Railroad "Quickbooks"?

Dominic:

Profitability of intermodal will vary from one railroad to another in the same way that cost of service will vary from one railroad to another.

And, given the level of sophistication in railroad pricing models, I would be certain each Class 1 could tell you exactly what their margins are for intermodal.

Curt

We use Quickbooks here at OGR Publishing. I have used it for many years in several different businesses.  I know the program pretty well. 

I am also familiar with the billing processes and procedures used in the railroad industry. There is absolutely no way that Quickbooks could be used to handle billing chores for a large railroad. The requirements go far beyond what QB is capable of. A short line might be able to use it because most billing for their operations is fairly simple process, but it just could not handle all the invoicing scenarios which come into play on a large railroad.

And yes, the railroads know - down to the penney - how much it costs to do business.

Dominic,

If you have Excel, here is a report that must be sent to FEDs. It is available online. It is the first quarter 2015 activity of BNSF. I don't think that have to disclose which software they use to accumulate their data or maintain financial records, but it's not a QuickBooks deal.

This is only the activity and revenue side. Here's a sample of a page.

OK, here is something I think interesting:

BNSF is into "Q" trains which are a high cost service to provide.  BNSF makes money.

However, Hunter Harrison at CP seems to avoid such trains.  CP makes money.

So who is "correct" here?   Or is there more to this than math?

I dunno, CP's Bensenville,  Illinois intermodal yard seems quite busy.

Mebbe there's less call for intermodal in the Great White North.

Rusty

Both have made business decisions based on their respective networks.  Railroading is not a "one size fits all" proposition.

Curt

OGR Webmaster posted:

And yes, the railroads know - down to the penney - how much it costs to do business.

Absolutely. My favorite area of study in college - cost accounting. It's an entire department.

ADCX Rob posted:

OGR Webmaster posted:

And yes, the railroads know - down to the penney - how much it costs to do business.

Absolutely. My favorite area of study in college - cost accounting. It's an entire department.

As it is with the railroads.

Rusty