Southwest Airlines Co. LUV has reported traffic figures for September. Traffic (measured in revenue passenger miles or RPMs) rose 5.3% to around 9.99 billion, while capacity or available seat miles (ASMs) expanded 6.8% to 12.41 billion.Load factor (percentage of seats filled by passengers) contracted 120 basis points (bps) to 80.5% in the month as traffic growth was outpaced by capacity expansion. Meanwhile, passenger count grew 4.8% to 12.5 million.In the first nine months of 2018, Southwest Airlines witnessed a 2.8% rise in RPMs to 99.61 billion. Also, ASMs inched up 3% to 119.43 billion. As a result, load factor slid 10 bps to 83.4%. However, passenger count increased 4% to 121.9 million in the period.Southwest Airlines Co. Price Southwest Airlines Co. Price | Southwest Airlines Co. Quote With the earnings season approaching, let’s take a look at some of Southwest Airlines’ projections for third-quarter 2018, set to be released on Oct 25.The airline anticipates ASM to rise in the range of 3.5-4%, while unit costs (CASM) — excluding fuel and oil expenses and profit-sharing expenses (including 0.5 to 1 point year-over-year adversity from the cancellations) — are estimated to increase between 3% and 3.5%. Additionally, unit revenues (RASM) are expected to improve 1-1.5% year over year. Also, fuel costs are expected at $2.25 per gallon in the quarter.Zacks Rank & Other Key PicksSouthwest Airlines carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader Transportation sector are Spirit Airlines, Inc. SAVE, Trinity Industries, Inc. TRN and Werner Enterprises, Inc. WERN, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Shares of Spirit and Trinity have rallied more than 25% and 12%, respectively, in a year. Werner Enterprises has an impressive earnings history, having outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the preceding four quarters, with an average beat of 7.3%.Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest StrategiesIt's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%.And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.See Them Free>>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV): Free Stock Analysis Report Spirit Airlines, Inc. (SAVE): Free Stock Analysis Report Trinity Industries, Inc. (TRN): Free Stock Analysis Report Werner Enterprises, Inc. (WERN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research