Surface Transportation Board (STB) Chairman Martin J. Oberman has called on the CEOs of the seven North American Class I’s to provide information on the extent of congestion at key U.S. container terminals and on their policies and practices for assessing container demurrage fees, citing reports of “substantial charges being levied by the railroads for container storage at these terminals.”
CN followed potential merger partner Kansas City Southern (KCS) in reporting financial results for second-quarter 2021, noting C$3.598 billion in revenues—an increase of 12% over the prior-year period—and a 13% increase in revenue ton-miles (RTMs).
Kansas City Southern (KCS) on July 16 was the first Class I to report second-quarter 2021 earnings. For the possibly merger-bound railroad, revenue of $749.5 million grew 37% from the prior-year period ($547.9 million) based on higher carload volumes (up 31%), higher fuel surcharge, and the strengthening of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar. Service quality, however, was somewhat short of company expectations.
Kansas City Southern (KCS) stockholders will vote on the railroad’s proposed combination with CN on Aug. 19.
Proposed merger partners CN and Kansas City Southern (KCS) have submitted to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) a reply to comments filed on the railroads’ voting trust agreement. They detailed why the trust should be approved. KCS rival merger partner Canadian Pacific (CP) is unconvinced.
At Cowen and Company, we are adjusting our rail models in advance of second-quarter earnings reports due later this month from the Class I railroads. The models reflect carloads in the quarter, mix, fuel, FX (foreign exchange) and cost implications as the supply chain remains tight.
Kansas City Southern (KCS) on July 1 released its sustainability report for 2020, focusing on three key areas: “delivering prosperity, valuing people and protecting the planet.”
Following the closing of the public comment period for the CN voting trust, which ended June 28, we are re-calibrating our expectations and now believe there to be a ~60% chance the Surface Transportation Board approves it. Our viewpoints swayed slightly in favor of CN following a closer look at the public comments over the past 20 days.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) process is now under way for program management/program controls services for the development of Port of New Orleans’ (Port NOLA) Louisiana International Terminal.
Kansas City Southern (KCS) and Midstream Texas Operating LLC (MTO) on June 29 reported their long-term agreement to provide truck-to-rail transloading services for petroleum and petrochemicals from Corpus Christi, Tex., into Mexico.
