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Next year, Canadian Pacific Railway expects its coal traffic to decrease because major customer Fording Canadian Coal Trust is forecasting a production drop due to a global shortage of tires for coal-hauling trucks. The Class I serves all southeastern British Columbia mines owned by Elk Valley Coal Partnership (EVC), which is 60 percent owned by Fording.

“EVC is experiencing a short-term supply issue, which we believe does not alter the strong medium- to long-term fundamentals for metallurgical coal in world markets,” said CPR President and Chief Operating Officer Fred Green in a prepared statement.

However, the declining coal traffic combined with softening automotive business will reduce 2006 earnings, CPR officials believe. Earnings per share will range between $3.60 and $3.85 compared with a previous estimate of $3.70 to $3.85 per share.

Officials still anticipate an increase in grain, merchandise and intermodal traffic next year. In addition, they expect CPR to continue cutting costs; currently, the Class I is reorganizing and reducing administrative staff.