulation and an aging workforce have funds facing a $400 billion shortfall that has some near insolvency. Dozens already have failed, affecting 94,000 participants. Things are dire enough that a coalition of employers and labor unions is asking Congress for permission to cut benefits to retired truck drivers, miners and others as a last resort in order to prevent plans from going under. The proposal has divided unions and their allies, triggering a lobbying battle as a legislative deadline approaches and retirement security looms large as a growing economic concern. $2 Billion LIability Leads to Plan Being Carved up Hostess, maker of Wonder Bread and Twinkies, was one of two employers contributing to the Bakery and Sales Drivers Local 33 Pension Fund. When Hostess went bankrupt, Ottenberg's was left to foot the bill. President Ray Ottenberg didn't respond to requests for comment. Hostess had about $2 billion in liability to its multi
Top 10 Transportation Companies To Watch For 2014: Union Pacific Corporation(UNP)
Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, provides rail transportation services in North America. It has approximately 31,953 route miles linking Pacific Coast and Gulf Coast ports with the Midwest and eastern United States gateways, and provides several corridors to Mexican gateways. The company offers freight transportation services for agricultural products, including whole grains and related commodities, food, beverage products, corn for ethanol products and its by-products, animal feeds, fruits and vegetables, frozen meat, and poultry products; and automotive products, such as imported and finished vehicles, and automotive parts and materials. It also provides transportation services for chemicals, such as industrial chemicals, plastics, and liquid petroleum products; energy products comprising coal and coke; industrial products, including lumber products, paper and consumer goods, furniture and appliances, and nonferrous and i ndustrial minerals, as well as steel and construction products, such as rock, cement, and roofing materials; and intermodal containers. Union Pacific Corporation was founded in 1862 and is based in Omaha, Nebraska.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Union Pacific (UNP), a proxy for GDP, posted a 23% surge in earnings on 15% growth in its intermodal business. Revenues climbed 10.9% on improving pricing, lower diesel fuel prices give a huge lift to margins.
- [By Teresa Rivas]
This could eventually cut the number of North American Class Is in half, something that the regulators will take under very serious consideration before giving their blessings on the first merger. If a CP-CSX union occurs, Norfolk Southern (NSC) would be the next target, in our opinion, as Canadian National Railway (CNI), Union Pacific (UNP), and [Berkshire Hathaway�� (BRKB)] BNSF could each contemplate forming their own transcontinental railway. CP�� reported offer to merge with CSX could boost the latter�� stock price on Monday, while CP shares may underperform the group.
- [By Chuck Saletta]
The iPIG portfolio's two-for-one railroad special of CSX� (NYSE: CSX ) and Union Pacific� (NYSE: UNP ) also reported earnings in the last week. The news there was decidedly positive, as both companies showed growth overall, in spite of continued weakness in coal, a key commodity moved around by the railroad industry. Boding well for the iPIG's strategy of looking for dividend growth possibilities, CSX also increased its dividend by a penny, to $0.15 per quarter.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
On Thursday, Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP ) will release its latest quarterly results. The key to making smart investment decisions on stocks reporting earnings is to anticipate how they'll do before they announce results, leaving you fully prepared to respond quickly to whatever inevitable surprises arise. That way, you'll be less likely to make an uninformed knee-jerk reaction to news that turns out to be exactly the wrong move.
Top 10 Transportation Companies To Watch For 2014: J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.(JBHT)
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a surface transportation, delivery, and logistics company in North America. It operates in four segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Full-Load Dry-Van (JBT), and Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS). The JBI segment provides intermodal freight solutions, including origin and destination pickup and delivery services in the continental United States, Canada, and Mexico. This segment operates 45,666 pieces of company-controlled trailing equipment; and manages a fleet of 2,592 company-owned tractors. The DCS segment involves in the design, development, and execution of supply chain solutions, which support various transportation networks. This segment offers final mile delivery, replenishment, and specialized services supporting private fleet conversion, fleet creation, and transportation system augmentation. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 4,259 company-owned trucks, 357 customer-owned trucks, and 23 independent contractor trucks. The JBT segment provides full-load, dry-van freight services by utilizing tractors operating over roads and highways. It operated 1,697 company-owned tractors. The ICS segment provides non-asset, asset-light, and transportation logistics solutions. It offers flatbed, refrigerated, expedited, and less-than-truckload, as well as various dry-van and intermodal solutions. The company transports a range of freight, including general merchandise, specialty consumer items, appliances, forest and paper products, building materials, soaps and cosmetics, automotive parts, electronics, and chemicals. J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
The express-delivery company has gained 28% during the past three months, trumping the 18% return from�United Parcel Service�(UPS), the 4.6% gain in J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) and the 0.2% rise in Expeditors International of Washington�(EXPD).
