KCS First Quarter 2008 Revenues, Operating Income and Operating Ratio Improve; EPS up 86% over Prior Year
KANSAS CITY, Mo. Kansas City Southern (KCS) (NYSE:KSU) recorded first quarter 2008
revenues of $450.6 million, a 9.6% increase over first quarter 2007. The
revenue growth was attributable to a continued strong pricing
environment and carload/unit growth in some of the company’s
business segments.
For the first quarter, KCS revenues were led by automotive, which had
revenue growth of 19.4%, and agriculture and minerals, which experienced
revenue increases of 16.0% quarter over quarter. In addition, in the
first quarter, revenues in chemical and petroleum products increased
14.7%, intermodal grew 9.1%, coal revenues were up 4.2% and forest
products and metals improved 1.4%.
First quarter operating expenses were $367.2 million, an increase of
8.4% over last year. Fuel expenses increased 24.6% over the prior year,
although this was partially offset by fuel surcharge revenue. Operating income for the first quarter of 2007 was $83.4 million
compared with $72.4 million last year, a 15.2% improvement. The first
quarter 2007 operating ratio was 81.5%, a 0.9 point improvement from
first quarter 2007. Net income available to common shareholders in the first quarter totaled
$32.9 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, compared with $17.0 million
and $0.21, respectively, in first quarter 2007. Comments from the Chairman “We are encouraged by the year-over-year
improvement in KCS’ operating ratio especially
in the face of significantly higher fuel expenses and weather conditions
which provided operating challenges throughout much of the first quarter,”
stated Michael Haverty, KCS chairman and chief executive officer. “Increased
revenues and solid improvement in key operating metrics were the drivers
of our results. “Tighter operating discipline contributed to
our stronger operating performance, which was evidenced by improved
trends in train velocity and terminal dwell time in the first quarter.
Changes made in the second half of 2007 have taken hold and moved KCS
ahead in those key measurements. In addition, the integration of
approximately 180 new locomotives into our network fleet has resulted in
significant improvement in locomotive availability over the past few
months. We have thirty more locomotives which will arrive in the second
quarter. This will complete delivery of all 210 units of our three year
fleet renewal program, and will result in KCS having a significantly
younger fleet than just a few years ago. “The combination of new business
opportunities, strong pricing environment, and continuous operating
improvements positions us well for the remainder of the year. Going
forward, KCS has the momentum needed to attain its 2008 operating and
financial targets even within what is projected to be a difficult
economic environment.” Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., KCS is a transportation holding
company that has railroad investments in the U.S., Mexico and Panama.
Its primary U.S. holding includes KCSR, serving the central and south
central U.S. Its international holdings include Kansas City Southern de
Mexico, serving northeastern and central Mexico and the port cities of Lázaro
Cárdenas, Tampico and Veracruz, and a 50%
interest in Panama Canal Railway Company, providing ocean-to-ocean
freight and passenger service along the Panama Canal. KCS' North
American rail holdings and strategic alliances are primary components of
a NAFTA Railway system, linking the commercial and industrial centers of
the U.S., Canada and Mexico. This press release includes statements concerning potential future
events involving the Company, which could materially differ from the
events that actually occur. The differences could be caused by a number
of factors including those factors identified in the "Risk Factors" and
the "Cautionary Information" sections of the Company's Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2007, filed by the Company with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) (Commission file no. 1-4717). The Company
will not update any forward-looking statements in this press release to
reflect future events or developments.
