Class I railroads

Deutsche Bank sees some winners as earnings season approaches

Werner truck on highway

In a report to clients, Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) analyst Amit Mehrotra views the outlook for transportation equities as “favorable” heading into the second quarter earnings season.

He said transportation demand bottomed in late April with a slow but steady recovery since. Citing recent conversations with management teams at a dozen transportation companies and a sequentially improving demand backdrop, Mehrotra initiated favorable “catalyst calls” on Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN), XPO...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/deutsche-bank-sees-some-winners-as-earnings-season-approaches

Class 1 railroads may make some cost-cutting measures permanent

A photograph of a train in a rail yard. There are electricity lines above the train and behind it.

The Class I railroads are considering retaining some of the measures they implemented to scale down operations as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to comments some executives have made at recent industry conferences.

“I’m very confident that as we do add back resources, we will not add them back on a one-to-one basis,” said CN (NYSE: CNI) Chief Financial Officer Ghislain Houle at the Deutsche Bank 11th Annual Virtual Global Industrials & Materials Summit on June 9.

Houle was...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/class-1-railroads-may-make-some-cost-cutting-measures-permanent

Railcars in storage spike in May

Railcars at a yard

After hovering around the 400,000-unit mark all year, railcars in storage spiked 25% in May to 520,729. This was the one of many takeaways from the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) June report.

As of June 1, 31.2% of the 1.67 million North American freight car fleet were in storage. The AAR considers a car in storage if it hasn’t hauled a load in the past 60 days and has moved empty since carrying its last load.

A soft industrial economy, exacerbated by COVID-19-related manufacturing...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/railcars-in-storage-spike-in-may

Good economic news: BendPak opens Alabama distribution center

The opening of BendPak’s Alabama distribution center (DC) is good news in a time when there is very little good news.

“The economic outlook globally is stressed and uncertain. BendPak investing in Mobile shows economic confidence is out there and the public gets some good economic news,” said Jimmy Lyons, director emeritus of the Alabama State Port Authority (ASPA).

BendPak, which manufactures and sells automotive lifts used in car dealerships and parking garages, has opened a 100,000-square-foot...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/good-economic-news-bendpak-opens-alabama-distribution-center

U.S. Class I railroads inch towards full positive train control implementation

A photograph of a freight train locomotive.

One-hundred percent of the tracks owned by the U.S. operations of the Class I railroads have completed the advanced field testing of positive train control (PTC), a federally mandated safety technology that must be implemented on all Class I railroads, Amtrak and certain commuter rail lines by December 31 of this year, according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). 

The advanced field testing stage, known as revenue service demonstration (RSD), is among the last steps to completing the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/u-s-class-i-railroads-inch-towards-full-positive-train-control-implementation

Commentary: When will PSR-driven volume and service growth emerge?

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates. 

This week’s strategic question is “What are the bold new benefits shippers can expect now that the freight railways are super-efficient?”

It is May, and freight carriers – including the railroads – have issued their first quarter 2020 report cards. Simultaneously, it is a time of considerable economic uncertainty.

Previously in such crises, certain companies and...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary:-when-will-psr-driven-volume-and-service-growth-emerge?

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