Kansas City Southern Positive Despite Downturn

Chairman & CEO Michael R. Haverty says that despite the global economic downturn, the Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) remains positive about the long-term outlook for its cross-border franchise.

A couple of years ago, KCS announced a five-year plan projecting that revenues would grow 10% to 14%  compounded annually with the primary driver being new business opportunities, said Haverty. Those projections were contingent on a strong global economy and no economic downturns during the planning horizon. Today, he said, the global economy is in recession and beginning in the fall, North America’s railroads began to see a significant decline in car loadings. This decline came after several years of very strong conditions in the rail industry, including volume growth, pricing strength and improvements in operating efficiencies.

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