The latest Market Talks covering the Auto and Transport sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1614 ET - Airlines' ability to offset higher fuel costs will depend on how long prices remain elevated, UBS analysts say. The longer crude oil's spot price stays above $100 a barrel and jet fuel is $4 or more per gallon, the more likely it is that overall inflation picks up, they say. This could dent consumer spending on travel, making it harder for airlines to increase fares, the analysts say. For airlines to pass on fuel prices and stay within guidance estimates, costs must moderate soon, the analysts say. "Every passing week at current levels increases the risk of consumers eventually pulling back," they say. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1546 ET - Airlines' commentary about fuel price increases has been better than expected, UBS analysts say. The analysts think the positive commentary increases the likelihood of airlines achieving annual earnings in line with their outlooks. There have been two rounds of fare increases in the month of March as airlines look to pass on higher fuel costs, the analysts say. If current trends persist, the analysts assume fare hikes will offset the higher fuel bills if costs stay elevated for the rest of the year. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1220 ET - CBOT grain futures are higher in midday trading, with corn and wheat being buoyed by strength in crude oil futures. Light crude futures are up 2.3%, while Brent crude is up 5% - which in turn is giving feedstock prices support. The White House says that the Jones Act will be temporarily paused for 60 days, which is designed to lower freight costs amid the high oil prices. "President Trump is hoping that it eases the inflationary pressures on imports," says Arlan Suderman of StoneX. That won't directly affect grain prices - but it could potentially increase demand for imports, which would extend to grains, says Suderman. CBOT corn is up 1.5%, soybeans are up 0.1%, and wheat is up 2.1%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1151 ET - General Motors' fears that President Trump's tariffs would spell doom for its business model didn't play out, with the import taxes ultimately being manageable for the automaker, CFO Paul Jacobson says at the Bank of America Global Automotive Summit. "What we found is that the auto industry is really, really important to the administration," he says, adding that the administration landed on a "nice, sort of narrow path" to maintain competitiveness while supporting the industry. "Would we rather not pay $3 billion in tariffs? Probably," Jacobson says. "But at the end of the day, I think what we've seen, we can adapt to that." He adds that GM managed to offset more than 40% of tariff costs by reducing expenses and changing its manufacturing footprint. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1125 ET - General Motors has benefited from having vehicles at low price points, but its sales haven't been substantially affected even as consumers stress about affordability, CFO Paul Jacobson says at the Bank of America Global Automotive Summit. "We hear this drumbeat of affordability, I think it's pretty consistent with what we've been hearing for the last few years," Jacobson says. But this concern "certainly isn't affecting people's purchase decisions," he adds. He notes that GM sold more than 700,000 vehicles last year with a sticker price below $30,000. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1121 ET - It could take four to six months of high gas prices for car buyers to change their spending patterns, General Motors CFO Paul Jacobson says at the Bank of America Global Automotive Summit. The war in Iran has spiked the price of oil, but Jacobson suggests a muted immediate impact on car buying. "If you look at the historical models, usually it takes four to six months of sustained high oil prices before people start to think, 'Well, maybe I should go for less mileage or maybe I should buy down, et cetera,'" Jacobson says. "We certainly don't see it today where we are." After a soft January for retail due to weather, GM's February and March retail metrics are about on target, he says. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1034 ET - Oil prices climb in afternoon trading, with Brent crude above $109 a barrel following reports that Iran issued an evacuation warning to oil facilities across the Gulf. The international oil benchmark is up 5.1% to $109.42 a barrel, while the U.S. oil gauge WTI is up 2.7% to $94.14 a barrel. The news came after Israel struck Iran's South Pars gas field, the largest such facility in the world, pushing European natural-gas prices up 7.3% to 55.30 euros a megawatt-hour. Meanwhile, President Trump authorized foreign-flagged vessels to transport commodities between U.S. ports by issuing a 60-day waiver of a longstanding shipping law, the Jones Act. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

1010 ET - Incoming changes to European emissions regulations will cause a permanent constraint for energy-intensive European companies, Jefferies analysts say. Executives across Europe don't expect the Emissions Trading Scheme to be repealed despite political pressure from some EU member states, they write. One anticipated change is a reduction in free allowances for carbon usage. In response, companies are buying up carbon allowances and preparing for higher carbon prices. Companies like steelmaker Outokumpu and cement producer Holcim will benefit given their carbon reduction efforts. However, airlines--including Air France-KLM--will suffer as they lose free carbon allowances and pay more for emissions than non-European peers, the analysts say. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0710 ET - European airlines have cut capacity in response to flight path disruption, with cuts skewed to the near term, according to Citi analysis. Cuts are concentrated in the Middle East, though some routes across the atlantic are also impacted. Wizz Air is responsible for the majority of capacity cuts in the near term, with the airline cutting its first-quarter routes by 1.6% compared to initial plans. If fuel costs remain elevated on the continuing conflict, cuts to airlines' summer flight capacity could deepen, the analysts say. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0602 ET - Since the Iran conflict began on Feb.  28, 108 vessels have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Amena  Bakr, head of Middle East energy and OPEC+ insights at Kpler. Since March  2, only 38 ships made the transit, she said in a post on X, citing Kpler data. This indicates that most vessels passed in the first couple of days, with traffic dropping sharply afterward as regional tensions escalated. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

0526 ET - China's suspension of refined oil product exports amid the prolonged Strait of Hormuz disruption is a pre-emptive move to guard against potential domestic fuel shortages stemming from the Iran conflict, Nomura's Harrington Zhang and Ting Lu say in a note. Under an extreme scenario of a full fuel export ban, and assuming similar measures by others except Russia, the economists estimate that China could reduce crude imports by 2.8% without affecting domestic fuel supply while increasing strategic petroleum reserves to about 109 days of imports from 100 days. A halt in jet-fuel exports, China's main refined product, could have a notable impact on global markets given near-term supply tightness. Meanwhile, fuel imports from Russia could remain stable due to its ample supply and close bilateral ties. (jason.chau@wsj.com)

0354 ET - Aumovio is aligned with other auto-part suppliers on its outlook, but the midpoint of its guidance ranges sits below consensus expectations, analysts at Bernstein say in a research note. The German company is guiding for revenue of 17 billion to 18.5 billion euros, which at its midpoint is 3% below consensus expectations of 18.3 billion euros, according to Bernstein. Its guidance for an adjusted EBIT margin is in line with consensus, but at the midpoint this still implies an adjusted EBIT 6% below expectations, the analysts add. Aumovio is factoring in headwinds from memory-chip costs, which is in line with recent comments from other suppliers like Visteon, Aptiv and Magna, Bernstein says. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 18, 2026 16:50 ET (20:50 GMT)

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