(Reuters circulated the following on October 24.)
CHICAGO — U.S. railroad Norfolk Southern Corp has seen intermodal freight volumes down in the fourth quarter and does not expect a pre-holiday peak in volumes, the company’s top executive said on Wednesday.
“At this point are down year-on-year compared to 2005 and 2006,” Chief Executive Wick Moorman told Reuters in a telephone interview. “So far we are not having a typical peak season in intermodal.”
Intermodal services use standardized containers that can be interchanged between truck, ship or train, and carry mostly consumer goods. Moorman said Norfolk’s customers were generally expecting the slowdown in the U.S. housing sector to act as a drag on U.S. economic growth at least through the first half of 2008.
But he added that pricing at the railroad should “remain solid” despite a softer economy.