In the aftermath of Buffett's "all in" move to acquire the shares of Burlington Northern he didn't already own, it might be worth considering the best investments in the space. In explaining his decision to pay a 30% premium over the BNI price when the sale was announced, Buffett mentioned the capital value of the land and tracks, the wide moat vs. any new competitor to the railway sector and the clear 90% fuel savings vs. diesel over the road trucks (not to mention the clean air credits potential). So, in effect they get the added advantage of designated products like coal and food stuffs along with the intermodal carriage of containers for part of their journey. Obviously a wise move. So, beyond railroads which are the other better buys in transports?

Well it sure seems like the LTL/Freight sector is getting hammered again after the dismal report by CNW yesterday. Add this to the ongoing debacle over at YRCW and you have some real negativity in the heavier freight group. So, in my estimation, that puts UPS and FDX in the sweet spot so to speak. As we know, they handle both freight and small packages and the others can't say that. We have much larger segments of our business in the international arena as well. According to the last quarterly reports, UPS is faring the best amongst the group. If you throw in the 3.3% dividend into the mix, UPS SHOULD (I know what does this mean?) come out the winner.

BTW, for those who say UPS has the disadvantage of a "born to destroy the company" union scenario, take a read on the Philly area SEPTA strike. Now that's a union with its "collective" heads up their asses. By comparison, the UPS unions are very reasonable.