Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) reported an increase in income and revenue in the first quarter of 2023, according to the company’s last earnings report before its merger with Kansas City Southern Railway. The merger between Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern Railway created the only railway that stretches from Canada through the US and Mexico. CPKC’s net income for the first quarter of 2023 was $800 million, up more than 35 per cent from $590 million a year earlier. Revenues for the quarter ended March 31 were $2.27 billion, up more than 23 per cent from $1.84 billion a year earlier.
CPKC’s President and CEO, Keith Creel, stated that the company would be disciplined in its integration into the new railway network, which he believes will become the most relevant in North America. CPKC’s network stretches from Vancouver to St. John, N.B., Houston, and Mexico City, reaching the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. The company operates nearly 33,000 kilometres of rail and employs nearly 20,000 people.
Martin Oberman, the Surface Transportation Board chair, said in March that the merger was expected to enhance efficiency, encourage better competition with other U.S. railways, and shift around 64,000 truckloads a year from North America’s roads to rail. CPKC recently announced multi-year agreements with Schneider National Inc. and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. to provide intermodal transportation services on CPKC’s new north-south corridor, expected to transition traffic to CPKC starting in mid-May.
Although rail traffic has been slowing down in the short term due to an uncertain economic outlook, CPKC’s Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer, John Brooks, said customers were compelled by the capacity that CPKC could offer with its network. The company has been able to grow despite the drop in port volumes across North America.