Latest news with #BNSF
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BNSF aims to grow carload traffic with rail service upgrades
BNSF Railway carries more intermodal, coal, and grain traffic than any other railroad. And now it's looking to boost its relatively small carload network through a combination of improved service, more frequent customer switching, and tighter partnerships with its top short line connections. 'We know intermodal's a big part of the growth future. We've developed the ag [agriculture] shuttle network on the bulk side, and we certainly like our bulk network,' BNSF Chief Marketing Officer Tom Williams said in a recent interview. 'I don't want it to be lost that we care very much about that single-car merchandise network, too.' Over the past year BNSF has taken steps to improve the efficiency of its merchandise network, starting with pushing down terminal dwell at its hump yards and emphasizing on-time train departures. Those efforts paid off as BNSF posted all-time best terminal dwell figures in May. For the second quarter, terminal dwell was 21.9 hours, a 17% improvement compared to the second quarter of 2024. And — bucking the long-term industry trend — BNSF has increased service frequency for 225 of its merchandise customers. A carload facility that received three days of service per week, for example, might now see a BNSF local on its spurs five days a week. Some five-day-per-week customers, meanwhile, went to daily service. 'And that, in total, equates to about 21,000 additional annualized service days per year,' Williams said. The hope is that the more frequent local service will lead to volume growth once the industrial economy rebounds. The railway's Short Line Select program, rolled out last fall to improve interchange performance, has cut dwell nearly in half on participating short lines. Volume on the Short Line Select railroads is up around 5% this year, compared to flat volumes on other short line connections as well as the balance of BNSF's merchandise business. 'The whole name of the game of what we've been doing in the merchandise network is improving the velocity,' Williams said. The combination of more efficient terminals and more frequent local service helps cars spin faster from origin to destination and return. Car-miles per day are up 25% compared to a year ago, which shaves two days off the transit time for a car that moves 1,000 miles. What this means is that customers can move the same amount of freight using fewer cars, or put their suddenly surplus cars to work hauling more freight. 'It's good for us, it's good for the customers,' Williams said. 'We've reduced the inventory year over year by 20%.' Amid these operational improvements, BNSF in June introduced a new First Mile/Last Mile group that includes the 13 people from its Shortline Development and Industrial Products Business Development teams. Their focus is on understanding the needs of BNSF's merchandise customers. 'This isn't about us going to the customer and telling them this is our network and … you fit it or you don't,' Williams said. Rather, BNSF wants to collaborate with its carload customers, learn how rail fits into their supply chains, and how local service tweaks could better fit their needs and lead to growth, he explained. Short Line Select, meanwhile, aims to tighten the commercial relationship with top connecting railroads. Participating lines include Genesee & Wyoming's Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway, Burlington Junction Railway, Genesee & Wyoming's Portland & Western Railway, TNW Corporation's Texas Northwestern Railroad and Red River Valley & Western, and Watco's Timber Rock Railroad. 'One-third of our carload freight originates or terminates on a short line,' said Mark Ganaway, who leads BNSF's shortline team. 'That's a significant portion of our business. We needed a way to move from transactional relationships to strategic partnerships.' Last year BNSF handled 2.43 million merchandise carloads, a figure that does not include coal or grain. 'Interchanging more than 260,000 carloads per year, G&W and BNSF have an outstanding partnership. Having two G&W railroads — Alabama & Gulf Coast Railway in the east and Portland & Western Railroad in the west — participate in the BNSF Shortline Select program is a natural step in the evolution of our relationship,' said Kimberly Thompson, a vice president of sales and marketing at G&W. 'BNSF's program taps into the strengths of both a Class I and a short line to broaden both of our market reach and drive more traffic to rail as a safer and more sustainable alternative to trucking.' BNSF is adding shortline transload locations to its Premier Transload Program directory. It's also expanding its Certified Sites to include locations on short lines. The sites are rail-served properties that are ready for development. Among them: A site in the Mobile Gateway Park on the AGR in Alabama and a site on the Portland & Western that's 45 miles north of Portland and will emphasize import/export containerized traffic. The next step in BNSF's merchandise growth efforts will be improving the suite of technology tools that customers use to interact with the railroad, said Williams. Traditionally, BNSF has purchased off-the-shelf technology applications. Now it's building an in-house tech team that will develop BNSF-specific systems. Customers should see improvements rolled out over the next six to 18 months, Williams said. Subscribe to FreightWaves' Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your Goldman Sachs advising BNSF on potential merger Analysis: UP-NS rail merger spotlights individual legacies in a legacy business Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern in merger talks: WSJ Report: Investment firm advising Union Pacific on potential rail merger The post BNSF aims to grow carload traffic with rail service upgrades appeared first on FreightWaves. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Report: Goldman Sachs advising BNSF on potential merger
News reports say that BNSF Railway has hired Goldman Sachs to advise it about a potential rail merger. Semafor, an online publication, reported Monday evening that BNSF has engaged Goldman Sachs in the wake of Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) working with Morgan Stanley regarding a potential merger with Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC). Both reports cited people familiar with the matter. The railroads and investment banks declined to comment. The report said it was not clear whether BNSF was interested in CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) or Norfolk Southern. NS is reportedly the target of Union Pacific, and the two railroads have been in merger talks since the first quarter, the Associated Press reported last week. BNSF is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, controlled by investor Warren Buffett. The publicly-held Class I railroads begin to report second quarter earnings this week. CSX reports July 23, UP on July 24, and NS, July 29. There has not been a big merger involving the major Class I systems since the Surface Transportation Board adopted tighter merger review regulations in 2001. Subscribe to FreightWaves' Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your UP-NS rail merger spotlights individual legacies in a legacy business Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern in merger talks: WSJ Report: Investment firm advising Union Pacific on potential rail merger BNSF, UP settle dispute over Salt Lake City intermodal service The post Report: Goldman Sachs advising BNSF on potential merger appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
