Investopedia: TAL International One Of The Few Positive Shipping Stories

The shipping industry is full of misery these days, what with rates for tankers and bulk cargo carriers so low and numerous shipping companies finding their liquidity situation tightening badly. Container leasing a different matter entirely, though, and TAL International (NYSE:TAL) continues to build solid value for its investors.

A Respectable Fourth Quarter  
Most of TAL International's fourth quarter numbers were solid. Leasing revenue rose more than 31% from the year-ago period as leasing rates for containers have stayed quite healthy. Better still, TAL isn't frittering away this demand - adjusted EBITDA rose nearly 34%, while adjusted pre-tax income climbed more than 44%.

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Investopedia: No Summer Holiday Yet For Rail Traffic

June's rail traffic numbers certainly offer up a mixed message. Investors and economists who believe that the recovery is in a rough patch but still ongoing can find support for their position. Likewise, those who believe that the recovery is gasping for breath (if not toppling over) can find their own "ah ha" moment in the numbers. All in all, it makes for a tough backdrop for rail and transport investors; Wall Street typically hates uncertainty and it would seem to only be a matter of time before their ongoing faith in the rails is sorely tested. 


U.S. Traffic - Some Good, More Bad
On the plus side, U.S. rail traffic did grow 0.9% from last year's June and the number of positive reporting categories (that is, traffic categories with year-on-year growth) expanded from eight in May to 14. That concludes the good news portion of today's article.

On the down side, traffic dropped again on a sequential basis (0.7%). Now, it is not all that unusual for rail traffic to slide sequentially into the summer months. If this year follows the template, traffic should bottom in July and rebound into and through the fall. 



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Investopedia: Not All Shipping Is Sinking

Maybe it seems obvious, but a tanker ship is nothing like a dry bulk carrier, and both are nothing like a containership. Oh true, they are all very large boats and they all operate on the same underlying economic basis - ship supply, demand for carriage, day rates, contract coverage and so on. When it comes right down to it, though, it sometimes seems like there are more differences than similarities. (For a quick refresher on the state of the industry, check out Has Dry Bulk Shipping Reached Low Tide?) 


Lately, the performance and expectations of dry bulk carriers has been underwhelming. Look at the container shipping market, though, and the picture is quite a bit different. Investors here have seen largely a strong run from 2009 and many of these companies throw off good dividends as well. What's more, with a different sort of leverage to global trade than the bulk carriers, they could represent a worthwhile balance in a portfolio.

Have Boat, Will Travel
Containerization was a major development in the shipping world, allowing carriers to become far more efficient in loading, carrying and unloading cargo. Better still, a container ship can carry almost anything - as long the goods fit into a standard container, it's not a problem. So whereas a dry bulk company like DryShips (Nasdaq:DRYS) or Genco (NYSE:GNK) will devote an entire ship to iron ore or grain, a containership can holds hundreds of different kinds of cargoes at the same time.

Unfortunately, it has not always been easy to trade containership stocks in the United States. Most of the major players - Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping, CMA, Evergreen - are either private or traded on foreign exchanges. But there are still a few names that investors can play, such as Paragon Shipping (Nasdaq:PRGN), Seaspan (NYSE:SSW), Euroseas (Nasdaq: ESEA) and Danaos (NYSE:DAC). Better still for many investors, the first three pay dividends and Paragon and Euroseas have rather attractive yields. (For more, see Dividend Facts You May Not Know.)


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