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Toby Kolstad, President, Rail Theory Forecasts

Toby Kolstad

President, Rail Theory Forecasts

What is a GLG Leader?|GLG Leaders are a separate tier of Council Members with a Council Rank in the top 5%. These GLG Member Program participants are eligible for ongoing, in-depth consultative relationships with GLG clients.

Member of the Transportation Council

Council Member Biography

Toby Kolstad is President of Rail Theory Forecasts, a firm providing consulting and forecasting services in North American rail freight traffic and railcar demand. Mr. Kolstad has more than 35 years of experience in the railroad industry. He also has experience in managing railroad operations. Prior, Mr. Kolstad was Vice President at Greenbrier Leasing, Director of Car Management at The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, and General Superintendent for the Illinois Central RR. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Tulane University, an MS in Applied Mathematics from the California Institute of Technology, and an MBA in Operations Research from the University of Chicago. (This is me - Update Profile)


Employment History

2001 - present
President, Rail Theory Forecasts
1989 - 2001
Vice President, GREENBRIER LEASING COMPANY LLC
1985 - 1989
Director of Car Management, The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG)
1971 - 1985
General Superintendent of Car Control, ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMPANY (INC)

GLG NewsSM Analyses by Toby Kolstad(?)

Opinions and analyses expressed in GLG News are solely those of the author. See the Terms of Use for details.

Mr. Buffet, buying a real railroad is not like in the board game.

November 6, 2009

Toby Kolstad, President, Rail Theory Forecasts

Buffett: Railroad business is 'in tune with the future' | www.usatoday.com

Hardly anyone can resist the temptation to by a railroad in the game of “Monopoly.” They are reasonably priced, have OK earnings potential, and if all four are owned, they have outsized rental rates and the payment rates with sites on all four sides of the board. In real life however, railroads are...

Freightcar America has a strong balance sheet; but that’s all!

October 3, 2009

Toby Kolstad, President, Rail Theory Forecasts

FreightCar America: A Long-Term Bargain Today | stocks.investopedia.com

Freightcar America is a fine company with an old pedigree and a reputation for producing some of the best coal cars in America. Although the company has no debt, it also has few prospects for growth, since it seems that almost everyone, want to decrease coal usage in the future. While it has designs...

Continued Rise in rail traffic is far from certain

September 28, 2009

Toby Kolstad, President, Rail Theory Forecasts

Back On Track? | finance.yahoo.com

The weekly AAR railroad traffic report is an excellent real-time indicator of the health of the economy. Unfortunately, the volume changes, even when measured over many weeks, are generally so small that they are dismissed by most observers. Moreover, the freight rate increases pushed by the railroads...

NS is tooting is own horn too loudly on fuel efficiency!

September 16, 2009

Toby Kolstad, President, Rail Theory Forecasts

Norfolk Southern's Sustainability Report Highlights Carbon Footprint, Improved Fuel Economy | finance.yahoo.com

Norfolk Southern rightly claims that it has increased it fuel efficiency by 10% during the past ten years; but that achievement is less than half of what the other major carriers in the U.S. have achieved during the same period. The BNSF has notched a 24% gain, the UP has made a 23% improvement, and...

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Leading institutions connect with Toby Kolstad through GLG

GLG Live Meetings with Toby Kolstad(?)

Recent Seminars

October 8, 2009 | New York

Seminar: Rail Trends (New York)

September 29, 2008 | New York

GLG Seminar: (NYC) Rail Cars

September 25, 2008 | Chicago

GLG Seminar: (Chicago) Rail Cars

October 2, 2007 | Boston

GLGi: Rail Industry Forecast

October 11, 2006 | San Francisco

GLGi: Railcar Business Cycle

GLG Webcasts

GLGi: Rail Industry Forecast

October 2, 2007

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View All GLG Live Meetings with Toby Kolstad