FYI: As the East Coast railroad cut costs and squeezed efficiencies from a 21,000-mile network, its profits surged in the past three years. So did its stock, climbing more than fourfold ahead of the S&P 500 index over that stretch.
North American railroads like CSX (ticker: CSX)—and Union Pacific (UNP) and Canadian National Railway (CNI)—have been Wall Street favorites, outperforming the S&P 500 as they applied productivity gains and price increases to the rising freight volumes of an economic expansion. Central to the industry’s success has been its embrace of an efficiency strategy known as precision scheduled railroading, or PSR.
Now, freight volumes are declining amid worries over an economic slowdown and a trade war. Price competition from truckers is pressuring rail rates. The railroads’ last hope for continued profit growth is efficiency gains.
Regards,
Ted
https://www.barrons.com/articles/railroad-stocks-could-struggle-as-challenges-mount-51568419201?mod=past_editionsM* Snapshot FSRFX:
https://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/fsrfx/portfolio
