10 Best Freight Stocks To Buy For 2014

Starting July 1, FedEx (NYSE: FDX  ) will raise the shipping rates for its freight division by an average of 4.5% in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as well as shipments between the U.S. and Canada and the U.S. and Mexico.

The increases will also apply to shipments to�Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The rate change for FedEx Freight applies to shipments covered by its FXF 1000, FXF 501, and other related series base rates. It also includes "absolute minimum charges" and "accessorial rates and charges." FedEx says its freight fuel surcharge will remain unchanged and maintains the rate is one of the lowest in the less-than truckload, or LTL, industry. FedEx says the�published fuel surcharge rates of the next six-largest LTL carriers are at least 29% higher than FedEx's fuel surcharge rates, based on the average national price of diesel fuel as of May 27.

FedEx previously increased shipping rates for its Express and Ground services effective Jan. 7.

Top Dividend Stocks To Buy For 2015: TNT Express NV (TNTE)

TNT Express NV is the Netherlands-based express delivery company. It collects, transports and delivers documents, parcels and freight on a time-certain or day-definite basis. The Company operates worldwide with domestic, regional and intercontinental delivery. It has own operations in more than 60 countries and can deliver to more than 200 countries through own operations, subcontractors and agents. Its customers are international companies, as well as small and medium enterprises. The Company serves industries such as technology, automotive, industrial, healthcare and lifestyle, as well as financial institutions and governments. The Company operates interconnected international air and road networks. The air network consists of a central air hub in Liege, Belgium, and a fleet of more than 50 aircrafts. The road networks are operated in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and South America. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Wall]

  One of the country�� largest employers with more than 150,000 staff, Royal Mail has shifted away from letters to more lucrative package shipping, competing with TNT Express NV (TNTE) of the Netherlands and Deutsche Post AG (DPW)�� DHL Express.

10 Best Freight Stocks To Buy For 2014: Chalmers Ltd (CHR)

Chalmers Limited is an Australia-based company engaged in transport, logistic services, warehousing and container storage, repairs and sales. The Company operated in three segments: Transport, Containers and Property. Transport consists of road transport, predominantly import/export FCL containers and the interface with logistics/ warehousing/hubbing services. Containers represent the empty container park operations concerned with handling, storage, repairs, upgrades, pretrips and so on of empty containers on behalf of shipping and leasing company customers. Property represents the capital investment Chalmers has in freeholds located in Melbourne. The Company�� subsidiaries include Chalmers Industries Pty Ltd, Chalmers (Australia) Pty Ltd and Chalmers Industries (Brisbane) Pty Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Corinne Gretler]

  Chr. Hansen A/S (CHR) slid 1.7 percent to 186 kroner after Credit Suisse Group AG cut the stock to neutral, the equivalent of hold, from outperform. The brokerage said that profit from its natural-color business remains under pressure. The world�� biggest maker of dairy enzymes cut its full-year sales forecast on July 3 because of lower prices for the red pigment carmine.

10 Best Freight Stocks To Buy For 2014: Universal Truckload Services Inc (UACL)

Universal Truckload Services, Inc., incorporated on December 11, 2001, is engaged in providing transportation services to shippers throughout the United States and in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The Company�� over-the-road trucking services include both flatbed and dry van operations and it provides rail-truck and steamship-truck intermodal support services. It also offers truck brokerage services, as well as full service international freight forwarding and customs house brokerage services. The Company provides truckload transportation and related services for a range of general commodities over irregular routes using dry and specialty vans and un-sided trailers, including flatbed, drop deck, and specialty. In December 2013, the Company announced that it has completed acquisition of Westport Axle Corporation.

The Company primarily operates through a contractor network of agents and owner-operators who provide the Company with approximately 3,100 tractors and approximately 3,000 trailers. At December 31, 2011, the Company had approximately 565 agents. The Company conducts its operations through its wholly owned operating subsidiaries under the brand names, such as Universal Am-Can, Ltd., Mason & Dixon Lines, Inc., Louisiana Transportation Inc., Mason Dixon Intermodal, Inc., Economy Transport, Inc., Great American Lines, Inc., Universal Logistics Solutions, Inc., Universal Logistics Solutions International, Inc. and Cavalry Transportation, LLC.

The Company provides services in three categories, such as truckload services, brokerage services and intermodal support services. The Company transports a range of general commodities, including machinery, building materials, paper, food, consumer goods, automotive parts, furniture, steel and other metals. During the year ended December 31, 2011, its truckload operations represented 60.5%, of its operating revenues.

