Nobody follows the fortunes of the freight industry more closely than investment analysts, so trucking executives were dismayed when this summer the venerable investment firm Stifel, Nicolaus & Co put out a report entitled The Story of Our General Lack of Love for the Truckload and Intermodal Stocks. The gist of the report was that depsite years of being “a cheerleader” for the trucking industry, the firm could not recommend a single trucking stock.

Well, only a month after this particularly un-prescient report, one trucking company doubled its stock price. North Carolina based Old Dominion Freight Line climbed from its 52-week low of 14.47 a share to a high of 38.75 on August 26. (Okay, yes, since then profit takers have pushed it down to 27, which is–as we said–still double its summer low.) Moreover, analyst Jack Waldo of the wealth management firm Stephens, projects a twelve-month target of 40 a share.

Old Dominion is a “less than truckload” carrier (cargo of less than 10,000 lbs) that does short-hauls with an average trip of 900 miles. Small trips don’t mean a small company though. The business, founded in 1934, is the sixth-largest short-hauler in the nation with 5,000 tractors and 20,000 trailers. Its trucks carry capital goods to 210 service centers in the continental U.S.

Forbes recently interviewed CEO David Congdon, grandson of Old Dominion’s founders, Earl and Lillian Congdon. His comments about trucking and the economy are worth noting. To keep things short, we’ll condense writer Jesse Bogan’s Q&A to Mr. Congdon’s most interesting remarks. (You can read the entire interview here.)

DAVID CONGDON:  “We first saw an abnormal drop-off in the fall of 2006. Of course, we experienced a decline like everyone else, but not to the same extent. Our tonnage has continued very strong.… It was a nightmare during 2008 when fuel went to nearly $5 a gallon.… Since then we’ve [the trucking industry] come off the bottom, but not very far.… I feel the tonnage on average for the industry is down 10% to 15% compared to normal, with some carriers much worse.… Price competition has been very severe this year. Some of the pricing practices by industry peers are, in our view, not sustainable.… It’s not our philosophy to undercut anyone’s price to win business. Our approach is to match prices, which you have to do to get the freight.… The trucking industry is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. I don’t see how that can change. A lot of folks say we should move more freight by rail. Well, there is a truck at both ends of that rail and you are never going to see a locomotive running up Main Street.”

So there, Stifel and Co. Don’t you think it’s time to show a little love?

This story was drawn from articles in Forbes.com, Business Week, and TheTrucker.com

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