BNSF hires Goldman, CSX seeks bankers as Union Pacific sparks rail M&A race, sources say
July 21 (Reuters) - BNSF Railway has hired Goldman Sachs (GS.N), opens new tab and CSX Corp (CSX.O), opens new tab is in talks to bring on financial advisers, as rival Union Pacific's interest in acquiring Norfolk Southern sparked a wave of deal preparations that could reshape the U.S. freight rail industry, sources said. The moves by BNSF, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N), opens new tab , and Jacksonville-based CSX come after Union Pacific (UNP.N), opens new tab began exploring a potential acquisition of Norfolk Southern (NSC.N), opens new tab, which could create a $200 billion coast-to-coast rail network and mark the most significant consolidation in the sector in decades. Any potential deal is expected to undergo intense regulatory scrutiny and remains far from certain. Goldman and CSX declined to comment. BNSF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Shares of Norfolk Southern were up 2.4% in extended trading. Berkshire bought BNSF in 2010, paying $26.5 billion for the 77.4% of the railroad it didn't already own. The last major rail merger occurred in 2023, when Canadian Pacific acquired Kansas City Southern, forming the first network to span Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. That deal followed a failed bid by Canadian National, underscoring how competitive pressures can quickly escalate in the sector. In 2024, Union Pacific led the industry with $24.3 billion in revenue, followed by BNSF, CSX, Canadian National ( opens new tab Norfolk and Canadian Pacific Kansas City ( opens new tab. Talks between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are still in early stages, the people said. Any merger would require approval from the Surface Transportation Board, which could take up to two years. CSX would be a better fit for Union Pacific than Norfolk Southern, said David O'Hara, managing director at MKP Advisors. 'With first-mover advantage, Union Pacific will buy whoever in the East wants to make themselves available," O'Hara said. "And whoever is left out in the cold ultimately will get bought by Burlington Northern - that will almost have to happen."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BNSF hires Goldman, CSX seeks bankers as Union Pacific sparks rail M&A race, sources say
By Sabrina Valle (Reuters) -BNSF Railway has hired Goldman Sachs and CSX Corp is in talks to bring on financial advisers, as rival Union Pacific's interest in acquiring Norfolk Southern sparked a wave of deal preparations that could reshape the U.S. freight rail industry, sources said. The moves by BNSF, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, and Jacksonville-based CSX come after Union Pacific began exploring a potential acquisition of Norfolk Southern, which could create a $200 billion coast-to-coast rail network and mark the most significant consolidation in the sector in decades. Any potential deal is expected to undergo intense regulatory scrutiny and remains far from certain. Goldman and CSX declined to comment. BNSF did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Shares of Norfolk Southern were up 2.4% in extended trading. Berkshire bought BNSF in 2010, paying $26.5 billion for the 77.4% of the railroad it didn't already own. The last major rail merger occurred in 2023, when Canadian Pacific acquired Kansas City Southern, forming the first network to span Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. That deal followed a failed bid by Canadian National, underscoring how competitive pressures can quickly escalate in the sector. In 2024, Union Pacific led the industry with $24.3 billion in revenue, followed by BNSF, CSX, Canadian National Norfolk and Canadian Pacific Kansas City. Talks between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are still in early stages, the people said. Any merger would require approval from the Surface Transportation Board, which could take up to two years. CSX would be a better fit for Union Pacific than Norfolk Southern, said David O'Hara, managing director at MKP Advisors. 'With first-mover advantage, Union Pacific will buy whoever in the East wants to make themselves available," O'Hara said. "And whoever is left out in the cold ultimately will get bought by Burlington Northern - that will almost have to happen."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Berkshire-owned BNSF taps bankers for its own rail acquisition
The Scoop BNSF, the railroad giant owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, is working with Goldman Sachs to explore a takeover of a rival, according to people familiar with the matter. Its interest comes as its chief rival, Union Pacific, pursues a takeover of Norfolk Southern, Semafor reported Thursday, which would create the country's only coast-to-coast railroad and leave BNSF at a disadvantage. (Both Union Pacific and Berkshire are headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.) BNSF recently hired bankers from Goldman, which four years ago helped broker the industry's last big merger, between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern. It wasn't immediately clear whether BNSF has its eye on Norfolk or the other East Coast carrier, CSX. But its interest would set off a free-for-all among large railroads and pose a test of the Trump administration's enthusiasm for industrial consolidation. A spokesperson for BSNF, which was acquired by Berkshire in 2010, did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Know More On paper, Norfolk Southern is a better fit for BNSF, which has underperformed its rival Class I railroads over the last few years. Both companies have a healthy share of intermodal transport (handing off goods to trucking companies) and their networks fit more neatly into each other, according to industry analysts and investors. Similarly, CSX and Union Pacific have more complementary tracks. But Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena doesn't see CSX as open to a deal, Semafor has previously reported. That was one of the factors that has narrowed Union Pacific's discussions with Norfolk, which are early but active. Step Back Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on a $347 billion cash pile, so could afford to pay up for Norfolk ($62 billion) or CSX ($65 billion). But Buffett, who will step back as CEO later this year, has historically bought best-in-class businesses and let them be, rather than growing them through subsequent acquisitions. The outlier is another industrial business overseen, as BNSF is, by Buffett's successor, Greg Abel. Berkshire Hathaway Energy has bought out joint-venture partners and has even gotten into bidding wars for assets.
