15 Great Supply Chain Stocks to Buy for the Long Haul

Most of us have probably never paid much attention to things like supply chain and logistics before COVID-19 came calling. The pandemic threw a monkey wrench into the works for countless companies and consumers worldwide and put perhaps unprecedented focus on how essential and not-so-essential products got produced and delivered.

As the snarls get worked out at ports, it's not just e-commerce that's ramping up the demand for logistics services and space across the country. Many companies also are shifting from a "just-in-time" approach to inventory to a "just-in-case" mode.

Here are 15 publicly traded companies that are in a good position to profit from these systemic changes now and going forward. They've rewarded buy-and-hold shareholders so far, and there are plenty of reasons why they'll keep doing so.

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Since March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) stock has delivered a total return of about 120%, more than twice that of the S&P 500. Atlanta-based Big Brown currently has a fleet of about 121,000 cars, vans, airplanes, and other vehicles delivering to about 200 countries and territories around the world.

Right there with UPS is FedEx (NYSE: FDX). From its hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, the company operates a fleet of more than 210,000 vehicles, about 700 aircraft, and some 2,200 office locations. Its stock also has handily beaten the S&P 500 since the pandemic began, with a total return of about 103% compared with the greater market's 57% since March 2020.

Prologis (NYSE: PLD) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) and a big one at that. Based in San Francisco, the company operates almost a billion square feet of logistics warehouse space, with nearly 4,700 buildings on four continents.

That's the biggest such portfolio in the business, and it stays very full, very busy, and very profitable. Plus, with its product in such demand, it can also raise the rent, helping to keep up with inflation.

ALSO READ: Real Estate Investment Trusts: What They Are and How to Invest in Them

Duke Realty (NYSE: DRE) is another warehouse operator, an Indianapolis-based firm with 545 buildings in 19 U.S. markets. This Indianapolis-based REIT edges out Prologis in 10-year total return -- 455% to 442% -- and it also just rejected a buyout offer from that industry giant. Customers like Amazon, Home Depot, and other reliable rent payers should keep this target tempting for years to come.

XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO) provides less-than-truckload and brokerage services, as well as cross-border services to and from Mexico and Canada. Last-mile logistics for heavy goods is another specialty for this Greenwich, Connecticut-based logistics operator with a diverse client list that includes the full range of industrial manufacturers, food and beverage companies, consumer goods providers, and even other logistics companies.

5 Stocks Under $49
Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ: ODFL) has been driving growth to its shareholders since the pandemic began, returning 121.5%, twice that of the S&P 500. Despite the Virginia-sounding name, Old Dominion is headquartered in North Carolina and has a fleet of more than 10,000 tractors, 41,000 trailers, and nearly 255 maintenance and service centers across the country.

The yellow branding on trucks and trailers belonging to J.B. Hunt Transport (NASDAQ:JBHT) is another familiar sight on American highways. Based in Lowell, Arkansas, this trucking company specializes in large semi rigs, with more than 12,000 of them and 100,000 trailers and containers in its fleet.

Like fellow San Franciscans Prologis, Terreno Realty (NYSE: TRNO) is another choice for those interested in investing in the red-hot industrial REIT sector. But unlike its much larger brethren, this company focuses on small warehouses located near ports and major intersections in six coastal markets on either side of the country. This has worked well: Terreno stock has nearly doubled the S&P 500 in total return in the past decade.

ALSO READ: 3 REITs With Returns That Have Been Well Worth the Wait

No list of logistics leaders is complete without a railroad company, and Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) is a historical choice.

Now headquartered in Omaha, Union Pacific was one of the two railways to meet at Promontory Point to complete the transcontinental railroad. It now operates a network of about 432,500 route miles connecting ports on the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico with Midwest and Eastern United States destinations.

Along the way, just in the past 30 years, it's nearly quadrupled the S&P 500 in total return.

CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) is another of our country’s remaining railway giants. CSX is an east-of-the-Mississippi operation, operating about 3,500 locomotives along about 19,500 miles of rail routes in 23 states, the District of Columbia, and Quebec and Ontario in Canada. CSX is based in Jacksonville, Florida, and like Union Pacific, it has a long-haul record of outperforming the S&P 500.

5 Stocks Under $49
Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

GXO Logistics (NYSE: GXO) is a global provider of supply chain services such as order fulfillment, returns management and reverse logistics, warehousing, and distribution through about 900 facilities, making it perhaps the largest pure-play logistics choice in the market today. The company is based in Greenwich, Connecticut, and serves a long list of industrial, retail, food, and consumer packaged goods customers.

ALSO READ: This Logistics Leader Could Be the Perfect E-Commerce Stock

Manhattan Associates (NASDAQ: MANH) doesn't own trucks, planes, or warehouses, but it helps them all work together. Manhattan Associates makes its living developing, selling, supporting, and consulting on supply chain and inventory management software and solutions. The company was founded in Manhattan Beach, California, thus its name, and is now headquartered in Atlanta, where it's continuing its record of crushing the S&P 500, including by more than 3-to-1 in total return in the past decade.

Rexford Industrial Realty (NYSE: REXR) is another market-specific warehouse logistics provider. This Los Angeles REIT owns 232 properties and manages another 20, all located across Southern California's infill markets.

Meeting the intense demand for this kind of supply chain space has served Rexford and its shareholders well. The company has delivered a total return of about 466% in the past 10 years, compared with about 193% over the same period for the S&P 500.

Hub Group (NASDAQ: HUBG) provides a variety of transportation and logistics management, serving the supply chain with truck, rail, final mile, and international transportation services. Based in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, the company has a fleet of about 1,000 tractors and 4,600 trailers and about 45,000 containers. It’s been a profit hub, too, beating the S&P 500 by 87% to 56% in total return in the past three years.

Here's a cool one to finish off the list. Americold Realty Trust (NYSE: COLD) owns and operates more than 1 billion refrigerated cubic feet of storage at 185 facilities in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand. That makes this Atlanta-based REIT the largest of its kind in the world and an essential partner for its clientele of food producers and shippers.

5 Stocks Under $49
Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
We hear it over and over from investors, "I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by The Motley Fool. I'd be sitting on a gold mine!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of "5 Growth Stocks Under $49" for FREE for a limited time only.

Some of these companies are household names, some not so much. They all share one thing in common: They're positioned to take advantage of the new supply chain imperatives taking shape in this country.

The pandemic and inflation will eventually fade and even pass. The need for moving goods and services around the land, not so much. That means opportunity for those who do logistics well and those who invest in great companies and hang on to their shares as time rolls on.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Marc Rapport has positions in Amazon, Duke Realty, and Terreno Realty. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, FedEx, Home Depot, Old Dominion Freight Line, Prologis, Rexford Industrial Realty, and Terreno Realty. The Motley Fool recommends GXO Logistics, Inc., Union Pacific, and XPO Logistics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.