BNSF Profit Rises 8.5 Percent Despite Traffic Decline

BNSF Railway’s profit rose 8.5 percent year-over-year to $766 million in the third quarter, as the railroad's revenue rose 13 percent despite traffic falling 1.9 percent.

The railroad attributed the revenue gain to higher fuel surcharges and improved yields, a combination of higher pricing and better utilization, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Revenue rose to $4.9 billion and operating expenses increased 14 percent year-over-year to $3.5 billion.

Reflecting the strong pricing power all major railroads have been showing, BNSF’s average per-shipment revenue rose 14.8 percent to $2,016. The company’s consumer product traffic rose 8.9 percent, coal shipments fell 11.2 percent, industrial product traffic was flat and agriculture shipments fell 12 percent.

BNSF is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, the investment firm owned by Warren Buffett.

-- Contact Mark Szakonyi at mszakonyi@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @Szakonyi_JOC