These ETFs focus on top transport stocks

Article Excerpt

Despite their strategic importance, major components of the transport industry, particularly shipping, trucking, and airlines, remain cyclical. For some companies, this means considerable swings in their profitability. Still, the best stocks in this area—and the ETFs that hold them—adapt well to the ever-changing industry landscape and are sound investments. Below we take a look at 3 ETFs that provide investors with exposure to the expanding transportation industry. There is more information in the box (page 84) and the supplement on page 90. ISHARES TRANSPORTATION AVERAGE ETF $182.71 (New York symbol IYT; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Conservative; Market cap: $491.0 million) invests in U.S. listed transportation stocks. The fund tracks the Dow Jones Transportation Index; this index consists of 20 U.S. listed companies operating in the transport industry. Railroad stocks account for 32.0% of its holdings. Other major segments are Air Freight and Logistics (25.6%), Airlines (18.3%), Trucking (17.3%) and Marine (6.6%). The ETF holds 20 stocks with 70% allocated to the top 10 holdings;…