Sector Snap: Analyst Sees Rough Road For Truckers

NEW YORK (AP) — Trucking companies' profits will be even worse than expected for the first quarter as pricing competition grows fiercer and demand improves only modestly, an analyst said Tuesday.

KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Todd Fowler lowered his earnings estimates and stock price targets on seven trucking companies he covers, suggesting slow demand and poor pricing are overshadowing the benefits of capacity reductions. Fowler believes that there hasn't been enough fleet cutbacks to account for sinking demand.

Year-over-year trucking demand has been falling 15 percent to 20 percent since mid-November, and Fowler doesn't think demand will improve much anytime soon. ...