- [By Laura Brodbeck]
Monday
Earnings Releases Expected: Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT) Economic Releases Expected: Eurozone industrial production, US retail sales, US business inventoriesTuesday
Top 10 Transportation Companies To Watch For 2014: YRC Worldwide Inc.(YRCW)
YRC Worldwide Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various transportation services worldwide. The company?s YRC National Transportation unit offers a range of services for the transportation of industrial, commercial, and retail goods, such as apparel, appliances, automotive parts, chemicals, food, furniture, glass, machinery, metal, metal products, non-bulk petroleum products, rubber, textiles, wood, and other manufactured products. It serves manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and government customers. As of December 31, 2009, it had 11704 owned tractors, 1239 leased tractors, 50083 owned trailers, and 3244 leased trailers. Its YRC Regional Transportation unit?s service portfolio includes regional delivery, which comprises next-day local area delivery and second-day services, consolidation/distribution services, protect-from-freezing and hazardous materials handling, and various specialized offerings; expedited delivery, that comprises day-definite, hour-definite, and time definite capabilities; inter-regional delivery; cross-border delivery; and operation of my.yrcregional.com and NewPenn.com, which are e-commerce Websites offering online resources to manage transportation activity. The company?s YRC Logistics units? service portfolio consists of distribution services that include flow through and pool distribution, dedicated warehousing, and value-added services; global services, which comprise international freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and value-added services; and transportation services, such as truckload brokerage, domestic freight forwarding, and transportation management. Its YRC Truckload unit provides customized truckload services on regional and national level through the use of company and team-based drivers. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sean Williams]
Raise the yellow caution flag
In spite of trucking company YRC Worldwide's (NASDAQ: YRCW ) share price doubling last week following the company's first quarterly profit in six years (that's right...�six years), shares are still down a mind-boggling 99.9928% over the past decade. Somehow avoiding bankruptcy a few years back by diluting existing shareholders into oblivion, YRC has investors now thinking the company may be on the mend. However, its history makes me�believe otherwise. - [By Sean Williams]
Even the trucking companies that have been struggling are showing signs of life. Just last week, Arkansas Best (NASDAQ: ABFS ) announced a tentative agreement between its ABF Freight Systems subsidiary and the Teamsters union that should dramatically lower costs. Just days later, struggling trucker YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW ) , which also reported its first quarterly profit in six years recently, confirmed that it's offered a preliminary proposal to acquire Arkansas Best. �
- [By John Udovich]
Despite what can best be described as a�soft economy, small cap trucking stocks YRC Worldwide, Inc (NASDAQ: YRCW), Arkansas Best Corporation (NASDAQ: ABFS), Frozen Food Express Industries, Inc (NASDAQ: FFEX), Saia Inc (NASDAQ: SAIA) and USA Truck, Inc (NASDAQ: USAK) have been trucking some pretty impressive returns since the start of the year. In fact, these small cap trucking stocks are up anywhere from 72% to 150% or so since the start of the year despite the slow economy. Certainly trucking stocks provide a good indicator of how the economy is doing, but might investors be�jumping the gun by pushing up these trucking stocks?
