How Genesee and Wyoming’s Volumes Trended in July 2017

Genesee and Wyoming (GWR) operates in North America excluding Mexico, the UK, parts of Europe, and parts of Australia. The company is the largest short-line operator in the US.

In July 2017, Genesee and Wyoming recorded a slight decline in its North American traffic YoY (year-over-year). The company moved around 130,000 railcars in July 2017 compared to 131,000 units in July of last year.

GWR’s North American coal (ANR) and coke railcars grew 5.2% in July 2017. The company hauled 21,000 coal and coke railcars the same month compared with ~17,000 railcars in the same month last year. Higher shipments in the company’s Midwest region drove the coal volume rise.

Agricultural products volumes fell 20.0% on account of reduced shipments in GWR’s Mountain West region. The drought-like conditions in South Dakota and lower exports of dried distillers’ grains in the company’s Pacific region led the decline in shipments. Food and kindred products volumes fell 6% in July 2017 on a year-over-year basis.

Metals traffic was up 11.5% mainly due to higher shipments of finished steel and pipe in GWR’s Northeast region. Among the other commodity groups, auto and auto parts, chemicals, metals, waste, petroleum products (UGAZ), and metallic ores reported volume gains.

Genesee and Wyoming isn’t a Class I railroad (NSC) (CSX). However, it is often compared with other US Class I railroads due to its scale of operations. On a reported basis, GWR recorded a 2% volume gain in its North American operations in July 2017. However, investors should note that the company’s same railroad carload growth remains subdued in 2017.

In the final part, we’ll review GWR’s European freight data in July 2017.