The two main handlers of rail-dependent Prairie crops have moved slightly off their third-quarter mark in grain freight revenue, with CN’s rising and CP’s falling.
Canadian National (CN) on Tuesday booked combined grain and fertilizer revenue of $336 million for its fiscal quarter ending Sept. 30, up six per cent from the previous Q3.
However, Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), which reports grain and fertilizer revenue in separate commodity categories, on Tuesday pegged its Q3 grain revenue down 3.2 per cent at $290.6 million, but Q3 fertilizer and sulphur revenue up 23.6 per cent at $136.1 million.
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CN reported hauling 135,000 grain and fertilizer carloads in Q3, up two per cent, for revenue per carload of $2,489, up four per cent.
CP, meanwhile, reported 116,900 carloads of grain (down 2.5 per cent) and 48,400 of sulphur and fertilizers (up 15.8 per cent) in Q3, for per-carload revenue of $2,486 (down 0.7 per cent) and $2,812 (up 6.8 per cent) respectively.
“Vigilant”
Across all its operations, CP reported Q3 profit of $186.8 million on $1.342 billion in revenues, down from $197.3 million on $1.286 billion in the year-earlier period. The Calgary company cited its increased operating expenses and a 47 per cent rise in its average price paid for fuel.
“We currently see strength in our bulk franchise, but remain vigilant in monitoring economic signals from Asia,” CP CEO Fred Green said Tuesday.
CN CEO Claude Mongeau, on the other hand, described the Montreal firm’s Q3 results as “impressive,” driven by “record carloadings and revenues” with all commodity groups benefiting from “modest growth in overall economic activity.”
CN also booked higher fuel costs and operating expenses, but noted those were offset in part by the impact of a stronger Canadian dollar on U.S.-dollar-denominated costs.
CN’s overall Q3 profit sits at $659 million on $2.307 million in revenues, up from $556 million on $2.122 billion in the year-earlier period.
