Oil drop to help U.S. transport only in short-term

CHICAGO (Reuters) – A recent dip in oil prices should boost U.S. transport companies’ earnings for the current quarter, but oil is still too pricey to offer the sector any long-term relief from the many economic headaches it faces.

Transport firms will get a short-term lift as the fuel surcharges they implemented to cope with higher oil prices finally begin to bite, while at the same time actual fuel prices fall.

But a wobbly U.S. economy and the pounding U.S. consumers have taken from tighter credit and rising inflation mean transport companies — trucking companies above all — are likely to see little more than a short-term earnings bounce.

Reuters