OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway’s revenue and profits tumbled in 2023 due to a combination of lower volume and lower revenue per carload and intermodal unit.
Pre-tax earnings declined 14.2%, to $6.6 billion, as revenue declined 6.9%, to $23.4 billion, BNSF parent company Berkshire Hathaway reported on Saturday. The railway’s operating ratio increased 2.5 points to 68.4%.
Revenue from BNSF’s consumer products segment, which includes intermodal and automotive, fell 14.7% for the year, to $7.9 billion, as volume declined 8.4%. “The volume decrease was primarily due to lower intermodal shipments resulting from reduced West Coast imports, the loss of an intermodal customer and competition from lower spot rates in the trucking market, which has impacted our domestic intermodal demand,” Berkshire said. “These declines were partially offset by an increase in automotive volume from higher vehicle production.”
Industrial products revenue increased 1.8%, to $5.7 billion, as higher revenue per carload was partially offset by an 0.8% volume decrease. “The volume decline was primarily due to lower demand for chemicals, plastics, minerals, paper and lumber, partially offset by increased shipments of steel and aggregates from infrastructure demand,” Berkshire said.
Agricultural products revenue dropped 2.8%, $5.6 billion, as volume declined 2.9% due to lower grain exports. BNSF carried higher volumes of domestic grains and feedstocks and renewable diesel, however.
Coal revenue declined 3.4%, to $3.8 billion, as volume declined 4% due to lower natural gas prices.
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