Lee Eugene Munson and Patrick Kirtz analyze Horizon Lines. Published on Seeking Alpha

Horizon Lines, Inc. (NYSE: HRZ), the nation’s leading domestic ocean shipping and integrated logistics company, is an excellent example of a company with a strong economic ‘moat’. Portfolio Asset Management has been looking for some protectionism plays as the stimulus plans take form, as I mentioned on CNBC during my February 2nd interview on Closing Bell.

HRZ is the primary beneficiary of Congress’ 1920 Jones Act, which states that a vessel transporting cargo from one U.S. port to another, whether via wholly domestic or foreign ports, must be owned, built, and crewed by Americans. More than one billion tons of the two-and-a-half billion tons of annual maritime cargo in the U.S. falls under Jones Act control. Horizon’s competition, therefore, has an expensive barrier to entry into the domestic maritime shipping market. When was the last time you saw a cargo ship being made in the U.S.?
Read the full article here.

Tags: ALaska, cargo ship, Closing Bell, CNBC, domestic, domestic shipping, dry ships, foreign, Guam, Hawaii, high yield, Horizon Lines, HRZ, Jones Act, lee munson, maritime, ports, shipping