Blanchard Railroad Week in Review, Second Quarter 2006

The Railroad Week in Review:
Second Quarter 2006

Current Issues

Available in Adobe Acrobat format only. You will need
the free Adobe Acrobat reader.

Week Ending 4/7/2006
Comparing First Quarter earnings and revenue outlooks for the Class Is plus GRW and RRA. Promising. Is there a chance that the gap between the percentage rate of revenue gains and volume gains is shrinking? NS sets Delmarva Business Unit, taps Don Seale EVP and Chief Commercial Officer. Bill Galanko and Jim Squires move up.The Paper Barriers thread winds down. Further observations on promoting the rails to a wider audience. A disclosure on disclosures.
Week Ending 4/14/2006
Why the number of independent shortlines is shrinking and what can be done to slow the slide. First quarter rail traffic up -- some. IM still leads; shortline commodities OK. Railroad share prices up along with shares of those who make what the rails carry the most of. Pride, leadership and organization working on the railroad.Mississippi pols want CSX to relocate inland to make room for a new highway. Pork busters object. KCS and NS finalize Meridian Speedway deal. Paper barriers - the parting shot.
Week Ending 4/21/2006
CN CSX and UP lead off earnings season with strong results. Remarks on Tuesday's WSJ article re fuel surcharges. Rail Cash returns as a percent of enterprise value. Tables.
Week Ending 4/28/2006
ASLRRA Annual Meeting a great success. Q1 earnings reports for BNSF, CP, NS, RRA. Very encouraging for shortlines.
Week Ending 5/5/2006
First quarter results from KCS, GWR, FEC. WIR adds supplier results for the first time: LB Foster, GATX, Trinity. We'll pick up the other car builders next week. TCWR and RRVR promotions. Friedman to head NS Shortline group. Big Six Class 1 summary table.
Week Ending 5/12/2006
We see more signs that the Class I side of the shortline interchange needs work. Fuel surcharges assume fuel costs are going up; what happens if it comes down? Railinc exits Railsync officially. RRA analysts meeting. ARII posts healthy first quarter. Virginia DOT invests in NS intermodal terminal in Roanoke.
Week Ending 5/19/2006
Why watching commodity moves and car makers' order books can help improve a shortline's fortunes. April carloads for GWR and RRA. Watco transfers A&O interests to CSX/PAL partnership. CAT buys Progress Rail for one times sales. Insights from MS recent Truckload Report. Jim Valentine heads for the UK; Chad Bruso and Bill Green take the desk. GWR trading alert.
Week Ending 5/26/2006
Why the May 2005 RailAmerica Analyst Presentation ought to be Required Reading for every shortline operator. Where to find it and what to look for. AAR says Week 20 (May 20) set records; merch loads do well, though easy coal comps skew the general picture. DM&E garners more support. FreightCar America gets nod from Forbes; why I'm not buying. GATX provides Q1 fleet details. KCS loses two financial execs, faces further follies in Mex. Dave Brown joins CSX as VP Transportation. Paper Barriers and Fuel Surcharges to converge as hot buttons.
Week Ending June 2, 2006
A longish piece on paper barriers: what the STB seems to be thinking about them; some points of view pro and con. More evidence of CSX turning an operational corner. Anacostostia's PHL buys new power, CSSB buys coil cars; the financial commits are considerable.Providence & Worcester "in talks with" RRA. UP hauls billionth ton of coal out of large BTU mine in PRB. Further thoughts on the implications of the DME extension project. Buying TRN on the dips.
Week Ending June 9, 2006
Watching rail stocks come back from the dead Thursday afternoon. A disconnect between car supply and car builder stock prices. Why I felt this year's NS shortline gathering in Roanoke was particularly notable.Warning signs for shortlines lurk in the Wall street downturn. BNSF asks rail fans to help round up suspects. DME excursion to PRB rankles some. Shortline carloads for Week 20.
Week Ending June 16, 2006
Rail stocks surge ahead on Thursday only to mark time on Friday. Thoughts on why car builder stocks are so badly depressed. CSX' Mike Ward Ward “sees an alignment of the stars ahead.” BNSF wows analysts, big rail user not impressed with pricing and service among the Big Six.On shortlines and the car supply business. Rail volumes for the week. RRA and GWR May loads; RRA downgraded on tech signs.
Week Ending June 23, 2006
RRA reorganizes, slims down, positions itself to move faster. GWR's Bolivian RR may be at risk for nationalization. CN taps two new marketing and sales SVPs. Art Shoener takes on COO and Pres at KCS. Keystone State RR Assn shows what a good state lobbying organization can do for shortlines. TRN ups estimates, stock price follows. Larry Kaufman on utilities, coal and RRs.
Week Ending June 30, 2006
Four faster, smarter IT tools at work at NS to run a faster, more efficient railroad. UP realigns regions, hiring continues unabated. Greenbrier outlook "like a coiled spring." Have rail stocks turned the corner? Nine second quarter revenue estimates and two caveats.Will the RPO be reincarnated in a 747?

THE BLANCHARD COMPANY
2041 Christian Street - Philadelphia PA 19146-1338
Roy Blanchard.215-913-7740 mobile, royblan@icloud.com
Laura Blanchard, email preferred lblanchard@rblanchard.com