A BNSF manifest freight heads east through Naperville, Ill., on April 20, 2020. BNSF saw first-quarter earnings fall as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. TRAINS: David Lassen OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway’s first-quarter revenue and profits declined as traffic volumes sank due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the railroad’s parent company, Berkshire Hathaway, reported on […]
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Carload and intermodal traffic has bottomed out and has started to rebound amid the COVID-19 pandemic, freight forecasting firm FTR Transportation Intelligence said today. “Weekly volume data from the Association of American Railroads and analyzed by FTR shows that rail volumes, in the intermodal and carload sectors, are likely near the bottom,” […]
U.S. Rail Traffic commodities table for the week ended April 25 Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending April 25, 2020. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 414,123 carloads and intermodal units, down 22.4% compared with the same week […]
A Norfolk Southern intermodal train passes through Goshen, Ind., in 2018. NS will cut capital spending 25% in response to the pandemic-induced economic downturn. TRAINS: David Lassen NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern will slash capital spending 25% this year as traffic and revenue decline sharply due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the […]
Canadian National reported strong first-quarter earnings Monday, but has made a series of cost-cutting moves in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, including furloughs for 2,500 workers and storage of 500 locomotives. TRAINS: David Lassen MONTREAL — Canadian National reported stronger first-quarter earnings on Monday despite the impact of a month of blockades on key […]
A southbound Canadian National container train passes through Sussex, Wis., in 2015. TRAINS: Brian Schmidt MONTREAL – Canadian National executives don’t expect the coronavirus pandemic to alter global supply chains and return manufacturing to North America from China and elsewhere in Asia. CSX Transportation and Union Pacific executives last week said they expected the global […]
CSX says it is “carefully developing plans” to allow employees to return to its headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla. TRAINS: Jim Wrinn As some states move toward lifting business restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Class I railroads are in no rush to have their employees return to headquarters. Texas, Florida, and Georgia — home to […]
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads this week reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending April 18, 2020. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 403,283 carloads and intermodal units, down 23.3% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending April 18 […]
OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific expects traffic to fall 25% in the second quarter due to the economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, has withdrawn its earnings guidance for the year, and suspended its share buyback program amid ongoing uncertainty. The railroad, which announced improved first quarter financial results on Thursday despite a 7% […]
Canadian Pacific’s earnings presentation included a photo of this sign Ontario residents placed along the railway’s right of way during the pandemic. Canadian Pacific CALGARY, Alberta — Strong traffic growth propelled Canadian Pacific to record revenue and its lowest first-quarter operating ratio ever. But CP lowered its outlook for the year due to the economic […]
CSX GP40-2 No. 6498 leads a train eastbound at Vale on the Union Pacific in River Forest, Ill., in November 2019. CSX has cut its locomotive fleet in half in the last three years. TRAINS: David Lassen JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Transportation on Wednesday reported lower quarterly revenue and earnings as coal volume sank and […]
An empty Canadian Pacific oil train arrives at Bensenville Yard in suburban Chicago on March 8, 2020. CP could see crude by rail traffic drop to zero in light of the crash in oil prices. TRAINS: David Lassen CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific is bracing for the possibility that crude by rail volumes could drop to […]
