OMAHA, Neb. — BNSF Railway’s first-quarter profit sank as volume fell in all four of the railroad’s business groups.
BNSF’s pre-tax earnings declined 8.8%, to $1.6 billion, as revenue increased 1.9%, to $5.8 billion, BNSF’s parent, Berkshire Hathaway, reported on Saturday. The railroad’s operating ratio was 68.4%, a 3.8-point increase from a year ago, as costs rose 7.8%.
Overall volume declined by 10.3% in the first quarter.
Consumer products volume, which includes intermodal and automotive, fell 16.4%. “The volume decrease was primarily due to lower intermodal shipments resulting from lower West Coast imports and the loss of an intermodal customer, partially offset by an increase in automotive volume from higher vehicle production,” Berkshire said. Schnieder on Jan. 1 shifted its domestic intermodal traffic to Union Pacific from BNSF.
Industrial products volume declined 3.7%, primarily due to lower demand for chemicals and plastics and lumber and paper shipments.
Agricultural products volume was off by 1.6%. “The volume decrease was primarily due to lower grain exports, partially offset by higher volumes of domestic grains, renewable diesel and feedstocks,” Berkshire said.
Coal volume declined by 4.2%. “The volume decrease derived from weather related impacts and moderating demand due to lower natural gas prices,” Berkshire said.
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