The Blanchard Company--Week in Review Second Quarter 2000

The Railroad Week in Review:
Second Quarter 2000
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Week Ending June 24, 2000
New NS Intermodal yard in Harrisburg helps avoid Chicago rubber-tire transfer; CSXI drops Atlanta, Charlotte from Florida lanes; STB sets RR cost of capital at 10.8%; Thread on the future of the merchandise carload business; SNCF (France) paints a bold future for rail freight.
Week Ending June 17, 2000
Who's Who in B2B web servers with ties to the RR biz; The Second Shoe finally drops for KSU; Deja Vu all over again at FEC; Merchandise carload performance improves on CN; Amtrak Mail & Express trade grows; GNWR carloadings up.
Week Ending June 10, 2000
NS weekly and YTD carloadings up appreciably over Week One of Conrail Split in June 1999; Readers respond to WIR car supply query: it could be lots better; Safety data available at the FRA website; TranzRail (NZ) cites improved results; RailWorks expands; CP Rail reintroduces circus-loading in short haul lanes.
Week Ending June 3, 2000
One approach to valuing the KSU parts; Four Amigos join Arzoon.com; Blanchard buys WCLX shares.
Week ending May 27, 2000
Railroads train in web-based selling, though Gang of Four is betting on Arzoon to make it better; Wisconsin Central hosts Wall Streeters for two days; Stock reports -- CSX lags while UNP, NSC, WCLX seem to be on the mend.
Week ending May 20, 2000
E-commerce to transform the railroad industry over the next decade; Valuing the KCS Railroad separate from the Financial Management side; GNWR-Australia gets nod on Alice Springs-to-Darwin project; Norfolk Southern's new e-based Rate Request worksheet to speed response time; At least three rail stocks coming out of the doldrums.
Week ending May 13, 2000
Another take on GNWR Statement of Cash Flow; RAIL results for 1Q00; NSC, BNI announce new seamless Intermodal service; KSU in Wall Street Journal Dartboard contest.
Week ending May 6, 2000
Five rails set to benefit from economic growth in western US; Chemicals, profits, and fiscal responsibility; WCLX misses 1Q00 estimates though not by much; Genesee & Wyoming 1Q00 earnings encouraging; Reader writes on running to schedule vs. holding for tonnage.
Week ending April 29, 2000
First quarter results for CSX, BNSF, NS. Need to link productivity measures to STB Performance Measures. Correction to 4/22 story on ACG trends. FRA's Molitoris says railroads must improve communications between and among their constituencies.
Week ending April 22, 2000
UP's first quarter results reflect doing many things right. STB stays BNSF-CP merger based partly on loss-of-infrastructure fears. Rails' profits lag for five years. RailAmerica posts record carloads, plans to shed some shortlines. GNWR announces new pact with Bolivian railroad. WABTEC fortunes founder.
Week ending April 15, 2000
A word on the hazards of inmvesting on margin. DM&E's L B Foster relationship. Effect of NS $100 mm buyout on forward estimates negligible. Massive reordering of top slots at CSXT.
Week ending April 8, 2000
Markets are conversations: Cluetrain thread debuts. Tech investors swap into Old Economy stocks and the rails held their own. Introducing Free Cash Flow (FCF) Margin. Wabash National achieves RoadRailer milestone. Wisconsin Central adds to EWS holdings. Rails fit Barron's Back to Basics theme.
Week ending April 1, 2000
STB's Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Making on mergers; a quiet week for rail stocks; reader feedback on RailAmerican vs Amazon comparison; another model for rail infrastructure ownership and management; trucker sees promise in boxcar trans-con movements; a sobering look at the future of shortlines.

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