ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

February 9, 2000 10:40 AM, EST

Not even the prestige of being the world’s largest package carrier and the promise of delivering a majority of the goods purchased over the Internet have seemed to help United Parcel Service impress Wall Street.

Despite the company’s reports of volume gains and record profits in its first quarter as a public corporation, UPS stock price fell from near $65 a share before the earnings release on Jan. 31 to $57.63 a share on Feb. 3, the lowest mark since shares were issued at $50 in an initial public offering Nov. 9.

UPS is not alone in a market that apparently anticipates a difficult future for the trucking industry. But some analysts say Wall Street’s concerns about transportation companies are misplaced.

Arkansas Best Corp. of Fort Smith, Ark., which reported the highest income in the company’s history on the strength of a banner year by its long-haul less-than-truckload subsidiary, ABF Freight System, has seen its stock price tumble nearly $2 a share to $12 on Feb. 3 since releasing its financial results on Jan. 20.

For the full story, see the Feb. 7 print edition of Transport Topics. .