Union Pacific Corp.'s third-quarter earnings declined 26 percent as volume and freight volume again declined across all segments, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The near-term outlook for the freight sector appears to be improving, with some on Wall Street striking a more bullish tone on sequential improvements in commodity traffic. For its part, Union Pacific said Thursday business volumes seemed to have stabilized, but at very low levels.
Along those lines, peer CSX Corp. (CSX) last week posted a 23 percent drop in third-quarter profit on continued sluggish freight demand, but results topped Wall Street's expectations.
Union Pacific Corp. reported earnings of $517 million, or $1.02 a share, down from $703 million, or $1.38 a share, a year earlier. Revenue slid 24 percent to $3.67 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1 on revenue of $3.69 billion.
The average quarterly fuel price dropped 49 precent. Total freight revenue fell 25 percent as volume decreased 15 percent.
Revenue at the company's intermodal segment, its largest, was down 22 percent as volume fell 13 percent. The automotive segment posted a 30 percent decrease in revenue, as auto makers post lower year-to-year results, amid a 19 percent drop in volume.
Union Pacific's shares were at $62.92, inactive in premarket trading. The stock is up about a third this year.
(This item appeared Oct. 22, 2009, in the Wall Street Journal.)
