iShares Dow Jones Transportation Index (IYT) exchange traded fund (ETF) may take a ride this holiday season. The busy travel season is already underway and travelers are clogging the airports to get to grandmother’s house.
But there’s one unpleasant wrench in the machinery: increasingly, traveler’s bags aren’t making the trip with them. American Airlines (AMR), the biggest airline, began investigating the problem a year ago and their search led them to dirty printer heads, making bar codes hard to read, leading to misdirected bags, reports Jeff Baily for The New York Times. Regular wiping of the printer heads were implemented, with a 90-92% accuracy rate. A spokesperson for American said they never hit 100%, that 90% is acceptable. Try telling that to someone who is in theat unlucky 10%.
Most holiday travelers will agree: 90% doesn’t sound good enough. What will this do for the transportation ETF, and related stocks? The choices are limited, especially for long trips are involved. Driving takes time and traffic can cause headaches. Gas is especially expensive.
Do you think more holiday travelers will just travel light and carry on?
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.