Top 10 Transportation Companies To Watch For 2014: Kirby Corp (KEX)
Kirby Corporation, incorporated on January 31, 1969, is a domestic tank barge operator, transporting bulk liquid products throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and along all three United States coasts and in Alaska and Hawaii. The Company transports petrochemicals, black oil products, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals by tank barge. The Company, through its subsidiaries, conducts operations in two business segments: marine transportation and diesel engine services. Through the diesel engine services segment, the Company provides after-market service for diesel engines and reduction gears used in marine and power generation applications. The Company also distributes and services diesel engines and transmissions, pumps and compression products, and manufactures oilfield service equipment, including hydraulic fracturing equipment, for land-based pressure pumping and oilfield service markets. The Company, through its marine transportation segment, is a provider of marine transportation services, operating tank barges and towing vessels transporting bulk liquid products throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and along all three United States coasts and in Alaska and Hawaii. On December 15, 2011, the Company completed the purchase of the coastal tank barge fleet of Seaboats, Inc. and affiliated companies (Seaboats). On July 1, 2011, the Company completed the acquisition of K-Sea Transportation Partners L.P. (K-Sea). On April 15, 2011, the Company purchased United Holdings LLC (United), a distributor and service provider of engine and transmission related products for the oil and gas services, power generation and on-highway transportation industries, and manufacturer of oilfield service equipment. On February 24, 2011, the Company acquired 21 inland and offshore tank barges and 15 inland towboats and offshore tugboats from Enterprise Marine Services LLC (Enterprise). On February 9, 2011, the Company acquired from ! Kinder Morgan Petcoke, L.P. (Kinder Morgan).
The Company transports petrochemicals, black oil products, refined petroleum products, and agricultural chemicals by tank barge. The Company also owns and operates fits offshore dry-bulk barges and tugboats engaged in the coastal transportation of dry-bulk cargoes. It is a provider of transportation services for its customers. The Company, through its diesel engine services segment, sells replacement parts, provides service mechanics to overhaul and repair diesel engines, transmissions, reduction gears, pumps and compression products, maintains facilities to rebuild component parts or diesel engines, transmissions and reduction gears, and manufactures oilfield service equipment, including hydraulic fracturing equipment. The Company services the marine, power generation, oilfield service, and land-based oil and gas operator and producer markets.
Marine Transportation
The marine transportation segment is a provider of transportation services by tank barge for the inland and coastal markets. As of February 22, 2012, the equipment owned or operated by the marine transportation segment consisted of 819 inland tank barges, 236 inland towboats, 59 coastal tank barges, 65 coastal tugboats, fits offshore dry-cargo barges, fits offshore tugboats and one docking tugboat. The 236 inland towboats, 65 coastal tugboats, fits offshore tugboats and one docking tugboat provide the power source and the 819 inland tank barges, 59 coastal tank barges and fits offshore dry-cargo barges provide the freight capacity for the marine transportation segment. The Company�� coastal and offshore tows consist of one tugboat and one tank barge or dry-cargo barge.
During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company�� inland marine transportation operation moved over 50 million tons of liquid cargo on the United States inland waterway system. Products transported for its customers along the inland waterway system consisted of petrochemi! cals, bla! ck oil products, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals. Bulk liquid petrochemicals transported include, such products as benzene, styrene, methanol, acrylonitrile, xylene and caustic soda, all consumed in the production of paper, fibers and plastics. During 2011, the transportation of petrochemical products represented 59% of the segment�� revenues. Customers shipping these products are refining and petrochemical companies. Black oil products transported include products, such as asphalt, residual fuel oil, No. 6 fuel oil, coker feedstock, vacuum gas oil, carbon black feedstock, crude oil and ship bunkers (engine fuel). During 2011, such products represented 20% of the segment�� revenues. During 2011, refined petroleum products transported include the various blends of finished gasoline, gasoline blendstocks, jet fuel, No. 2 oil, naphtha, heating oil and diesel fuel, and represented 16% of the segment�� revenues. The Company also classifies ethanol in the refined petroleum product category. Customers are oil and refining companies, marketers and ethanol producers.
During 2011, agricultural chemicals transported represented 5% of the segment�� revenues. They include anhydrous ammonia and nitrogen-based liquid fertilizer, as well as industrial ammonia. Agricultural chemical customers consist of domestic and foreign producers of such products. As of December 31, 2011, the marine transportation segment operated a fleet of 819 inland tank barges and 236 inland towboats, as well as 59 coastal tank barges and 65 coastal tugboats. The segment also owns and operates fits offshore barge and tug units transporting dry-bulk commodities in coastal trade. As of December 31, 2011, the marine transportation segment operated a fleet of 819 inland tank barges and 236 inland towboats, as well as 59 coastal tank barges and 65 coastal tugboats. The segment also owns and operates fits offshore barge and tug units transporting dry-bulk commodities in coastal trade.
