Management

Employment up year-over-year, past month

Figures released by the Surface Transportation Board show Class I railroads employed 162,766 people in mid-November, up 1.65% from November 2011, and up 0.20% from October 2012.

The supply side: We’re always dodging rain clouds

Railway suppliers are a resilient and optimistic bunch. They know that if times are tough, a better day will come. Over 1,300 railroaders and suppliers attended the September 2012 RSI/CMA meeting, and I detected a sense of optimism. I’d like to explore some of the reasons why.

Wall Street view: Stuck in neutral?

Looking ahead to 2013, we find the same central question facing us that we have over the past few years, and that is what the economic environment will look like. We have maintained the basic premise that the North American economy will grow modestly in 2013. There are several issues that likely will determine the direction of railroad equities in the coming year.

2013 Freight Rail Outlook: The challenge of change

Resilience and resourcefulness are two terms that have become closely associated with North American railroads in recent years. The industry has emerged from the worst economic recession since the Great Depression in relatively solid shape, and enters 2013 positioned for growth.

  • M/W

Progress Rail acquires welding company

Progress Rail Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., said Tuesday it has purchased mobile welding assets from RibbonWeld LLC, a rail welding company based in Springfield, Mo.

CP, Teamsters Canada workers reach accord

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference-Maintenance of Way Employees Division (TCRC-MWED), representing 2,600 maintenance of way workers, and Canadian Pacific reached a tentative historic five-year contract settlement, CP announced Tuesday.

Greenbrier Cos. tapped by Statoil

The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. said Monday it has been selected by energy provider Statoil Marketing and Trading (US), Inc. “to deliver comprehensive railcar management and maintenance solutions for Statoil’s fleet of more than 1,000 tank cars.”

CP’s Harrison: A “mid-60s” operating ratio by 2016

At an investor conference in New York on Tuesday, Dec. 4, Canadian Pacific’s recently installed President and CEO E. Hunter Harrison outlined his plan for taking the railroad out of last place among North American Class I’s in terms of operating ratio, productivity, cost structure, business growth, and other performance measurements.

CP scraps PRB buildout, will take 4Q write-down

When Canadian Pacific acquired the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern railroad in 2007, it also acquired the option to build a 260-mile extension of DM&E’s network into Powder River Basin coal mines, a plan on which DM&E had begun work several years earlier.
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