The Company provides primarily broker freight to third-party transportation providers th! rough its agent network at times when the Company generates more freight business than it can service with its available owner-operators. The Company offers full service international freight forwarding and customs house brokerage services, as well as third-party logistic services. During 2011, its brokerage services represented 24.8%, of its operating revenues. Its intermodal support services are primarily short-to-medium distance delivery of rail and steamship containers between the railhead or port and the customer and drayage services. During 2011, its intermodal support services represented 14.7% of its operating revenues.

The Company�� agents provide the primary interaction with its shippers. They generate freight shipments and also provide terminal and dispatch services for the owner-operators and are an essential source for recruitment of new owner-operators. The agents use a company-provided software program to list available freight procured by the agent, dispatch owner-operators to haul the freight and provide all administrative information necessary for it to establish the credit arrangements for each shipper. The owner-operators are individuals who own, operate and maintain one or more tractors that they either provide drivers, or drive themselves. The Company�� owner-operators provide it with approximately 3,100 tractors. Owner-operators also may own trailers that they provide the Company in addition to their tractor and driving services. As of December 31, 2011, its owner-operators provided approximately 3,000 trailers, which represent over 50% of the trailers the Company use in its business.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Universal Truckload Services (Nasdaq: UACL  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By Sean Williams]

  What: Shares of Universal Truckload Services (NASDAQ: UACL  ) , a North American provider of trucking and logistics solutions, jumped as much as 12% after receiving an upgrade from BB&T�Capital Markets.

10 Best Freight Stocks To Buy For 2014: Vitran Corporation Inc (VTNC)

Vitran Corporation Inc. (Vitran), incorporated on April 29, 1981, is a provider of freight surface transportation and related supply chain services throughout Canada 34 states in the eastern, southeastern, central, southwestern, and western United States. The Company�� business consists of Less-than-truckload services (LTL). These services are provided by stand-alone business units within their respective regions. Vitran�� business is carried on through its subsidiaries, which hold the licenses and permits required to carry on business. As of December 31, 2012, Vitran�� principal wholly owned operating subsidiaries included Vitran Express Canada Inc. (Ontario), Can-Am Logistics Inc. (Ontario), Vitran Logistics Ltd. (Ontario), Expediteur T.W. Ltee (Canada), Vitran Corporation (Nevada), Vitran Express Inc. (Pennsylvania), Vitran Logistics Corp. (Delaware), Vitran Logistics Inc. (Indiana), and Las Vegas/L.A. Express, Inc. (California). In March 2013, Vitran Corp Inc completed divestiture of its Supply Chain Operation division to Legacy Supply Chain. In October 2013, Vitran Corporation Inc. completed the sale of its United States LTL business.

LTL Services

Within Canada, the Company provides next-day service within Ontario, Quebec and parts of western Canada, and generates its revenue from the movement of LTL freight within the three- to five-day east-west service lanes. The majority of its trans-Canada freight is shipped intermodally, whereby the Company�� containers are loaded onto rail cars and trans-loaded to Vitran facilities where Vitran�� network of owner operators pick up and deliver the freight to various destinations. During 2012, Vitran�� Canadian LTL business represented approximately 27.6% of total LTL revenues. Vitran�� Transborder Service Solution (inter-regional) provides over-the-road service between its Canadian LTL and United States LTL business units.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Breaking news

  Vitran Corporation (NASDAQ: VTNC) announced today that it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement with TransForce pursuant to which TransForce has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Vitran not already owned by TransForce for US$6.50 in cash per share, in accordance with TransForce's prior proposal. To read the full news, click here. ReneSola (NYSE: SOL) today announced it signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) to sell three utility-scale projects in Western China, with a total capacity of 60MW, to Jiangsu Akcome Solar Science & Technology Co on December 30, 2013. To read the full news, click here. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) today announced it has terminated the merger agreement with Apollo Tyres (NSE:ApolloTYRE). To read the full news, click here. RedHill Biopharma (NASDAQ: RDHL) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with leading healthcare investor OrbiMed Israel Partners Limited Partnership, an affiliate of OrbiMed Advisors LLC, for the sale of RedHill's American Depository Shares and warrants in a private placement transactionor a total sum of $6.0 million. To read the full news, click here.

