(The following appeared on the Kansas City Star website on September 2, 2010.)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Southern said this morning that its rail network has “fully recovered” from the impact of Hurricane Alex and related storms that caused flooding and track damage in northeastern Mexico.
The company’s Kansas City Southern de Mexico operates in that area, but its service was disrupted for about four weeks in the middle of summer because of the storm damage. During that time, the rail company’s shipping volumes dropped 18.1 percent from the four-week period just before the storm made landfall, the company said.
Once service was restored in late July, Kansas City Southern’s August traffic increased nearly 14 percent from August 2009, making it the second-largest volume month for the railroad in the last three years, said Kansas City Southern’s chief financial officer Michael Upchurch.
Speaking at an investment conference in Dallas, Upchurch also said the rail company’s second half 2010 revenue should “approach 20 percent,” based on current orders and expected business.
“This is especially significant in light of the fact that KCS’ business levels rebounded from the depths of the 2008-09 recession sooner than for the other U.S. railroads,” Upchurch said.
Shares in the company rose 3 cents in late morning trading to $35.69.