12:54 PM EDT, 10/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- In its review of the railroad companies' third quarter, RBC notes the "wide discrepancy" in how the CN Rail and CPKC handled the quarter.

CPKC had a "solid" third quarter, while CN's result was affected by a number of one-off items although its network recovered in September with that momentum continuing throughout October. "Key is that we believe strong Q3 exit trends at CP, CN, and NSC, are going to favourably affect earnings in Q4 and into next year and therefore positively affect sentiment looking ahead."

CPKC was also the only rail to increase its volume guide in the quarter -- CPKC's Auto RTMs were up +35% in the third quarter, versus Auto carloads down -3% across the group highlighting the meaningful idiosyncratic opportunity in CPKC's auto franchise, noes RBC. "Overall, we see these CP-specific opportunities as offsetting current macro weakness, in addition to driving continued expected outperformance when the freight cycle inflects." RBC sees the other rails' volume growth as very much dependent on the freight cycle more generally.

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