SNOW: CSX OPERATIONS “IMPROVED DRAMATICALLY”

SNOW: CSX OPERATIONS “IMPROVED DRAMATICALLY”

SNOW: CSX OPERATIONS “IMPROVED DRAMATICALLY”

   CSX Corp. reported net income from continuing operations of $59 million for the third quarter, compared to $118 million for the year-earlier period.
   The Richmond, Va.-based company, which operates the largest rail network in the eastern United States, said operating income for CSX's core rail and intermodal businesses was $190 million, compared to $213 million in the third quarter of 1999.
   “Rail operations have improved dramatically in recent months,” said John W. Snow, chairman and chief executive officer of CSX Corp. “We are handling the heavier volumes associated with current seasonal demand well.”
   CSX has struggled to integrate its rail operations with its share of the former Conrail network that it took over in June 1999. However, in the most recent quarter, CSX said it has “improved significantly in the key performance measures of velocity, cars-on-line, yard and terminal dwell times, locomotive utilization and safety.”
   Higher wages, burgeoning fuel prices and softer demand in several commodity groups offset the productivity gains. The railroad experienced declines in autos, chemicals, paper, forest products and coal.
   Operating income for CSX Transportation was $163 million, down 11.9 percent from the year-earlier period. Operating revenue rose 1 percent to $1.5 billion. Operating ratio climbed 1.6 percentage points to 89.1 percent.
   “We have a long way to go to reach our full potential,” Snow said. “The task before us is to offset the effects of spiraling fuel prices, drive out excess costs and gain back market share lost to truckers.”
   CSX subsidiary CSX Intermodal's operating income fell 3.6 percent to $27 million, while operating revenue was flat at $288 million. The intermodal subsidiary's operating ratio was 90.6 percent, compared to 90.3 percent for the year-earlier quarter.
   CSX's third-quarter earnings did not include $365 million in after-tax earnings from the sale of CTI Logistx, a wholly owned logistics subsidiary, on Sept. 22.
   For the first nine months of 2000, CSX earned $132 million before one-time items, compared with $279 million for the comparable period in 1999. The 1999 results included significant earnings from the Sea-Land Service, the international container-shipping operation that was sold to A.P. Moller-Maersk Line in December.
   CSX's rail and intermodal operations reported operating income for the January-September period of $508 million, compared to $710 million in 1999. Operating revenue rose 13.6 percent to $5.4 billion. The 1999 period included only four months of integrated Conrail operations.
   CSX Lines, the company's domestic container shipping subsidiary, reported third-quarter operating income of $7 million on $176 in operating revenue. The carrier saw strong demand in the Alaska and Hawaii-Guam trade lanes, but experienced intense competition in the U.S./Puerto Rico trade. For the nine months, CSX Lines reported $10 million in operating income on $500 million in revenue.
   CSX Terminals, the international-terminal operating subsidiary, reported $19 million in operating income on $81 million in operating revenue for the third quarter and $51 million in operating income and $231 million in revenue for the January-September period.