For third-quarter 2024, BNSF reported that total revenue rose 1% and net earnings were up 13% over the prior-year period, with volumes coming in 8% higher than the same period last year.
For the first nine months of this year, revenue fell 2%, while net income was up 1% and volumes rose 6% from the same point in 2023, BNSF reported Nov. 4. Additionally, average revenue per car/unit declined 5% in the third quarter and 6% for first nine months of 2024 compared with 2023, “resulting from lower fuel surcharge revenue and business mix changes,” according to the Class I railroad.
BNSF said revenue changes also reflected the following:
- Consumer Products volumes increased 17% in both the third quarter and first nine months of 2024 compared with the same periods in 2023, “primarily due to higher intermodal shipments from west coast imports and volumes from a new intermodal customer.”
- Agricultural Products volumes were up 15% and 10%, respectively, in the third quarter and first nine months of 2024, compared with the same periods in 2023. The railroad said the volume increase during the third quarter was “primarily due to higher volumes of grain shipments” and during the first nine months was “primarily due to higher grain shipments, renewable fuels and fertilizer shipments.”
- Industrial Products volumes dipped 2% and 1%, respectively, in the third quarter and first nine months of 2024 compared with the same periods in 2023. BNSF said this was driven primarily by “lower aggregates, taconite, minerals and waste shipments, partially offset by higher volumes in petroleum products.”
- Coal volumes decreased 13% and 21%, respectively, in the third quarter and first nine months of 2024 compared with the same periods in 2023, “primarily due to lower natural gas prices, which displaces coal as a fuel used by utilities,” the railroad reported.
- Other revenues fell 37% and 44%, respectively, in the third quarter and first nine months of 2024 compared with the same periods in 2023, “primarily due to the sale of the brokerage operations of BNSF’s subsidiary, BNSF Logistics, LLC, during the third quarter of 2023.”
According to BSNF, operating expenses for the third quarter and first nine months of 2024 decreased 5% and 4%, respectively, from last year. It attributed a “significant portion” of the decline to the following factors:
- Purchased services expense decreased 16% and 17% in the third quarter and first nine months of 2024, respectively, compared with 2023, “primarily due to lower purchased transportation driven by the sale of brokerage operations of BNSF Logistics, LLC and lower purchased services expense from Montana Rail Link, Inc.”
- Fuel expense decreased 7% in both the third quarter and first nine months of 2024 compared with the same periods in 2023, “primarily due to lower average fuel prices, partially offset by higher volumes.” Additionally, locomotive fuel price per gallon fell 11% and 9% in the third quarter and first nine months of 2024, respectively, compared with the same periods in 2023.
- Materials and other expense dropped 11% and 7% in the third quarter and first nine months of 2024, respectively, compared with last year. The declines, BNSF said, were “primarily due to cost reductions across various spend categories and lower property taxes.” It noted that the decrease in the third quarter was “partially offset by higher casualty costs,” while expenses in the first nine months of 2024 “were partially offset by litigation costs related to a judgment in an ongoing legal case with the Swinomish Tribe, which BNSF has appealed.”
- The Class I reported that there were “no significant changes in compensation and benefits, depreciation and amortization, equipment rents, or interest expense as increases from higher volumes and inflation were more than offset by lower costs and improved productivity.”
