Investopedia: Arkansas Best Isn't The Best, But Is It This Bad?

Although the trucking market may not be quite as attractive as rail, it's not terrible. Tonnage is increasing at a slower rate, but is still positive and likely to continue growing so long as the economy grows. Unfortunately, Arkansas Best (Nasdaq:ABFS) seems to be making a tough decision on price versus volume, and needs to show better margins to validate the choice.

A Disappointing Close to the Year
Of the three metrics that most transport investors place great importance on, Arkansas disappointed meaningfully on two. Revenue was up 5% in the quarter, but strong pricing (up almost 13% per hundredweight) was offset by very weak volume. Tonnage was down about 8% in the fourth quarter, and weakened as the quarter went on. Given the overall tonnage trends, it looks as though Arkansas Best may have priced itself out of some business.


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Investopedia: Zhongpin Could Be Hog Heaven For Investors

Although the scandals surrounding small Chinese stocks in 2010 and 2011 never crept as high as the huge companies like Petrochina (NYSE:PTR) or Lenovo (OTCBB:LNVGY.PK), Zhongpin (Nasdaq:HOGS) did come in for closer scrutiny and doubt. Although history suggests investors can never completely trust any company, hog producer Zhongpin may yet be a sound strategy for benefiting from improving standards of living in the PRC.

The Number Four Player in the Protein of Choice  
Zhongpin is the fourth-largest pork processor/packer in China, but holds less than 1% share of the hog slaughter market and the larger players will scarcely familiar to most readers in North America (Shanghui, China Yurun, and People's Food). With the top five producers holding less than 10% share, the Chinese market is a far cry from the highly concentrated U.S. market that is largely dominated by companies like Tyson (NYSE:TSN), Smithfield (Nasdaq:SFD), Seaboard (AMEX:SEB), Swift (owned by Brazil's JBS) and Cargill, where the top four companies have over 60% of the market.

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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Zhongpin-Could-Be-Hog-Heaven-For-Investors-HOGS-TSN-SFD-SEB0116.aspx

Investopedia: J.B. Hunt - The Trucking Company That Isn't

As the economy has rebounded and so too has the transportation sector. After all, it's not too easy for companies to sell more "stuff" and not need additional transportation services. While the railroads have been on a much-discussed run since 2009, trucking companies have had a more mixed performance.


Making matters a little more complicated, although J.B. Hunt (Nasdaq:JBHT) is often listed among the trucking companies, that is not really an accurate depiction. In point of fact, intermodal business is the single largest component of the company's revenue and income. What's more, the differences in JBHT's business model seem to go a long way towards explaining why this company has been a solid performer. (To read more on financial statements, see 12 Things You Need To Know About Finncial Statements.)

Strong Demand Leads to Strong Quarter
J.B. Hunt reported a better than 18% jump in revenue for the first quarter, with 13% growth once the impact of fuel surcharges are stripped out of the picture. Intermodal was the leader both in growth and scale, as revenue grew 23% here to $577 million (about 58% of the total) on the back of 15% volume growth. Dedicated contract services saw 15% revenue growth, while revenue from the truck segment rose 6% despite an 11% decrease in loads and a 12% decrease in tractors on the road.


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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/J.B.-Hunt-The-Trucking-Company-That-Isnt-JBHT-NSC-BRK.A-ODFL-ECHO-KNX-SWFT0419.aspx