Railroad News

CN has ordered 1,000 new generation, high-capacity grain hopper cars to help meet the growing needs of North American grain farmers and demands of grain customers.

The order is part of a larger program to build and renew a fleet of 6,000 hopper cars over the next three years, CN officials said in a press release.

CN yesterday announced its board election results, including the unanimous reelection of Robert Pace as chair.

Pace is president and chief executive officer of The Pace Group Ltd., based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The company is engaged in radio broadcasting, real estate and environmental services.

CN yesterday reported first-quarter 2021 net income fell 3.7% to CA$974 million, or $1.37 per diluted share, from CA$1.01 billion, or $1.42 per diluted share, in the same period a year ago.

The Class I’s total revenue of CA$3.5 billion for the quarter was "in line" with Q1 2020, CN officials said in a press release. Operating income rose 9% to CA$1.3 billion, but adjusted operating income of CA$1.2 billion was down 2%.

CN today announced that it has made what it characterizes as a superior proposal to combine with Kansas City Southern in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $33.7 billion, or $325 per share.

"Together, CN and KCS will create the premier railway for the 21st century, seamlessly connecting ports and rails in the United States, Mexico and Canada and providing superior service, enhanced competition and new market access to move goods across North America efficiently and safely," according to a CN press release issued this morning.

CN moved 2.95 million metric tons (MMT) of western Canadian grain in March, exceeding its previous record of 2.74 MMT set in 2020 and 19% ahead of its three-year average of 2.47 MMT, according to a news release.

During first-quarter 2021, CN moved 8.2 MMT of Canadian grain, exceeding its previous first-quarter record of 7.0 MMT established in 2017 and more than 25% higher than the three-year average of 6.5 MMT.  

CN announced today that for the 12th consecutive month it set a new volume record by shipping more than 2.28 million metric tons (MMT) of Canadian grain and processed grain products via carload in February.

This latest mark exceeds the previous February record set in 2019 of 2.12 MMT by more than 7%, CN officials said in a press release.

CN's board announced yesterday it will seek an annual advisory vote on the company's climate action plan during the general meeting of shareholders in April.

The plan includes annual disclosure of greenhouse-gas emissions aligned with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), a science-based 2030 emission intensity-reduction target, and annual progress updates.

“I am pleased that CN has once again been named to this prestigious list, especially as it comes following a year of unprecedented challenges and changes. Railroaders play an essential role in the economy every day and this award belongs to all of them,” Dorothea Klein, senior vice-president and chief human resources officer at CN, said in a press release.

The Montreal Metropolitan region is home to a large portion of CN’s workforce. More than 3,000 of its employees are located in the area, either working in functions based in its historical downtown headquarters or in one of its many operating terminals in the region, according to the press release.

CN has set a new grain-hauling record for the 11th consecutive month by shipping more than 2.95 million metric tons (MMT) of Canadian grain and processed grain products via carload in January.

The grain haul exceeds the previous January record of 2.33 MMT set in 2019 by 27%, as well as the three-year average of 2.24 MMT by 32%, CN officials said in a press release.

CN was ranked the 10th most sustainable corporation in the world on the Corporate Knights 2021 Global 100 Index.

CN is the only railway company included on the list this year, CN officials said in a press release.

CN, in collaboration with Alabama Export Railroad and Ray-Mont Logistics, is launching the first phase of a new high-tech logistics park in Mobile, Alabama. The park is expected to open in late 2021.

The project's first phase will entail a facility for bagging and containerizing plastic pellets. The terminal will include two bagging lines with an annual capacity of 25,000 20-foot equivalent units, CN officials said in a press release.

CN on March 1, 2021, will open a new inland distribution terminal in western Wisconsin, the Class I announced yesterday.

Located at the center of CN's network, the multipurpose facility in New Richmond will include an automotive compound for finished vehicles and an intermodal terminal to serve intermodal shippers and receivers in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.

CN yesterday announced it has renewed its support of research and education at the Centre for Supply Chain Management at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, with a donation of CA$500,000.

The contribution builds on CN's donation of CA$500,000 in 2015. Over the past five years, CN has worked with the center to support student internships and a cooperative education program, establish a CN Fellow in Supply Chain Management, and hold an annual conference on supply chain and logistics in Milton, Ontario. 

CN yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of the date the Canadian government put the railroad's shares up for sale to investors.

At CA$2.25 billion, the sale was the largest initial public offering in Canadian history. And at the time, CN was the largest and oldest crown corporation in Canada.

As of Oct. 30, CN was on track to exceed the 3 million metric tons (MMT) mark of Canadian grain hauled during October, which would break the Class I's previous record of 2.88 MMT moved in October 2019.

The "unprecedented" Canadian grain haul follows seven record months of performance from March through September, CN officials said last week in a press release.

CN yesterday reported third-quarter 2020 revenue fell 11% to CA$3.4 billion compared with the same period a year ago due to lower volumes across most commodity groups.

The Class I reported Q3 diluted earnings per share of CA$1.38, down 17%, and operating income of CA$1.4 billion, down 15%. CN posted an operating ratio of 59.9%, up from 57.9% in Q3 2019.