{"id":22037,"date":"2011-01-28T18:05:01","date_gmt":"2011-01-28T18:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/utu.org\/?p=873"},"modified":"2011-01-28T18:05:01","modified_gmt":"2011-01-28T18:05:01","slug":"railroads-2010-how-sweet-it-was","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smart-union.org\/railroads-2010-how-sweet-it-was\/","title":{"rendered":"Railroads 2010: How sweet it was","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

How did major railroads perform in 2010?<\/p>\n

Reviewing their calendar-year and fourth-quarter profit statements, one wouldn’t know they were operating in the midst of a nationwide recession.<\/p>\n

Profits soared, stock dividends were raised and operating ratios improved. (Operating ratio — a railroad’s operating expenses expressed as a percentage of operating revenue — is considered by economists to be the basic measure of carrier profitability.)<\/p>\n

Wall Street analyst Ed Wolfe reports\u00a0the level of freight car and intermodal loadings for the year registered “the best” year-over-year growth in more than 50 years.<\/p>\n

Wolfe and other analysts also point to the railroads’ pricing strength — the ability to raise rates on shippers with limited effective alternatives to railroad transportation. Many long-term contracts for hauling coal are expiring, and substantial rate increases on that traffic already are\u00a0reflected in new contracts.<\/p>\n

Indeed, railroad CEOs are predicting another strongly profitable year in 2011, which was reflected in year-end railroad stock prices, which were flirting with record highs.<\/p>\n

Following are profit reports from the major railroads:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Canadian National:<\/strong><\/p>\n