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On Oct. 22, Canadian National Railway Co. released encouraging third-quarter and year-to-date financial data despite a western Canada drought that's affected grain moves.


The Class I's quarterly net income rose 12 percent to $268 million compared with $240 million in third-quarter 2001 adjusted net income, operating income increased 13 percent to $484 million, and revenue grew 13 percent to $1.5 billion. CN’s quarterly operating ratio of 67.8 was relatively flat compared with third-quarter 2001's 67.5.


"CN will continue to drive productivity improvements and leverage its strong service capabilities to generate growth, but it remains cautious about near-term business prospects," said CN President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Tellier in a prepared statement. "Tough conditions will continue to prevail in our grain and coal businesses."


During the year's first nine months, the railroad posted similar results: Net income increased 14 percent to $778 million; operating income jumped from $1.25 billion to $1.38 billion; and revenue rose 11 percent to $4.5 billion.


CN's 69.8 operating ratio during that span worsened just 0.4 points from 69.4.