The
CSX said the number of shipments it delivered declined 2% as auto production remained weak because of the shortage of computer chips, but demand for most industrial shipments remained strong and the railroad delivered nearly the same number of containers of imported goods as it did the previous year.
The results beat
The freight railroad said its revenue grew 21% to
CSX said its expenses surged 28% to
The economy remains strong, so Windau said the demand for more shipments is there if the railroads and all the other parts of the supply chain can handle them.
CSX continues to struggle with having a significant number of workers off because of COVID-19 — particularly in recent weeks as the highly contagious omicron variant spread — and hiring has been slower than the railroad would like. CEO
“I think it’s safe to say that things might be getting a little bit better, but everything is still challenged to a large degree right now because there’s so many people that are off sick,” Foote said. “Our case numbers are way up, so there’s still a big problem with having a consistent supply of workforce here.”
CSX said it expects volume to grow faster than the gross domestic product in 2022 with the number of shipments steadily improving throughout the year as the supply chain problems get resolved.
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