NEW YORK – Now that the freight economy is revving up, Wall Street thinks there’s money to be made in them trucks.

Fancy that.

Last week, the highly regarded Bloomberg financial folks polled a couple of dozen Wall Street analysts.

Pointing to the American Trucking Associations’ forecast that tonnage will increase slowly in 2011 and more dramatically in ’12, the analysts also named a handful of trucking companies worth investing in.

According to a report on thestreet.com, Wall Street’s most bankable publicly traded fleets are:

8. Landstar System: For 2010 Landstar reported a $23.8-million profit. Of the 22 analysts covering Landstar, a full 73 percent recommended a buy.

7. Werner Enterprises: 2010 revenue was up 9 percent over the previous year; profit was up 41 percent. A full 58 percent of the analysts covering Werner recommend a buy.

6. Kansas City Southern (KCS): For 2010, revenue was up 23 percent, while net income soared 164 percent to $180 million. Sixty eight percent of the analysts who watch KCS recommend a buy while the remaining rate a hold.

5. Swift Transportation: So they lost money last year, but way less than in 2009. (Losses shrunk from $357.1 in Q4 ’09 million to $48.31 million a year later.) Swift is also looking to refinance a $1-billion loan. Of the 15 analysts covering the stock, 80 percent recommend a buy.

4. USA Truck: Another trucker that’s cut its losses, while revenue grew 20 percent over the same period. Sixty seven percent of the analysts covering USA Truck recommended a buy on it. Nobody recommended a sell.

3. Celadon Group: For Q1, ending Dec.31, Celadon reported a 25.9 percent increase in revenue. Meanwhile, net income escalated 13.8 percent to $126.6 million. Eighty percent of the analysts covering the stock recommend a buy on it. As a fully-fledged, border-to-border NAFTA hauler, things are looking up for Celadon as the Mexican trade standoff will be settled in the next few months.

2.Quality Distribution: The company is scheduled to report its fourth quarter and full-year 2010 results this week. Meanwhile www.thestreet.com predicts that for 2010, net income and revenue are likely to jump a whopping 365 percent and 12 percen, compared to 2009.

1. Covenant Transportation Group: A year ago, Covenant reported a 2009 loss of $25 million. Now, they’re reporting a $3.3-million profit. Seventy five percent of the analysts covering the stock suggest a buy.