  Posted-In: Guggenheim US Stock FuturesNews Eurozone Futures Global Pre-Market Outlook Markets

10 Best Freight Stocks To Buy For 2014: Heartland Express Inc (HTLD)

Heartland Express, Inc. (Heartland), incorporated on August 8, 1986, is a short-to-medium haul truckload carrier. The Company provides regional dry van truckload services through its regional terminals plus its corporate headquarters. The Company transports freight for shippers and generally earns revenue based on the number of miles per load delivered. The Company�� primary traffic lanes are between customer locations east of the Rocky Mountains. The Company is a holding company of Heartland Express Inc. of Iowa, Heartland Express Services, Inc., Heartland Express Maintenance Services, Inc. and A & M Express, Inc. Heartland operates nine specialized regional distribution operations in Atlanta, Georgia; Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Chester, Virginia; Columbus, Ohio; Jacksonville, Florida; Kingsport, Tennessee; Olive Branch, Mississippi; Phoenix, Arizona, and Seagoville, Texas. The Company operates maintenance facilities at all regional distribution operating centers along with shop only locations in Fort Smith, Arkansas and O��allon, Missouri. In November 2013, Heartland Express Inc acquired 100% of the stock of Gordon Trucking, Inc.

The Company�� operations department is responsible for maintaining the continuity between the customer�� needs and Heartland�� ability to meet those needs by communicating customer�� expectations to the fleet management group. They are charged with development of customer relationships, ensuring service standards, coordinating proper freight-to-capacity balancing, trailer asset management, and daily tactical decisions pertaining to matching the customer demand with the appropriate capacity within geographical service areas. They assign orders to drivers based on well-defined criteria, such as driver safety and United States Department of Transportation (the DOT) compliance, customer needs and service requirements, on-time service, equipment utilization, driver time at home, operational efficiency, and equipment maintenance needs. Fleet management is r! esponsible for driver management and development. Their responsibilities include meeting the needs of the drivers within the standards that have been set by the organization and communicating the requirements of the customers to the drivers on each order to ensure successful execution. Serving the short-to-medium haul market (500 miles average length of haul in 2012) permits the Company to use primarily single, rather than team drivers and dispatch loads directly from origin to destination without an intermediate equipment change other than for driver scheduling purposes.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Heartland Express (HTLD) rose today despite being cut by Stifel Nicolaus for valuation reasons.

  Bloomberg News

  Shares of Heartland Express have gained 50% this year, trumping the 38% rise in Con-Way (CNW) and the 29% advance in J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) but lagging Old Dominion Freight Lines (ODFL) and Swift Transportation (SWFT).

  That big gain was enough for Stifel’s John Larkin say no mas and cut his rating on Heartland Express. They explain why:

  Downgrading from Buy to Hold as the company’s shares appear fully and fairly valued. In fact, shares have recently traded through our 12-month fair value estimate of $19 (or 16.0x our 2015 EPS estimate of $1.15 plus ~$0.68 per share NPV of future cash tax benefits).

  Rating change is primarily valuation based as well as from our view that most transportation equities are trading ahead of the still mediocre underlying freight market fundamentals.

  BB&T’s Thomas Albrecht and team, who upgraded Heartland Express to Buy from Hold yesterday, explain why they think the stock will do just fine regardless of the economy:

  Heartland is an intriguing play upon both a slow-growth economy and a rapidly growing one (along with tight capacity). Many carriers are only able to thrive in the latter environment. With HTLD we believe that even in a sluggish economy it has a self-generating EPS story through the integration and growth of Gordon. Q3’13, a very difficult quarter for TL carriers, saw HTLD post a 79.3% OR versus 83.3%.

  The timing of the Gordon deal seems ideal, similar to the Great Coastal acquisition in mid-2002. Back then the TL market was stabilizing, but had yet to really take off, which occurred in the back half of 2003. Those 4-5 quarters allowed HTLD to assess customers, integrate operations, consolidate facilities and get ready for the next cycle. By the time that occurred HTLD was ready to take advantage of the capacity

10 Best Freight Stocks To Buy For 2014: PostNL NV (PNL)

PostNL NV is a Netherlands-based Company active in delivery sector. The Company is engaged in the delivery of documents, small packages and standard parcels. The Company�� business is organized into three segments: Mail in the Netherlands, responsible for mail services in the Netherland, documents management, direct marketing and fulfillment services, and operating over 2,600 shop-in-shop post offices; Parcels, providing parcel services in the Netherlands and Belgium for both domestic and cross-border parcel distribution, and International, operating in the postal markets of the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy, and focusing on domestic addressed mail services. The Company also provides marketing and communication services, fulfillment solutions and e-commerce related solutions. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  PostNL (PNL) sank 11 percent to 2.48 euros, the biggest decline since Jan. 14. The Amsterdam-based company said sales in the second-quarter were 1.03 billion euros ($1.37 billion), falling short of the 1.04 billion euros predicted by analysts on average. PostNL forecast addressed mail volume in 2013 will drop as much as 11 percent, greater than its previous forecast of no more than 10 percent.