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Kansas City Southern
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Income Statement
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(In millions, except share and per share amounts)
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(Unaudited)
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Three Months
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Ended March 31,
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2008
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2007
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Revenues
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$ 450.6
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$ 411.3
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Operating expenses:
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Compensation and benefits
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106.1
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99.9
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Purchased services
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44.9
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46.7
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Fuel
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77.9
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62.5
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Equipment costs
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45.8
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44.9
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Depreciation and amortization
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40.7
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38.1
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Casualties and insurance
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19.0
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19.4
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Materials and other costs
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32.8
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27.4
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Total operating expenses
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367.2
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338.9
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Operating income
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83.4
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72.4
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Equity in net earnings of unconsolidated affiliates
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4.1
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1.1
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Interest expense
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(39.5
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)
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(39.4
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)
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Foreign exchange gain (loss)
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2.5
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(3.1
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)
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Other income
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3.0
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0.6
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Income before income taxes and minority interest
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53.5
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31.6
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Income tax expense
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15.7
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9.3
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Income before minority interest
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37.8
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22.3
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Minority interest
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0.1
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0.1
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Net income
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37.7
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22.2
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Preferred stock dividends
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4.8
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5.2
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Net income available to common shareholders
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$ 32.9
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$ 17.0
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Earnings per share:
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Basic earnings per share
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$ 0.43
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$ 0.22
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Diluted earnings per share
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$ 0.39
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$ 0.21
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Average shares outstanding (in thousands):
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Basic
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76,253
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75,611
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Potential dilutive common shares
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21,231
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14,724
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Diluted
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97,484
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90,335
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Kansas City Southern
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Revenue & Carloadings By
Commodity –
First Quarter 2008
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(Dollars in Millions)
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Carloadings
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Revenue
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First Quarter
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%
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First Quarter
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%
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2008
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2007
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Change
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2008
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2007
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Change
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Coal
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59,120
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62,299
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(5.1
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%)
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Unit Coal
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$ 37.0
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$ 35.6
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3.9
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%
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13,651
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12,844
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6.3
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%
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Other Coal
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10.0
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9.5
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5.3
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%
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72,771
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75,143
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(3.2
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%)
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Total
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47.0
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45.1
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4.2
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%
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Forest Products & Metals
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27,743
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30,272
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(8.4
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%)
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Pulp/Paper
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41.2
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40.1
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2.7
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%
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4,781
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2,881
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65.9
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%
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Scrap Paper
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5.8
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3.7
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56.8
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%
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5,528
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5,043
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9.6
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%
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Pulpwood/Logs/Chips
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5.2
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4.2
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23.8
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%
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4,661
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6,454
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(27.8
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%)
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Lumber/Plywood
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7.5
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8.9
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(15.7
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%)
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27,284
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29,231
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(6.7
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%)
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Metal/Scrap
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39.7
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36.7
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8.2
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%
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24,781
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28,174
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(12.0
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%)
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Military/Other Carloads
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24.5
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28.6
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(14.3
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%)
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94,778
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102,055
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(7.1
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%)
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Total
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123.9
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122.2
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1.4
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%
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Chemical & Petroleum Products
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4,021
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3,430
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17.2
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%
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Agri Chemicals
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5.4
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4.2
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28.6
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%
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26,273
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22,771
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15.4
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%
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Other Chemicals
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36.9
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29.8
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23.8
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%
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16,489
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17,904
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(7.9
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%)
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Petroleum
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24.1
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23.3
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3.4
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%
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14,862
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10,479
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41.8
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%
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Plastics
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20.3
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18.3
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10.9
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%
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61,645
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54,584
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12.9
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%
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Total
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86.7
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75.6
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14.7
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%
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Agriculture and Minerals
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40,379
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39,156
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3.1
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%
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Grain
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66.3
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52.0
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27.5
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%
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14,546
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16,031
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(9.3
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%)
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Food Products
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23.4
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25.0
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(6.4
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%)
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12,523
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14,208
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(11.9
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%)
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Ores and Minerals
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12.7
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11.8
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7.6
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%
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4,352
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3,475
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25.2
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%
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Stone, Clay & Glass
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6.4
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5.0
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28.0
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%
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71,800
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72,870
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(1.5
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%)
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Total
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108.8
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93.8
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16.0
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%
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Intermodal & Automotive
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124,067
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129,305
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(4.1
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%)
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Intermodal
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35.8
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32.8
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|
9.1
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%
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|
27,212
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22,839
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|
19.1
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%
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Automotive
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28.3
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23.7
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19.4
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%
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151,279
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152,144
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(0.6
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%)
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Total
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64.1
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56.5
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13.5
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%
|
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|
|
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|
|
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|
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|
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452,273
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456,796
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(1.0
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%)
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TOTAL FOR BUSINESS UNITS
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430.5
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393.2
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9.5
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other Revenue
|
|
20.1
|
|
18.1
|
|
11.0
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
452,273
|
|
456,796
|
|
(1.0
|
%)
|
|
TOTAL
|
|
$ 450.6
|
|
$ 411.3
|
|
9.6
|
%
|
|