The B.C. port workersB次元官网网址� strike deprived Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. of scores of millions of dollars, its chief marketing officer said, tacking on a costly coda to a tough quarter.

B次元官网网址淎t this point, weB次元官网网址檙e estimating the strike had a negative impact of about $80 million in revenue, much of which we will work hard to claw back over the remainder of Q3 and Q4,B次元官网网址� John Brooks told analysts on a conference call Thursday.

The 13-week strike B次元官网网址� plus a brief wildcat job action B次元官网网址� earlier this month halted operations at most ports along the West Coast. In the first week alone, it depressed the number of containers hauled by Canadian railways to barely half the level reached during the same period in 2022, according to the American Railroad Association.

CPKC framed its first quarter following a major merger as a tough one, as demand for container shipments and some bulk goods fell across the rail sector.

B次元官网网址淣o doubt a challenging quarter as we dealt with a softer demand environment,B次元官网网址� CEO Keith Creel said on the conference call.

In April, Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.B次元官网网址檚 purchase of Kansas City Southern was completed. The US$31-billion deal B次元官网网址� the continentB次元官网网址檚 first big rail merger in more than two decades B次元官网网址� created the only railway stretching from Canada through to the U.S. and Mexico.

In the quarter ended June 30, CPKC saw revenue nudge up two per cent compared with the two formerly separate railwaysB次元官网网址� combined results from a year earlier, BrooksB次元官网网址婤次元官网网址婤次元官网网址� said. Overall volume fell five per cent.

He said revenues from container traffic dropped 10 per cent in the second quarter versus the combined figures from a year earlier, as consumers rerouted their spending toward services over products in a reversal of pandemic trends.

In better years, the corrugated steel boxes, which haul everything from kitchenware to construction materials, accounted for about a quarter of Canadian Pacific RailwayB次元官网网址檚 total revenues, rather than one-fifth as they did in CPKCB次元官网网址檚 second quarter this year.

Grain volumes also fell five per cent year over year, while potash shipments and revenue plummeted 18 per cent B次元官网网址� despite heightened global demand B次元官网网址� due to a B次元官网网址渕ajor mechanical failureB次元官网网址� in April at the Canpotex bulk terminal in Portland, Ore., Brooks said. The operation is not expected to come back online until 2024, as CPKC works to divert fertilizer to other ports.

B次元官网网址淭his is a long game, itB次元官网网址檚 not about the first quarter (following the merger),B次元官网网址� Creel said, though he also acknowledged the snarls caused by the strike. B次元官网网址淭his is not to say that everythingB次元官网网址檚 been perfect.B次元官网网址�

On the plus side, the railway hauled higher volumes of B次元官网网址渇rac sandB次元官网网址� and steel as well as automotive products amid ongoing demand for parts and finished vehicles.

The benefits of a single-line service across the continent will also become more apparent as CPKC moves lumber from British Columbia to legacy markets of Kansas City Southern, Brooks said, B次元官网网址渁lthough we are seeing the impacts of a softer economy on residential construction and related building products.B次元官网网址�

Creel said long-term growth opportunities are B次元官网网址渦ndeniableB次元官网网址� given the greater reach of the merged outfit.

Employing roughly 20,000 people, the freshly fused rail network stretches from Vancouver and Saint John, N.B., to Houston and Mexico City, reaching the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean.

Consistent with the trend of labour hoarding, CPKC is B次元官网网址渃arrying surplus headcount and incurring additional expenseB次元官网网址� at the moment, said chief financial officer Nadeem Velani. B次元官网网址淗owever, as the growth comes on in the second half and into 2024, we will be prepared to handle it with strong B次元官网网址� margins,B次元官网网址� he said.

On Thursday, CPKC reported total revenues of $3.17 billion in its second quarter, compared with $2.20 billion a year earlier at CP B次元官网网址� well before the marriage of North AmericaB次元官网网址檚 two smallest Class 1 railways in April.

Net income reached $1.33 billion versus $765 million the year before, the railway operator said.

The Calgary-based company said diluted earnings notched $1.42 per share, above the 82 cents per share of the same period in 2022.

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