Inside This Issue
· Mixed Signals: CSX Feeling Challenged Yet Cheerful
· Delayed but Not Denied: Canada Rail Strike Threat Still Looms
· Competing After the Meeting: NS Gets to Work Following Failed Coup
· Mines of Life? A Reprieve for Coal as Energy Demand Spikes?
· Saturday Night Fever? CSX Says Too Many Workers Calling Out
· A Buyer Calling: CN Ready and Able to Do More Shortline Acquisitions
· Why Can’t We Be Friends? A Pickup in Class I Partnership Discussions
Track Talk
“What’s great about coal capacity is, it’s very good at peaking. When demand is very, very strong, you can really ramp up your capacity on your coal-fired plants. And so, you’re losing that as you take these out. And I think people are taking a step back and saying, we have a lot of new data centers coming online. We have a lot of industrial development. And particularly when you look in the south, I think some are getting worried about how they’re going to serve all of that new demand.”
-CSX Chief Commercial Officer Kevin Boone
The Latest
· It won’t happen this week as originally feared. But a Canadian rail strike—against both CN and CPKC—remains possible. Life goes on for now, with both railroads enjoying a strong second quarter in terms of freight volume, offsetting weakness earlier in the year. Coal, a big drag this year for their U.S. counterparts, doesn’t have quite the same importance in Canada. The grain business by contrast is of utmost importance, and trends have improved in advance of the next harvest this fall. Like the two Canadian Class Is, Florida’s CSX joined the investor conference circuit last week, sharing its coal concerns and its domestic intermodal pricing frustrations but also its overall exuberance about winning new business. (read more about last week’s investor events below). This week, all five publicly-traded Class Is are scheduled to speak at a Wolfe Research investor conference. That includes Norfolk Southern, whose new operating chief John Orr will deliver his first major public address following the company’s dramatic May 9th shareholder meeting.
· At that shareholder meeting, Norfolk Southern chief Alan Shaw survived a coup
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