CSX says freight decline bottoming out - Jacksonville Business Journal:

hustbelogehy1857.blogspot.com
But the anticipated decline won’t be as sharp as the 21 percentg decline in volumes in the second quarter because the markef appears to havebottomed out, he said. The decline in volumes handled coupled with less cushioninv from fuel surcharge recovery resulted in a 20 percenty declinein CSX’s earningw in the second quarter. The company postec earning of $308 million, or 78 cents per compared to $385 million, or 93 centsd per share, from the same period last The earnings per share was 16 centas higher thananalysts predicted. CSX’s revenue in the secondr quarter fell 25 percentto $2.2 billion.
Ward said an anticipatee increase in more automotivse and light vehicles being built in the third quarter than the seconx quarter was one sign that the market was He also pointed to a stabilizatiob of the transport of metalszand chemical, which signify manufacturing “They’re not moving at an overly robusgt pace but we don’t see any further said Ward. He said the amount of furloughed employeeds has declined by about 200 to but that’s more because of existing employees retiring or goinv on vacation than a return of freight The proposed federal cap-and-trade program could be a double-edged sword for the On the plus side, rail’s ability to move goodxs with a less environmental impact makes them more attractive to customersz looking to reduce the amount of emissions their suppl y chain creates.
But the program will also likelty hinder the building of new coal fired meaning there will be less coal to transport orthered won’t be growth in its coal division. The company said its coal shipments dropped by 21 percenf in the second quarter because utilities’ reduced usage, lower gas prices and a decreaswe in coal exports. The company says its operating expensesx declined 27 percent due to cost management effortsd and increasednetwork efficiency. This allowed the company to have an operatingy incomeof $582 million and an operation ratio of 73.4 percen for the quarter.