CSX Revenue up 24% in Third Quarter

CSX said Wednesday that during the third quarter of 2021 it had revenue of $3.29 billion, an increase of 24 percent compared with the same period in 2020.

The railroad said it posted a third quarter increase of 3 percent in volume. Coal traffic increased 16 percent while intermodal was up 4 percent.

Merchandise traffic fell 2 percent, which CSX officials attributed largely to a 26 percent plunge in automotive traffic.

Auto production in North America has slowed in recent months due to computer chip shortages.

CSX said net earnings for the quarter were $928 million (or $0.43 per share), a gain of 32 percent compared with the same quarter in 2020 ($736 million or $0.32 per share).

Operating income rose 26 percent to $1.44 billion. The operating ratio was 56.4 percent compared with 56.9 percent in 2020. 

“We are committed to helping our customers overcome current supply chain constraints and will continue to take action in order to keep our network fluid and design new solutions that enable the delivery of critical goods to millions of Americans,” CSX CEO James M. Foote said during an earnings announcement.

Officials said CSX is increasing overflow capacity at 13 container yards including in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis and Louisville. The program is designed to create additional storage and capacity.

They said this would free truck capacity and reduce port terminal congestion.

Since July, CSX said it has increasing hiring of train and engine operating personnel by 300 percent.

The carrier has created incentive programs to increase existing employee availability and hired additional workers at intermodal terminals to maintain fluidity.

During the earnings announcement, CSX said it expects double-digit revenue growth and plans to spend on capital programs between $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion.

More information is available at https://investors.csx.com/overview/default.aspx

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