10 Best Freight Stocks To Buy For 2014: Canadian National Railway Co (CNR.TO)

Canadian National Railway Company (CN), incorporated on August 24, 1995, is engaged in the rail and related transportation business. CN�� network of approximately 20,100 route miles spans Canada and mid-America, connecting three coasts: the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert (British Columbia), Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile (Alabama) and metropolitan areas of Toronto, Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Duluth (Minnesota)/Superior (Wisconsin), Green Bay (Wisconsin), Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis and Jackson (Mississippi), with connections to all points in North America. CN�� network, and its co-production agreements, routing protocols, marketing alliances and interline agreements, provide CN customers access to all three North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) nations. In March 2012, the Company acquired a locomotive program.

Petroleum and chemicals

The petroleum and chemicals commodity group consists of a range of commodities, including chemicals, sulfur, plastics, petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas products. The Company�� petroleum and chemicals shipments originate in the Louisiana petrochemical corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge; in northern Alberta, and in eastern Canadian regional plants.

Metals and minerals

The metals and minerals commodity group consists primarily of non-ferrous base metals and ores, concentrates, iron ore, steel, construction materials, machinery and dimensional loads. The Company provides rail access to aluminum, mining, steel and iron ore producing regions.

Forest products

The forest products commodity group includes range of lumber, panels, paper, wood pulp and other fibers such as logs, recycled paper, wood chips, and wood pellets. The Company has rail access to the western and eastern Canadian fiber-producing regions. In United States, the Company is located to serve both the Midwest and southern United! States corridors with interline connections to other Class I railroads.

Coal

The coal commodity group consists of thermal grades of bituminous coal, metallurgical coal and petroleum coke. Canadian thermal and metallurgical coal is exported through terminals on the west coast of Canada to offshore markets. In United States, thermal coal is transported from mines served in southern Illinois, or from western United States mines through interchange with other railroads, to utilities in the Midwest and southeast United States, as well as offshore markets through terminals in the Gulf and the Port of Prince Rupert.

Grain and fertilizers

The grain and fertilizers commodity group depends primarily on crops grown and fertilizers processed in western Canada and the United States Midwest. The grain segment consists of three primary segments: food grains (mainly wheat, oats and malting barley), feed grains and feed grain products (including feed barley, feed wheat, peas, corn, ethanol and dried distillers grains), and oilseeds and oilseed nproducts (primarily canola seed, oil and meal, and soybeans).

Intermodal

The intermodal commodity group is consists of two segments: domestic and international. The domestic segment transports consumer products and manufactured goods, operating through both retail and wholesale channels, within domestic Canada, domestic United States., Mexico and transborder, while the international segment handles import and export container traffic, directly serving the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Montreal, Halifax and New Orleans.

Automotive

The automotive commodity group moves both finished vehicles and parts throughout North America, providing rail access to certain vehicle assembly plants in Canada, and Michigan and Mississippi in the United States. The Company also serves vehicle distribution facilities in Canada and the United States, as well as parts production facilities in Mi! chigan an! d Ontario. The Company serves shippers of import vehicles via the ports of Halifax and Vancouver, and through interchange with other railroads.

The Company competes with Canadian Pacific Railway Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Roadmap2Retire]

  I am also considering various stocks that are not currently in my portfolio, but the current high valuations do not provide many options.

  Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) engages in transportation of goods including petroleum and chemicals, grain and fertilizers, coal, metals and minerals, forest products, intermodal, and automotive products. The company operates 20,100 route miles of track that spans Canada adn mid-America connecting the three coasts of Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico. CNR is a dividend contender that has been raising its dividends for 17 consecutive years and has a 5-yr DGR of 13.9% and a 10-yr DGR of 17.4%. Norfolk Southern (NSC) engages in rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate and finished goods operating approximately 20,000 router miles across the southern and eastern US. NSC and other railroads stand to benefit from the oil boom in continental US, and before permanent pipelines are put in place, railroads are the only option available to transport the huge supplies. NSC is a dividend contender raising its dividends for 12 consecutive years and has a 5-yr DGR of 10.8% and 10-yr DGR of 21.1%. Procter & Gamble (PG) and Unilever plc (UL) are giants in the consumer packaged goods field. PG has five segments - beauty, grooming, healthcare, fabric care and home care. UL has four segments - personal care, foods, refreshment and home care. PG has been raising dividends for 57 years; has a 5-yr DGR of 10.2% and a 10-yr DGR of 10.8%. UL has been raising dividends for 25 years; has a 5-yr 7.07%. Aerospace & Defense Sector: With the global turmoils continuing and the rise of new conflicts across Eastern Europe and Middle East, I am considering adding some exposure to the Aerospace & Defense Sector. I recently posted an article regarding the current valuation of the stocks in the sector here. Index Funds - China ETF, Emerging Markets - I am considering adding a new index fund to my portfolio to track the Chinese marke