Tariffs' Threat to Knight's Retail and Industrial End Markets a Key Factor to Watch

Before its 2017 merger with Swift Transportation, Knight Transportation was the 12th-largest full-truckload carrier in the United States, with a long history of exceptional execution, including average returns on invested capital in the low teens—an unusual accomplishment in trucking. Knight's long-standing focus on network efficiency has served it well; its legacy operating ratio (expenses/revenue, excluding fuel) averaged in the mid-80s before the Swift deal versus an industry average that traditionally exceeds 90%.