GLG News by Railcar Market Experts (EU)

A second container vessel will make weekly stops at CN’s container terminal in Prince Rupert BC potentially bringing 1000 more containers per week to CN for movement to the Midwest and possibly raising the terminal’s inbound volume to over 2,000 containers per week.  At that volume, more than one...

On June 30, 2008, the STB ruled that CSX was charging excessively high rates to Dupont for several movements of chemical products and ordered the railroad to reduce them and pay reparations to Dupont . Several weeks ago, the STB ruled that UP had overcharged a Kansas Utility and ordered them to reduce...

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported that the Midwest Floods “continued to negatively impact rail freight traffic” during last week, a statement easily verified by a quick check of the weekly carloads of the UP RR which showed at 10% drop in carload for the week ending June 21. However,...

    The input costs for utilities to generate electricity are up.  These costs include coal, transportation, natural gas, and power purchases.  There are no guarantees, however, that a regulated utility may pass along these costs as discussed in the commentary section.

    Wind power qualifies for production tax credits.  These production tax credits are set to expire on December 31, 2008 without renewal by Congress and the President.

    Bituminous coal prices have soared over 100% in the last year.  This is obviously bad news to electric consumers dependent upon utilities with a large exposure to coal-fired generation.  The run-up in coal prices could be a benefit to some utilities.

    As the article correctly points out, capital costs to build a new power plant have risen considerably since 2000; coal plants included.  It is not just the up-front capital costs that have affected decisions to build new coal plants as discussed in the commentary sectio...

The recent announcements of major cutbacks in US light vehicle production will definitely have a negative impact on both railroad traffic volumes and railroad profits. While this traffic only accounts for only 5% of all US carload shipments, its hefty margins contribute much more to the bottom line...

Overlooking the author’s tendency for hyperbole and his greatly distorted timeline of history, his conclusion that demand for new coal cars will soon return is right on target. He is also right in highlighting the current danger to those builders who might be exposed to fixed price contracts and escalating...

The in Forbes article about the large number of surplus railcars, the author incorrectly blames the railroad companies for stocking up on ethanol cars until the “ethanol bubble burst” and they realized they had built too many cars. In truth, railcar leasing companies ordered the cars after hearing requests...