UBS Railroads Weekly：Volume +3.6% In Week 32； Western Rails Volume Growth Driven By Recent Shift of IM Volumes

Investment Rating - The report does not explicitly state an investment rating for the railroad industry, but it provides various performance metrics and trends that can inform investment decisions. Core Insights - Railroad volumes increased by 3.6% year-over-year in Week 32, following a growth of 3.5% in Week 31 and 2.9% in Week 30, with BNSF and UP showing significant increases of 7.0% and 7.8% respectively [2][3][10] - A shift of international intermodal volumes to US West Coast ports due to potential strikes at Canadian rails has likely benefited BNSF and UP intermodal volumes in recent weeks [2][3] - All end markets, excluding coal, were above trend in Week 32, with agriculture traffic increasing by 18.1% year-over-year [3][10] Summary by Category Volume Growth - BNSF carloads increased by 7.0% year-over-year, UP volumes rose by 7.8%, while CSX shipments grew by 0.4% and NS carloads rose by 3.7% [2][3] - CN volumes decreased by 2.6% year-over-year, and CPKC volumes fell by 3.8% [2] Performance Metrics - In the western U.S., train speed fell by 4.7% year-over-year for BNSF, while UP's velocity increased by 0.9% [4] - In the eastern U.S., CSX's velocity improved by 7.3% year-over-year, and NS's velocity increased by 8.9% [4][11] Dwell Time - Dwell time improved by 6.2% year-over-year for BNSF and 2.9% for UP in the western U.S. [5] - In the eastern U.S., dwell time deteriorated by 3.9% for CSX and 6.6% for CN, while it improved by 10.8% for CPKC [5][11] Sector Performance - Intermodal shipments increased by 7.1% year-over-year, while coal traffic decreased by 9.8% [3][10] - Automotive shipments were up by 0.3% year-over-year, and shipments of industrial products rose by 1.8% [3][10]