North American Locomotive Trends: Overview, Forecast, Analysis

Changes in the railroad traffic mix, the impending sale of GE Transportation to Wabtec, and pressure in some circles to achieve lower operating ratios makes the current rail climate quite interesting — and quite uncertain.

This webcast offers a detailed look at a new analytical model that forecasts locomotive supply and demand for over a 10- to 20-year planning horizon and indicates the number of units needed in the specific forecast year to adequately handle expected traffic.

Led by industry expert Larry Shughart, this presentation includes an overview of the physical and operational challenges in locomotive technology and applications, including historical measures of locomotive performance and why different classes of power are used on different trains by different companies. Attendees will review the current number and type of locomotives owned by each railroad and — based on the age demographics of the fleet — see how many current locomotives will still be operating in 10 years' time.

Attendees will come away with a clear understanding of each Class 1's approach to locomotive productivity and fuel efficiency, the underlying drivers of locomotive demand (and the relative importance of each), and how and why to use factual data to analyze long term rail trends rather than conventional wisdom.

Presented By

Larry Shughart

Principal/Owner, Shughart Consulting

Larry Shughart is widely recognized as a locomotive expert. During his 14 years at CSX, he was intimately involved in fleet strategy, financial analysis, performance improvement, and spent four years as General Director of Locomotives including the planning and implementation of the Conrail merger. Mr. Shughart has published academic journal articles on locomotive optimization, and has advised a number of Class 1 railroads, foreign railroads, short lines, and suppliers on locomotive management, maintenance, strategy, and productivity.