The Industrial Sector is a category of the stock market containing companies that operate in the industrial segment of the economy.
The Industrial Sector is an integral part of the economy, as it is responsible for the movement of people and goods, the construction of our infrastructure, and the production of equipment needed to do those things.
As a result, it is also a sector that is more sensitive to ups and downs of the overall economy, making it more cyclical in nature than some other sectors like Consumer Staples or Health Care.
When economic activity increases, the Industrial Sector benefits, allowing for growing profits from its members. However, during times of recession when economic activity contracts, industrial companies generally see lower profits, and lower share prices.
Some companies are impacted more than others, as different types of businesses are affected in different ways by changes in the economy.
Industrial Sub-Sectors
The Industrial Sector has a variety of business types under its umbrella. Here is a breakdown of the sub-industries for the sector, including a few examples of stocks from each of those sub-categories.
- Aerospace & Defense
- Lockheed Martin Corporation $LMT
- Boeing Company $BA
- Raytheon Company $RTN
- Freight & Logistics
- Expeditors International $EXPD
- FedEx Corporation $FDX
- United Parcel Service, Inc. $UPS
- Airlines
- Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV
- Delta Airlines Inc. $DAL
- Building Products
- Fortune Brands Home & Security $FBHS
- USG Corporation $USG
- Commercial Services & Supplies
- Cintas Corp. $CTAS
- Construction & Engineering
- Comfort Systems USA Inc. $FIX
- Electrical Equipment
- Emerson Electric Co. $EMR
- Industrial Conglomerates
- 3M Company $MMM
- General Electric Company $GE
- Honeywell International Inc. $HON
- United Technologies Corporation $UTX
- Machinery
- Caterpillar Inc. $CAT
- Cummins Inc. $CMI
- Eaton Corporation $ETN
- Illinois Tool Works Inc. $ITW
- Marine
- Kirby Corporation $KEX
- Matson Inc. $MATX
- Professional Services
- Robert Half International Inc. $RHI
- WageWorks Inc. $WAGE
- Road & Rail
- Canadian National Railway $CNI
- CSX Corporation $CSX
- Norfolk Southern Corp. $NSC
- Union Pacific Corporation $UNP
- Trading Companies & Distributors
- Fastenal Company $FAST
- W.W. Grainger Inc. $GWW
- Transportation
- C.H. Robinson Worldwide $CHRW
- J.B. Hunt Transport Services $JBHT
- Waste Management
- Republic Services, Inc. $RSG
- Waste Management, Inc. $WM
There are many more publicly traded stocks that what I have highlighted here, but the list above gives a general idea of the types of companies in the industrial sector.
More info to come…
Here are the articles I have published on Seeking Alpha highlighting my picks for the top dividend growth stocks from the Industrial Sector.
December 15, 2017
Top Ten Industrial Stocks For Dividend Growth And Income
August 15, 2016
Top 10 Industrial Sector Stocks For Q3 2016
August 14, 2015
Top 10 Industrial Stocks For Dividend Growth And Income
Interest in other sectors? Check out the collection of Watch Lists.