Investors interested in Transportation stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Transportation sector should help us answer this question.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide is one of 135 individual stocks in the Transportation sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. C.H. Robinson Worldwide is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CHRW's full-year earnings has moved 5.6% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, CHRW has gained about 25.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Transportation group have gained about 4.6% on average. This shows that C.H. Robinson Worldwide is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Transportation stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Southwest Airlines (LUV). The stock is up 10% year-to-date.

For Southwest Airlines, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 203.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, C.H. Robinson Worldwide belongs to the Transportation - Services industry, a group that includes 26 individual stocks and currently sits at #202 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 6.2% so far this year, so CHRW is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Southwest Airlines falls under the Transportation - Airline industry. Currently, this industry has 31 stocks and is ranked #15. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +34.5%.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide and Southwest Airlines could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Transportation stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.