The Canal ! fleet tra! nsports petrochemical feedstocks, processed chemicals, pressurized products, black oil products and refined petroleum products along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, the Mississippi River below Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the Houston Ship Channel. The Linehaul fleet transports petrochemical feedstocks, chemicals, agricultural chemicals and lube oils along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, Mississippi River and the Illinois and Ohio Rivers. Loaded tank barges are staged in the Baton Rouge area from Gulf Coast refineries and petrochemical plants, and are transported from Baton Rouge to waterfront terminals and plants on the Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio Rivers, and along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The River fleet transports petrochemical feedstocks, chemicals, refined petroleum products, agricultural chemicals and black oil products along the Mississippi River System above Baton Rouge. Petrochemical feedstocks and processed chemicals are transported to waterfront petrochemical and chemical plants, while black oil products, refined petroleum products and agricultural chemicals are transported to waterfront terminals.
The marine transportation inland operation moves and handles a range of cargoes. As of December 21, 2011, of the 819 inland tank barges operated, 618 were petrochemical and refined products barges, 123 were black oil barges, 63 were pressure barges, 10 were refrigerated anhydrous ammonia barges and five were specialty barges. Marine transportation services for inland movements are conducted under long-term contracts, ranging from one to five years. Kirby Inland Marine, LP (Kirby Inland Marine) operates commercial tank barge fleeting service (temporary barge storage facilities) in ports, including Houston, Corpus Christi and Freeport, Texas, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana and other locations on the Mississippi River. Included in the fleeting service is a 51% interest and management control of a shifting operation and fleeting service for dry cargo barges and tank barges ! on the Ho! uston Ship Channel. Kirby Inland Marine provides service for its own barges, as well as outside customers, transferring barges within the areas noted, as well as fleeting barges.
Kirby Logistics Management (KLM) is a division of Kirby Inland Marine providing shore-based tankerman and support services to the Company and third parties. Services provided by KLM include barge tankermen, marine terminal, refinery and chemical plant dock operators, and terminal management services. KLM�� services to the Company and third parties cover the Gulf Coast, mid-Mississippi Valley, and the Ohio River Valley. The Company owns a 66% interest in Osprey Line, L.L.C. (Osprey), which transports project cargoes and cargo containers by barge on the United States inland waterway system. The segment�� coastal operations are conducted through wholly owned subsidiaries, K-Sea Transportation Partners LLC and Kirby Ocean Transport Company (Kirby Ocean Transport). K-Sea provides marine transportation of refined petroleum products and black oil products in each coastal region of the United States. The coastal operations consist of the Atlantic, New York, Pacific and Hawaii Divisions. The Atlantic Division operates along the eastern seaboard of the United States and along the Gulf Coast. The Atlantic Division vessels call on coastal states from Maine to Texas, servicing refineries, storage terminals and power plants. The Atlantic Division also operates equipment on the Great Lakes, in the Caribbean, and in Venezuela and the Eastern Canadian provinces.
The New York Division operates in the New York Harbor, close to container terminals, cruise piers, refineries and petroleum storage facilities. The New York Division also performs coastal voyages between Maine and Norfork, Virginia and manages operations in Philadelphia. The New York Division�� fleet consists of tank barges in the 10,000 to 89,000 barrel capacity range and tugboats in the 1800 to 3400 horsepower range, transporting refined petroleum produ! cts for l! ocal and regional customers, black oil products to power generation customers and the delivery of bunker fuel to ships. The Pacific Division operates along the Pacific coast of the United States, servicing refineries and storage terminals from Southern California to Washington State, throughout Alaska, including Dutch Harbor, Cook Inlet and the Alaska River Systems, and from California to Hawaii. The Pacific Division�� fleet consists of tank barges in the 13,000 to 185,000 barrel capacity range and tugboats in the 1000 to 11800 horsepower range, transporting refined petroleum products.
