Cowen Surveys Find ‘Encouraging’ Shipper Business Outlook
Cowen and Company Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor Jason Seidl
Two first-quarter 2021 surveys of rail shippers on pricing and business outlook as well as equipment needs conducted by Cowen and Company analysts Jason Seidl (Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor), Matt Elkott and Elliot Alper indicate that, compared with the previous quarter, Class I railroad customers are anticipating somewhat higher rate increases, and a slight decline in new railcar demand.
1Q2021 Rail Equipment Survey
Order expectations by the shipper sub-group of railcar buyers declined slightly, according to Cowen Transportation OEM Analyst and Vice President Equity Research Matt Elkott. “This is true for total shippers and same shippers surveyed,” he noted. Some of the other metrics improved sequentially. “Into the 1Q print, we believe WAB [Wabtec] and GATX are well-positioned for
January 14, 2021
Cowen 4Q20 Surveys: Rail Pricing, Car Orders Up Slightly, Say Shippers Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
The Cowen and Company analysts reported that Kansas City Southern “again” received the highest “positive” rating, followed by BNSF in their 4Q Rail Shipper Survey.
Rail shippers in fourth-quarter 2020 expected price increases of 3.2% (up 10bps sequentially), and their sub-group of railcar buyers raised order expectations modestly, according to two surveys conducted by Cowen and Company analysts Jason H. Seidl (Managing Director and Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor), Matt Elkott and Elliot Alper.
Following are the analysts’ key takeaways from the Rail Shipper Survey and Rail Equipment Survey.
Railroad Financial Corp. President and
Railway Age Financial Editor David Nahass; Cowen and Company Managing Director and
Railway Age Wall Street Contributing Editor Jason Seidl; and Cowen and Company Transportation Equipment Analyst Matt Elkott join Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono to offer their perspectives on 2021, a year in which the world hopes to see the end of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. What are the prospects for freight rail growth? For railcar orders and deliveries growing? Will intermodal continue to lead the way? How is the rail industry’s trucking competition faring?