Financial Edge, February 2019: One danger of writing for a monthly periodical is that high-profile situations (say the shutdown of the federal government) might begin and end between two issue publication dates. In a word, to tackle the risk of balancing remaining contemporary without becoming dated, one must be “fearless.”
RailcarRx, Inc., an IT product and service provider to the North American rail industry, has earned SOC 1 (Service Organization Controls) Audit Certification. The audit of RailcarRx’s controls included examination of the company’s data security policy, overall availability of data, monitoring of data processing, business continuity plans and operating environments.
The extreme cold weather impacted North American rail traffic last week as a Polar Vortex shut down Chicago and most rail traffic, freight and passenger, in the region. How did it affect CBR (crude by rail) movements? What is the short- to medium-term impact? PFL Petroleum, in its Feb. 4, 2019 Railcar Report, offered the following analysis:
Fourth-quarter 2018 freight car order, delivery, and backlog figures compiled by the Railway Supply Institute represent a sustainable longer-term market for carbuilders, according to analysis conducted by Steve Barger, Kenneth Newman and Ryan Mills of KeyBanc Capital Markets. Orders were “strong” at 19,955 cars. Carbuilders delivered 13,462 units. The backlog now stands at 80,223—the highest level since 2Q16.
Wabtec Corp. and General Electric (GE) announced Jan. 25 that the planned merger of Wabtec and GE Transportation is expected to close by the end of February 2019, “subject to satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions.” The two have modified the terms of their merger agreement and have publicly filed S4 and S1 registration statements, respectively, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Vernice Armour, a motivational speaker who served as America’s first African-American female combat pilot, will give the keynote address at the Railway Interchange 2019 exhibition and technical conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Armour will address the general session on Monday, Sept. 23.
KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Steve Barger attended the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) conference and came away “believing our bullish thesis on the railcar space is correct.”
Among Class I railroads, BNSF was rated highest in service quality, according to a fourth-quarter 2018 survey of rail shippers conducted by Cowen and Company analysts Jason Seidl (Managing Director, and Railway Age’s Wall Street Contributing Editor), Matt Elkott and Adam Kramer.
The Greenbrier Cos. saw earnings decline on weaker revenue after lower deliveries of new railcars in the first quarter of fiscal 2019.
Tealinc, Ltd., a railcar operating lessor/broker and rail transportation manager/consultant, has promoted Kristen Kempson to Manager Value Creation-Sales and Marketing.
