Transport News

Infrastructure is a critical and growing investing thematic for institutional and retail investors, who can also choose to be exposed to the transport sub-sector through either direct share ownership or thematic ETFs. 

The transportation sector is a category of companies that provide services to move people or goods as well as the infrastructure needed to facilitate these services. Transport is not just about airlines, but also includes airport services, air freight and logistics, marine, trucking, roads and railways.

Transport has become an increasingly talked about investment opportunity since the onset of COVID, as investors attempt to capitalise on the reopening of economies, as well as some of the supply chain disruptions that have been born from the pandemic. 

ausbiz covers the latest transport news via interviews with experts across a range of asset classes including listed and unlisted infrastructure. M&A has also become very topical in recent times.

What options are there for exposure to transport? 

Transportation stocks include a wide array of heavy equipment makers and transportation services providers. Most of the airlines, trucks and logistics companies are household names such as Qantas, Qube and Transurban.  A Trans-Tasman investment option is Air New Zealand.

A sector that also falls under the transport umbrella are the leisure and tourism industries.

There are limited retail opportunities to invest in unlisted transport infrastructure, but there has been a recent push from wholesale funds to acquire unlisted assets such as Sydney airport.

What are the risks and opportunities in transport? 

Transportation stocks provide direct portfolio exposure to the state of the economy and can signal whether there are economically good or bad times ahead.

When the economy is strong, transportation companies tend to perform well as people and business travel picks up, and logistics cope with parcel and cargo shipments. However, leisure and shipping demand can fall dramatically during tough economic times, so transportation stocks are suited to investors who are comfortable with cyclicality.

There are many underlying issues that can impact company earnings, such as fluctuating fuel costs, labour costs, geopolitical events, and government regulation.

The current environment is particularly challenging for transport, with pandemic restrictions closing international and as well as state borders. Goods can still be shipped, but not free travellers.

There are also opportunities, as transport is increasingly joining the push to be more sustainable.  Higher environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards are being attached to transport and logistics, another attraction for investors.

Transport on ausbiz 

ausbiz regularly brings in experts to discuss infrastructure, and transport more specifically. We discuss risk and return, megatrends and examine the latest in transport, leisure and logistics news.

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