The Hawaii Division services local petroleum retailers and oil companies distributing refined petroleum products and black oil products between the Hawaiian islands and provides other services to the local maritime community. As of December 31, 2011, the Hawaii Division�� fleet consisted of tank barges in the 52,000 to 86,000 barrel capacity range and tugboats in the 1200 to 7200 horsepower range, transporting refined petroleum products for local and regional customers, black oil products to power generation customers, and the delivery of bunker fuel to ships. The Hawaii Division also provides service docking, standby tug assistance and line handling to vessels using the Single Point Mooring installation at Barbers Point, Oahu, a facility for tankers to load and discharge their cargos through an offshore buoy and submerged pipeline without entering the port. As of December 31, 2011, the coastal fleet consisted of 59 tank barges, 56 of which were double hull and three of which were single hull, with 3.8 million barrels of capacity, transporting refined petroleum products and black oil products. As of December 31, 2011, the Company operated 65 Company-owned coastal tugboats ranging from 1000 to 11800 horsepower. Tugboats in the 1800 to 3400 horsepower classes provide power for barges used in the New York Division. Tugboats in the 1000 to 11800 horsepower classes provide power for barges used in the Atlantic! , Pacific! and Hawaii Divisions. Kirby Ocean Transport owns and operates a fleet of fits offshore dry-bulk barges, fits offshore tugboats and one docking tugboat. Kirby Ocean Transport also has a contract with Holcim (US) Inc. (Holcim) to transport Holcim�� limestone requirements from a facility adjacent to the PEF facility at Crystal River to Holcim�� plant in Theodore, Alabama. Kirby Ocean Transport is also engaged in the transportation of coal, fertilizer and other bulk cargoes on a short-term basis between domestic ports and occasionally the transportation of grain from domestic ports to ports primarily in the Caribbean Basin.
Diesel Engines
The Company, through wholly owned subsidiary Kirby Engines Systems, Inc. (Kirby Engine Systems), is engaged in the overhaul and repair of medium-speed and high-speed diesel engines and reduction gears, and related parts sales used in marine and power generation applications, and distributes and services high-speed diesel engines and transmissions, pumps and compression products, and manufactures oilfield service equipment, including hydraulic fracturing equipment, used in land-based pressure pumping, oilfield service, power generation and transportation applications.
For the marine market, the Company sells Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) replacement parts, provides service mechanics to overhaul and repair engines and reduction gears, and maintains facilities to rebuild component parts or entire engines and reduction gears. For the power generation market, the Company provides service and parts capabilities and safety-related products to power generation operators and to the nuclear industry, and manufactures engine generator and pump sets for the power generation operators and municipalities. The Company expanded its diesel engine services operation with the purchase of United, a manufacturer, diesel engine and transmission distributor and service provider for the land-based oil and gas services market, oil and gas operat! ors and p! roducers, compression companies, power generation companies, on-highway transportation companies and agricultural markets. United�� principal businesses are the distribution and service of diesel engines, pumps and transmissions, the manufacture and remanufacture of oilfield service equipment, including hydraulic fracturing equipment, and the manufacture of compression equipment for natural gas transmission and for natural gas fired power generation plants.
The Company is engaged in the overhaul and repair of medium-speed and high-speed diesel engines and reduction gears, line boring, block welding services and related parts sales for customers in the marine industry. The Company services medium-speed and high-speed diesel engines utilized in the inland and offshore barge industries. It also services marine equipment and offshore drilling equipment used in the offshore petroleum exploration and oil service industry, marine equipment used in the offshore commercial fishing industry and vessels owned by the United States government. The Company has marine operations throughout the United States providing in-house and in-field repair capabilities and related parts sales. The medium-speed operations are located in Houma, Louisiana, Chesapeake, Virginia, Paducah, Kentucky, Seattle, Washington and Tampa, Florida. The operations based in Chesapeake, Virginia and Tampa, Florida are authorized distributors for 17 eastern states and the Caribbean for Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. (EMD). The marine operations based in Houma, Louisiana, Paducah, Kentucky and Seattle, Washington are nonexclusive authorized service centers for EMD providing service and related parts sales. The Houma, Louisiana operation concentrates on the inland and offshore barge and oil services industries. The Tampa, Florida operation concentrates on Gulf of Mexico offshore dry-bulk, tank barge and harbor docking operators. The Paducah, Kentucky operation concentrates on the inland river towboat and barge operators and the Great Lake! s carrier! s. The Seattle, Washington operation concentrates on the offshore commercial fishing industry, tugboat and barge industry, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and Navy, and other customers in Alaska, Hawaii and the Pacific Rim. The high-speed operations are located in Houma, Baton Rouge, Belle Chasse and New Iberia, Louisiana, Paducah, Kentucky, Mobile, Alabama and Houston, Texas. The Company serves as a factory-authorized marine dealer for Caterpillar diesel engines in Alabama, Kentucky and Louisiana. The Company also operates factory-authorized full service marine dealerships for Cummins, Detroit Diesel and John Deere diesel engines, as well as Allison transmissions and Twin Disk marine gears.
