ARRC posts $4.4m loss on falling freight volumes

State-owned Alaska Railroad Corp. saw cargo revenues drop 16 percent to $69.6 million for the full year in 2016 as volumes of petroleum products and coal tumbled from the previous year, according to the company’s most recent financial statements.    The Alaska Railroad Corp. (ARRC) posted a $4.4 million loss for the full year in 2016, compared with a profit of $10.9 million the previous year, according to the company’s most recent financial statements.
   The state-owned passenger and cargo railway saw freight revenues fall 16 percent to $69.6 million as volumes of petroleum products and coal tumbled 23 percent and 50 percent, respectively, from the previous year.
   Overall freight volumes fell 13.5 percent to 3.71 million tons compared with 2015 levels.
   On the passenger side, however, ARRC saw revenues grow 6 percent year-over-year to $32.7 million in 2016. Total operating revenues slid 7.6 percent to $169.8 million for the year.
   “To say that 2016 proved to be a year full of challenges would be an understatement,” ARRC said in its 2016 annual report. “Never before has the Alaska Railroad Corporation (‘ARRC’) had to roll with as many punches as came its way during 2016.
   “Beginning with the continued malaise in the energy markets that had a dampening effect on the entire Alaskan economy, ARRC went to great lengths to scale its freight operations down to match the unprecedented decline in this revenue stream.”
   Other “significant” challenges the railroad faced during the year included new pension accounting standards, which resulted in an additional $3.5 million in expenses above the initial 2016 budget, and a grant fund dispute between ARRC and the Municipality of Anchorage, which resulted in a $7.4 million revenue loss.