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.

1514 ET - Large companies are often the first to cancel their attendance in conventions due to corporate travel restrictions and, in some cases, low return on investment in attending, according to Truist Securities. That could also have been followed by smaller companies deciding to skip the event, possibly leading to organizers canceling the events outright, Truist says. The bank doesn't view health safety concerns as a primary driver of cancellations, as cancellations by large companies, unvaccinated attendees who are restricted from attending and limited international travel also play a role. (dave.sebastian@wsj.com; @depsebastian)

1313 ET - US airlines carried 4% more cargo by weight in July of this year than in July, 2020, extending a streak of year-over-year growth to its 15th consecutive month, the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics said Tuesday. The BTS reported its preliminary results based data filed by 15 of the leading U.S. cargo airlines, it said, adding final data on July will be released on Oct. 15. The BTS said domestic cargo was up 1% while international cargo grew 13% in July. (stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com)

1247 ET - Supply-chain visibility company project44 buys last-mile delivery technology provider Convey in a deal valued at $255M. The deal extends project44's focus on industrial-scale shipping into the business-to-consumer sector, with Austin, Texas-based Convey bringing in customers including Home Depot, Neiman Marcus and Ingram Micro. Project44 says it gains "real-time visibility and actionable insights from raw materials to the front door," with its third acquisition this year. The company in June raised $202M in new financing from funds managed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Emergence Capital Partners that value the Chicago-based tech provider at $1.2B. (paul.page@wsj.com)

1216 ET - Jeffrey Manber, CEO at space company Nanoracks, urges members of a House subcommittee on space and aeronautics to support a NASA initiative that aims to have the private sector develop free-floating orbital destinations that government agencies and companies could use. That initiative, per Manber's testimony, would prevent any gaps in service in orbit when the International Space Station is shut down and comes as China has developed its own orbital station. A NASA contracting document showing companies interested in the private space station effort includes Airbus's US space unit, Lockheed Martin, a Northrop Grumman unit and Raytheon Technologies, as well as Elon Musk's SpaceX, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Nanoracks. (micah.maidenberg@wsj.com; @MicahMaidenberg)

1046 ET - Global air travel is trying to regain altitude after a 19-month pandemic-caused plunge, though recent data is somewhat mixed. "Global commercial flights are now the closest they've been to 2019 levels YTD (-26%) on the back of consistent weekly increases in September with China's recent recovery serving as the main driver (+40% m/m)," says Tudor Pickering, citing RadarBox data. It says week-on-week data also shows a modest 1% increase in global commercial flights led by a 9% jump in Brazil and 3% increases in India and Japan. But it notes the same data show China fell 7% week-on-week, and says other data from TSA and FlightRadar24 show largely negative trends last week. (dan.molinski@wsj.com)

1036 ET - The Northeast markets targeted by American and JetBlue by their alliance remain among the weakest in the domestic airline industry, with TSA throughput in New York state down 40% from prepandemic levels in August and Massachusetts some 37% lower. Shares in both carriers decline after the WSJ reported the justice department was preparing to challenge the pact. Overall, US passenger volumes have been down by 20-25% in recent weeks, but the Northeast is more exposed to business and international traffic. (doug.cameron@wsj.com; @dougcameron)

1009 ET - National Express is unlikely to face any insurmountable competition hurdles in its potential takeover of rival bus company Stagecoach, says Berenberg. The only area of potential intervention by antitrust regulators could be in the inter-city coach side of the businesses, where National Express believes it has a market share of about 60% and Stagecoach's Megabus business has a share of about 6%, the brokerage says. "We think the Competition & Markets Authority could still approve this if it includes rail as a competitor in its analysis," Berenberg analysts say. "We asked National Express management whether divesting Megabus would be an issue--if it were forced to do so--and the answer was a clear 'no'." (philip.waller@wsj.com)

0733 ET - Passenger traffic in Europe is expected to rise by 3.1% a year through 2040, a growth that should boost airlines' spending on new planes, especially single-aisle ones, U.S. plane maker Boeing Co. forecasts in its 2021 commercial market outlook. "Demand for 7,100 single-aisle airplanes will be driven by continued growth in the low-cost carrier--LCC--segment that now accounts for more than 50% of intra-Europe capacity," the company says. Leisure travel will be the most rapidly expanding market, it adds. (olivia.bugault@wsj.com)

0721 ET - Over the next 20 years, European carriers will need 8,705 new commercial planes as they will look to replace most of their fleet and keep up with fast-growing demand from leisure travelers, U.S. plane maker Boeing Co. forecasts in its 2021 commercial market outlook. The airplanes that will be needed are valued at EUR1.25 trillion, according to Boeing. As air travel increases through 2040, Europe will also need to add more than 405,000 new aviation jobs, it forecasts.(olivia.bugault@wsj.com)

0705 ET - Transport operators National Express and Stagecoach have limited operational overlap as the latter operates exclusively in the U.K., and the former operates in the U.S., Europe, and North Africa, with the U.K. business representing around 10% of total operations, UBS says. "While the implied transaction price for Stagecoach of around 80 pence is below our current price target, we note that the all-share transaction offers significant scope for current shareholders to continue to benefit from continued price appreciation as part of the National Express Group, where we see around 55% upside to the current share price," UBS says. UBS has a buy rating on both companies. Stagecoach shares are up 22% at 82.75 pence and National Express is up 7.9% at 240.60p. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

0515 ET - National Express has pitched its interest in Stagecoach as a merger but the company is basically trying to buy it, Russ Mould at AJ Bell says. The benefits of pairing both transport companies are many and include a bigger footprint for National Express in growth areas such as private coach hire and corporate transport, Mould says. Still, a factor to consider is if another entity might be interested in Stagecoach, such as an overseas transport operator, given its key position in various parts of the U.K., he says. "It isn't an easy feat to build up a large position in the U.K. public transport market and Stagecoach now has 8,400 buses and coaches." National Express shares are up 7.7% and Stagecoach is up 20%. (anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com)

0502 ET - Shares in Stagecoach Group jump 21.8% after the Scotland-based bus company said it was in talks about an all-share takeover by rival National Express Group. Competition authorities might have something to say about the two public-transport operators coming together, but otherwise the deal looks fairly sensible, AJ Bell says. "A key factor to consider is whether someone else might fancy owning Stagecoach, such as an overseas transport operator. It's not an easy feat to build up a large position in the U.K. public-transport market and Stagecoach now has 8,400 buses and coaches," Bell's investment director Russ Mould says. National Express shares gain 8.2%. (philip.waller@wsj.com)