Dow Jones Transportation Average
Encyclopedia
The Dow Jones Transportation Average (DJTA, also called the "Dow Jones Transports") is a U.S.
stock market index
from Dow Jones Indexes
of the transportation sector, and is the most widely recognized gauge of the American transportation sector. It is the oldest stock index still in use, even older than its better-known relative, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJIA).
s and other factors. As a result, it can change at any time the markets are open. The figure mentioned in news reports is usually the figure derived from the prices at the close of the market for the day.
Changes in the index's composition are rare, and generally occur only after corporate acquisitions or other dramatic shifts in a component's core business. Should such an event require that one component be replaced, the entire index is reviewed.
Today, the index consists of the following 20 companies:
, co-founder of Dow Jones & Company, as part of the "Customer's Afternoon Letter". At its inception, it consisted of eleven transport
ation-related companies: nine railroads and two non-rail companies. They were the following:
As a result of the dominating presence of railroads, the Transportation Average was often referred to as "rails" in financial discussions in the early and middle part of the 20th Century.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stock market index
Stock market index
A stock market index is a method of measuring a section of the stock market. Many indices are cited by news or financial services firms and are used as benchmarks, to measure the performance of portfolios such as mutual funds....
from Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones Indexes was formed in 1997 as an entity within Dow Jones & Co. It is now owned by the CME Group. It serves as the marketing name of CME Group Indexes, LLC. It produces, maintains, licenses and markets indexes as benchmarks and as the basis of investible products such as exchange traded...
of the transportation sector, and is the most widely recognized gauge of the American transportation sector. It is the oldest stock index still in use, even older than its better-known relative, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...
(DJIA).
Components
The index is a running average of the stock prices of twenty transportation corporations, with each stock's price weighted to adjust for stock splitStock split
A stock split or stock divide increases the number of shares in a public company. The price is adjusted such that the before and after market capitalization of the company remains the same and dilution does not occur. Options and warrants are included....
s and other factors. As a result, it can change at any time the markets are open. The figure mentioned in news reports is usually the figure derived from the prices at the close of the market for the day.
Changes in the index's composition are rare, and generally occur only after corporate acquisitions or other dramatic shifts in a component's core business. Should such an event require that one component be replaced, the entire index is reviewed.
Today, the index consists of the following 20 companies:
- Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.Alexander & BaldwinFollowing World War II, the company entered a new business: land development and real estate. The company formed a new subsidiary, the Kahului Development Co., to develop housing in the Kahului area. In the following years, the company became more involved in the development of its land and the...
(ALEX) (marine transportation) - AMR CorporationAMR Corp.AMR Corporation is a commercial aviation business and airline holding company based in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Formed in 1982, as part of American Airlines's non-bankruptcy reorganization into a Delaware corporation, its name derives from American Airlines's ticker symbol on the New York...
(AMR) (airlines) - C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.C. H. Robinson WorldwideC.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. is a Fortune 500 third-party logistics provider which provides domestic and international freight transportation and logistics services.-History:...
(CHRW) (trucking) - Con-Way, Inc.Con-wayCon-way, Inc. is a freight transportation and logistics company with businesses in less-than-truckload and full truckload freight services, truckload brokerage, logistics, warehousing, supply chain management and trailer manufacturing, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Con-way’s services are used by...
(CNW) (trucking) - CSX Corp.CSX CorporationCSX Corporation was formed in 1980 by the merger of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries and eventually merged the various railroads owned by those predecessors into a single line that became known as CSX Transportation. Based in Richmond, Virginia, USA after the merger, in 2003...
(CSX) (railroads) - Delta Air Lines.Delta Air LinesDelta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
(DAL) (airlines) - Expeditors InternationalExpeditors InternationalExpeditors International of Washington, Inc. is a global logistics and freight forwarding company headquartered in Seattle, Washington.The company employs over 12,900 trained professionals in 251 locations across six continents. Expeditors works in international trade through a seamless,...
(EXPD) (delivery services) - FedEx CorporationFedExFedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee...
(FDX) (delivery services) - GATX Corp. (GMT) (business support services)
- JB Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT) (trucking)
- JetBlue Airways Corp.JetBlue AirwaysJetBlue Airways Corporation is an American low-cost airline. The company is headquartered in the Forest Hills neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. Its main base is John F. Kennedy International Airport, also in Queens....
(JBLU) (airlines) - Kansas City Southern (KSU) (railroads)
- Landstar System, Inc.Landstar SystemLandstar System, Inc. is a transportation services company specializing in logistics.- History :The company headquarters are in Jacksonville, Florida. Landstar has been in business since 1988...
(LSTR) (trucking) - Norfolk Southern Corp.Norfolk Southern Corp.The Norfolk Southern Corporation is a publicly-traded stock corporation based in Norfolk, Virginia. It is the holding company for the Norfolk Southern Railway, a major Class I railroad system. The company was formed in 1982 to control the Norfolk and Western Railway as well as the Southern Railway...
(NSC) (railroads) - Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc.Overseas Shipholding GroupOverseas Shipholding Group, Inc. is one of the largest oil tanker operating companies in the world. It is based in New York City....
(OSG) (marine transportation) - Ryder System, Inc.RyderRyder System, Inc. , or Ryder, is an American-based provider of transportation and supply chain management products, and is especially known for its fleet of rental trucks. Ryder specializes in fleet management, supply chain management and dedicated contracted carriage. Ryder operates in North...
(R) (transportation services) - Southwest Airlines, Inc.Southwest AirlinesSouthwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
(LUV) (airlines) - UAL Corp. (UAL) (airlines)
- Union Pacific Corp.Union Pacific RailroadThe Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
(UNP) (railroads) - United Parcel Service, Inc.United Parcel ServiceUnited Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
(UPS) (delivery services)
History
The average was created on July 3, 1884 by Charles DowCharles Dow
Charles Henry Dow was an American journalist who co-founded Dow Jones & Company with Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser....
, co-founder of Dow Jones & Company, as part of the "Customer's Afternoon Letter". At its inception, it consisted of eleven transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...
ation-related companies: nine railroads and two non-rail companies. They were the following:
- Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway
- Chicago and North Western RailwayChicago and North Western RailwayThe Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
- Delaware, Lackawanna and Western RailroadDelaware, Lackawanna and Western RailroadThe Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...
- Lake Shore and Michigan Southern RailwayLake Shore and Michigan Southern RailwayThe Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, NY to Chicago, primarily along the south shore of Lake Erie and across northern Indiana...
- Louisville and Nashville RailroadLouisville and Nashville RailroadThe Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
- Missouri Pacific Railway
- New York Central RailroadNew York Central RailroadThe New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
- Northern Pacific Railroad preferred stockPreferred stockPreferred stock, also called preferred shares, preference shares, or simply preferreds, is a special equity security that has properties of both an equity and a debt instrument and is generally considered a hybrid instrument...
- Pacific Mail Steamship CompanyPacific Mail Steamship CompanyThe Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848 as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants, William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland...
(not a railroad) - Union Pacific Railway
- Western UnionWestern UnionThe Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
(not a railroad)
As a result of the dominating presence of railroads, the Transportation Average was often referred to as "rails" in financial discussions in the early and middle part of the 20th Century.