CSX said its third-quarter earnings topped $100 million, up 69% from the $59 million it earned in the third quarter of 2000. CSX added that its third-quarter 2000 earnings did not include the $365 million it gained from selling its contract logistics business last year, which, along with cost-cutting efforts, boosted last year’s third-quarter earnings over $427 million.
"Our railroad is operating at a very high level of efficiency. We are shedding costs, rate increases are holding, and we are taking trucks off the road," said John W. Snow, CSX’s chairman & CEO. "More and more, customers are recognizing the advantages of railroad economics as they seek to lower their supply-chain costs."
CSX added that its intermodal operations, which both compete and cooperate with ruckload carriers, reported big gains in the third quarter of 2001. Third-quarter operating income at CSX’s rail and intermodal businesses totaled $237 million vs. $190 million in the same period last year. That increase comes despite a falloff in traffic, as railcar loads were down 2.6%. Total rail and intermodal revenues stayed flat in the third quarter of this year compared with 2000, hovering at approximately $1.8 billion.
