If the past few months are any indication, the answer is yes. Just ask BNSF. BNSF Railway posted a double-digit return on net investment for the 12 months ending June 30, 2010—right through the worst of the Great Recession.
Employment on U.S. Class I railroads reached 159,340 in June, an increase of 1.15%, or 1,688 workers over May and a 5.16% increase over June 2010. Train crew employment (transportation-train and engine)
$7 billion is available for Class II and Class III railroads.
Ever since Warren Buffett gave his blessing to railroads by buying one, financial analysts and pundits have been examining this 175-year-old industry for clues to its re-emergence as a savvy investor’s favorite.
Rail shipper and carrier executives convened in San Francisco recently for the annual North American Rail Shippers Association meeting. Despite the anti-rail rhetoric of a minority of rail customers—who were for the most part absent—the meeting had the atmosphere of a reunion of old friends.
Coal has always been extremely important to the rail industry, as highlighted by its well-earned moniker “King Coal.” Indeed, the marriage between coal and the railroads was a natural one, with railroads being the best at bulk land shipping and coal being a widely abundant natural resource.
A Railway Age editorial I posted on line last in June 2011 about the most recent legislative attempt to break up Amtrak and privatize the pieces drew a 99% favorable response. Here’s an excerpt:
How Union Pacific achieved a record 8.6-day car cycle time. For many years, freight car shortages plagued the railroad industry.
Most global passenger rail suppliers accept a basic schism in their marketplace: Europe and most of Asia seek passenger designs based on crash avoidance. U.S. counterparts had to meet crash survivability priorities.
The economic downturn brought a great deal of hardship to carriers across the supply chain. Many shippers took the opportunity to re-bid their trucking contracts out of cycle, placing even more pressure on companies in the trucking sector.
