Rising rail traffic and lower numbers of railcars in storage should benefit FreightCar America, as should anticipated market demand to replace an aging railcar fleet, executives said during Monday’s first-quarter earnings call.
FreightWaves looks at five themes that ran throughout the earnings discussions of the Class I railroads.
Anticipated growth for intermodal will help to support Hub Group’s investments for that sector in 2021.
Executives with parent company Berkshire Hathaway expect BNSF to take steps to protect the railroad’s franchise as the merger between Kansas City Southern and one of the Canadian railways makes its way through regulatory review.
Norfolk Southern aims to add longer trains, improve car velocity and provide more technological tools for customers and for safety inspections, with an eye toward future competition with autonomous trucks.
First-quarter operating ratio was 61.5%, compared with an adjusted operating ratio of 63.7% in the first quarter of 2020.
CN outlined some scenarios in which a merged railway can compete with long-haul trucking.
Canadian railway CN reported net profit of CA$974 million in the first quarter of 2021, a 3.7% decline from the first quarter of 2020.
The Surface Transportation Board will need to scrutinize a proposed merger between Kansas City Southern and either Canadian Pacific or CN to ensure it doesn’t hurt the operations of competing railroads, Union Pacific’s head said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call.
A 4% drop in operating revenue contributed to a 9% decline in net income for Union Pacific’s first quarter.
For now, Canadian Pacific is not planning to take part in a bidding war with rival CN to acquire Kansas City Southern, saying that its offer is more likely to meet regulators’ litmus test for mergers.
CSX has capacity on its network, space on its trains and the workforce and locomotives it needs to handle an anticipated growth in service needs in 2021, according to company executives.
CSX’s first-quarter net income fell 8% to $706 million from $770 million a year ago.
Kansas City Southern expects to maintain its financial targets for 2021 on a recovering economy and an anticipated volume rebound. It declined to comment on post-merger operational changes.
Kansas City Southern’s net income for the first quarter of 2021 rose 0.7% despite a 4% decline in revenue and a 1% drop in carload volumes.
