The number one metric to measure a railroad company are revenue ton miles which are the total miles of hauled freight. A secondary measure is dwell time and a tertiary measure of performance is the operating ratio (costs of hauling as a percentage of revenue). Here is a table of the last six years:<\/span><\/p>\n

Metric<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02020<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02019<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02018<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02017<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2016<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2015<\/strong><\/span><\/span>
\nRevenue Ton-Miles (Billions)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 385.0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 423.4\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 474.0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0466.7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0440.1\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0485.0<\/span>
\nDwell Time (Hours)\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a022.7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 24.8\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 29.8\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 30.3\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a028.1\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a029.3<\/span>
\nOperating Ratio\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 59.9\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 60.6\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 62.7\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 62.0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a063.5\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a063.1<\/span><\/p>\n

For comparison purposes, here are four of the other five publicly traded Class I Railways revenue ton-miles (Billions):<\/span><\/p>\n

Name<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2020<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02019<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02018<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2017<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2016<\/strong><\/span><\/span>
\nCanadian Pacific\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 151.9\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 154.4\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 154.2\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 142.5\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0135.9<\/span>
\nNorfolk Southern\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Unavailable\u00a0 194\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0207\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0201\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0191<\/span>
\nCSX\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 182.6\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 196\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0202.9\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 196.1\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Unavailable<\/span>
\nCanadian National\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 230.4\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 241.9\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 248.4\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 237.1\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 214.4<\/span><\/p>\n

Union Pacific has 60% more volume than the next closest competitor. The only concerning issue here is the overall drop in revenue ton-miles during the last five years. It would be prudent for an investor to monitor current operational performance indicators (key performance indicators).<\/span><\/p>\n