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.

1559 GMT - Aviation consultant Anita Mendiratta says Heathrow's closure is likely to "have a massive implication on cargo movements." Mendiratta says the airport handles about 4,000 tons of cargo per day and is a major hub for shipments of products including pharmaceuticals, electronics and food. Mendiratta says the timing of the power outage -- overnight in the UK, when there is less air traffic -- likely allowed many companies to reroute shipments in the air and avoid some backups. Her expectation is that it will take two to four days for bottlenecks caused by the closure to subside. (liz.young@wsj.com)

1551 GMT - The fire near London's Heathrow airport will have a substantial impact on British Airways and its customers "for many days to come,"the airline's Chairman and Chief Executive Sean Doyle says. BA was forced to ground all of its short-haul and the majority of its long-haul flights scheduled for Friday, he says. The airline was due to operate more than 670 flights carrying around 107,000 passengers, with similar numbers planned over the weekend, he adds. Flight and cabin crew personnel are at locations where they weren't supposed to be due to diverted flights, and BA faces a logistical issue to get new crews to operate aircraft given that they are only legally allowable to operate for a certain number of hours, Doyle says. Power shortages are also hindering engineering and maintenance work, he adds. Shares in BA's parent company IAG are down 2.9% at 282.20 pence. (cristina.gallardo@wsj.com)

1428 GMT - Mercedes-Benz had a good fourth quarter. It presented credible cost-cutting guidance with better-than-expected mid-term product momentum, Barclays analysts write. Fourth-quarter sales illustrated a much better-than-expected performance for the company's top-end vehicles, with higher profitability which probably contributed to most of the sequential EBIT margin improvement. The company disclosed a 2027 auto EBIT margin target of at least 10%. Tariffs are the gorilla in the room, but Barclays thinks 10% on EU imports into the U.S., from 2.5% currently, is priced in. Barclays upgrades Mercedes to equalweight from underweight and lifts its price target to 57.50 euros from 50 euros. Shares fall 0.8% to 58.03 euros. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

1410 GMT - The fall in Canadian retail sales in January was largely due to a drop in motor vehicle trade, and sales volumes were still up over November levels before the federal government's tax break kicked in, Oxford Economics' Tony Stillo and Michael Davenport say. The flash estimate for February suggests nominal sales fell 0.4% on month as the tax holiday ended mid-February. The economists reckon volumes also slipped further in March amid concerns about job and income security with the escalation in U.S.-Canada trade tension. (robb.stewart@wsj.com; @RobbMStewart)

1306 GMT - Canada and a consortium including Quebec-based pension fund Caisse de Dépôt et Placement and AtkinsRéalis Group (formerly known as SNC-Lavalin) have signed a C$4 billion, six-year contract to develop a high-speed rail network in eastern Canada. Former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau unveiled the high-speed proposal in his final weeks in office. The formal signing of the deal indicates new PM Mark Carney is moving forward with the project. The consortium will focus on the development phase of the proposed rail line, which would connect Toronto to Quebec City.(Paul.Vieira@wsj.com, @paulvieira)

1246 GMT - SAS has canceled all 12 of its scheduled roundtrips to and from London Heathrow Friday following the closure of the U.K. airport. The Scandinavian airline flies direct to Heathrow from or via Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo. "We are closely monitoring the situation and remain in continuous dialogue with Heathrow," SAS spokesperson Alexandra Lindgren Kaoukji said in an emailed statement. "Naturally, we hope for a swift resolution." Heathrow is one of the world's largest airports, and disruptions of this scale have global ripple effects, but the full extent is still unclear, Kaoukji added. Heathrow was shut down for the day on Friday due to a power outage caused by a fire at an electrical substation. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

1240 GMT - FedEx says it isn't seeing customers pull freight forward yet to get ahead of tariffs, according to TD Cowen in a report, after the package-shipper cut its outlook for the year. Customers seem to be holding back because rerouting is complicated, the analysts say. This could likely change, according to TD Cowen, because tariff adaption is still in the early stages. The investment bank says its own broad channel checks indicate some companies are indeed pulling freight forward already. The analysts say FedEx emphasized that customers are seeing inflationary pressures that are likely to be passed on to customers. TD Cowen also says FedEx leadership isn't expecting an improvement in the macroeconomic environment in the first half of 2026, but it also said nothing about the economy slipping. Shares fall 9% premarket. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1219 GMT - FedEx is battling a tepid industrial backdrop and uncertain demand but its cost-reduction plan seems to be moving forward, Raymond James analysts Patrick Tyler Brown and David Hicks say. FedEx lowered guidance for 2025, which the analysts attribute to shifting global trade policy and lingering cost inflation. At the same time, FedEx has ramped up savings through its DRIVE program, an effort to optimize operations and improve profitability. About $670 million in savings is expected in 4Q and another $400 million from the annualization of benefits is set for 2026, the analysts say. FedEx is also pushing forward the spin-out of its freight business. Shares fall 8% to $227 premarket. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1215 GMT - Maersk could lift its 2025 guidance amid positive tailwinds from prolonged Red Sea disruption, higher contract rates, stronger volumes and improving logistics margins, HSBC says. The bank thinks any potential return of shipping to the Red Sea will be pushed to beyond this year's peak season, cushioning erosion in spot freight rates. Ocean unit profitability is set to decline in the near term, but the bank finds comfort from potential capacity discipline and contribution from its non-ocean businesses. The stock is attractive at near-trough valuations, with the share price implying zero value for the ocean business, HSBC adds. It lifts its target price on the stock to 14,500 Danish kroner from 14,000 kroner and keeps a buy rating. Shares rise 0.9% to 11,650 kroner. (dominic.chopping@wsj.com)

1138 GMT - EasyJet is deploying larger airplanes than usual on a number of key routes to assist passengers affected by the closure of London's Heathrow Airport, a spokeswoman for the low-cost airline says. Routes connecting the U.K. with Milan, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Paris, Munich and Madrid will have 186-seat A320 aircraft, instead of the smaller 156-seat A319 aircraft, so as to provide additional seats to customers on Friday and over the weekend, the spokeswoman says. EasyJet's operations aren't directly affected by the closure of Heathrow, the spokeswoman says. (pierre.bertrand@wsj.com)

1122 GMT - AutoZone is positioned defensively as the auto-parts aftermarket industry tends to be resilient in times of economic downturns, D.A. Davidson says. Both AutoZone and O'Reilly Automotive have posted positive comparable sales every year since at least 2007, the analysts say. Higher prices for auto parts are usually passed to the customer without much loss in volume, resulting in improved comparable sales. If tariffs or inflation raise auto part prices, it could be a positive for AutoZone. Higher new car prices would also lead more drivers to hang on to their used vehicles for longer, potentially spending more on repairs, the analystst say. D.A. Davidson upgrades AutoZone to buy and lifts price target to $4,192 from $3,500. AutoZone is up 0.3% to $3,584.90 premarket. (katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)

1108 GMT - United Airlines says it is cancelling flights to London Heathrow that were planned for Friday following the closure of the airport. The U.S. airline says seven of its flights had to return to their origin or to other airports following the incident and that it is working to offer customers affected by the disruption alternative travel options. London Heathrow, one of the busiest international airports in the world, had to close due to a sudden fire at a nearby electrical substation that supplies it with power and has warned of significant disruptions over the coming days. (maitane.sardon@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 21, 2025 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)

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