During 2011, the Company was engaged in the overhaul and repair of diesel engines and reduction gears, line boring, block welding service and related parts sales for power generation customers, which represented 9% of the segment�� revenues. The Company is also engaged in the sale and distribution of parts for diesel engines and governors to the nuclear industry. The Company services users of diesel engines, which provides standby, peak and base load power generation, as well as users of industrial reduction gears, such as the cement, paper and mining industries. The Company provides in-house and in-field repair capabilities and safety-related products to power generation operators from its Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Paducah, Kentucky and Seattle, Washington locations. The Rocky Mount operation is also the distributor of EMD products to the nuclear industry, the global distributor for Woodward Governor products to the nuclear industry, the global distributor of Cooper Energy Services, Inc. products to the nuclear industry, and owns the assets and technology necessary to support the Nordberg medium-speed diesel engines used in nuclear applications. In addition, the Rocky Mount operation is a distributor for Honeywell International Incorporated industrial measurement and control products to the ! nuclear i! ndustry, an distributor for Norlake Manufacturing Company transformer products to the nuclear industry and a non-exclusive distributor of analog Weschler Instruments metering products and distributor of digital Weschler metering products to the nuclear industry. The Paducah, Kentucky operation provides in-house and in-field repair services for Falk industrial reduction gears in the Midwest. The Seattle, Washington operation provides in-house and in-field repair services for Alco engines located on the West Coast and the Pacific Rim.
The Company�� power generation customers are domestic utilities and the global nuclear power industry. The Company is engaged in the distribution and service of diesel engines, pumps and transmissions, the manufacture and remanufacture of oilfield service equipment and the manufacture of compression equipment for natural gas transmission and for natural gas fired power generation plants. The Company offers a range of custom fabricated oilfield service equipment, fully tested and field ready. The Company manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and marketed under the purchasing company�� brand name. The Company distributes, sells parts and services diesel engines and transmissions for on and off-highway use, and provide in-house and in-field service capabilities. The Company is also the exclusive distributor for Daimler for engines and related equipment in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. The Company manufactures and re-manufacturers oilfield service equipment, including hydraulic fracturing equipment, pressure pumping units, nitrogen pumping units, cementers, hydration equipment, mud pumps and blenders. The Company also manufactures and packages custom compressor systems, including electric motor driven systems, natural gas driven systems and industrial air systems, and manufactures natural gas General Motors and Isuzu diesel-powered engines for a range of applications from 40 to 500 horsepower. The Company is a dealer of Thermo K! ing refri! gerated systems for trucks, railroad cars and other land transportation markets in south and central Texas. The Company�� land-based customers include oilfield service providers, oil and gas operators and producers, compression companies, domestic utilities, on-highway transportation companies and companies associated with the agricultural markets.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Aimee Duffy]
The role of the barge can't be underestimated. Barge receipts increased more than two percentage points year over year, and this is a great place for investors to look for opportunity. Companies with maritime resources benefit from this trend, as well as growth in exports. Three such companies that are worth a look are:
Kirby Corporation (NYSE: KEX ) , which operates 30% of the coastal tank barges in the U.S.� Oiltanking Partners (NYSE: OILT ) , which has storage capacity of 12.1 million barrels and six deepwater docks on the Houston Ship Channel Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ: MMLP ) , which operates a large fleet of inland barges and controls 31 marine terminals�These companies won't be the only winners, but they are a good place to start your research.
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