Navistar Partners With TPI To Develop Lighter Class 8 Trucks

Navistar International Corporation ( (NYSE:NAV) ) signed an agreement with TPI Composites, Inc. ( (NASDAQ:TPIC) ) to design and develop Class 8 trucks, enabled with frame rails and composite tractor. This recent collaboration took place after Navistar received an award under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Super Truck II investment program. The program is intended to promote fuel efficiency in commercial vehicles.

Catering to the transportation market, TPI Composites is a leading company that engages in the development of composite structure, using advanced composite technology and manufacturing expertise.

At present, almost 80% of goods are transported via Class 8 trucks in the United States, creating significant opportunities for companies to improve the freight efficiency of trucks. Further, the addition of composite materials, instead of traditional metals, will lead to numerous performance advantages due to reduced part count, less weight and non-corrosive properties.

Navistar International Corporation Price and Consensus

Both the companies are aiming to reduce the weight of Class 8 trucks in excess of 30% to improve freight efficiency. In the newly developed trucks, TPI Composites and Navistar will replace traditional metals with composite ones.

Based in Illinois, Navistar manufactures International brand commercial and military trucks, proprietary diesel engines and IC branded school and commercial buses.

Price Performance

Over a year, shares of Navistar outperformed the industry it belongs to. During the period, the company’s stock skyrocketed 41.1% as against the industry’s gain of 22.9%.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Navistar carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the auto space are LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) and PACCAR Inc. (NASDAQ:PCAR) , both carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

LKQ Corp has an expected long-term growth rate of 16%. The company’s stock has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for annual earnings being revised 6.8% upward over the last 30 days.

PACCAR has an expected long-term growth rate of 9.8%. The company’s stock has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for annual earnings being revised 1.2% upward over the last 30 days.

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