RailAmerica: Revenue up as carloads lag

RailAmerica, Inc., which operates 43 short line and regional railroads in 27 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces, reports that it achieved double-digit revenue growth in this year’s first quarter, although freight carloads failed to meet projections.

This news came in an announcement that in the last month of the quarter, June, total freight carloads were down 4.4% from June 2010.

June 2011 carloads included 660 from the acquisition of three railroads in Alabama. On a “same railroad” basis, carloads declined 5.3%. The company said coal traffic reflected declines in shipments to several power plants in the Central region and source shifts at the Indiana Southern Railroad.

Charles Patterson, RailAmerica’s chief commercial officer, commented: “Second-quarter carloads came in below our target mainly due to lower coal shipments, which were impacted by sourcing shifts in the Illinois Basin, reduced demand across several utilities, and flooding. Despite lower carloads, we achieved double-digit total revenue growth for the second quarter due to favorable pricing, as well as continued strength in non-freight revenue.”