Eastern US railroad CSX still expects growth in its export coal volumes this year even after the disruptions that resulted from the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland.

Steady demand and strong operational flexibility will boost seaborne coal shipments this year, CSX said on 5 August. Intermodal and merchandise traffic are also expected to rise.

The company did not provide specific volume projections for 2024.

CSX hauled 10.6mn short tons (9.61mn metric tonnes) of coal for export in the second quarter, up by 8pc from the same quarter of 2023.

The railroad said it shipped “more” metallurgical coal from other export locations following the 26 March collapse of the Key bridge, which resulted in the temporary closure of the Port of Baltimore and cut off CSX’s Curtis Bay coal terminal from the export market. Operations at the export terminal resumed at the end of May, according to the company.

CSX redirected some of its export rail traffic during the quarter to terminals in Newport News, Virginia. The company did not say how many shipments were diverted from Baltimore to other facilities in the second quarter. In April it anticipated rerouting at least one-third of the volumes.

The Baltimore port closing weighed on company coal revenue, which dropped by 12pc in the second quarter from a year earlier to $563mn. The decline would have likely been closer to a 5pc decrease without the impacts of the Baltimore bridge collapse, according to CSX chief commercial officer Kevin Boone.

A reduction in seaborne coal prices as well as fewer shipments to US power plants also weighed on CSX’s coal revenue.

CSX hauled 9.5mn st of coal within the US last quarter, which was 14pc less than a year earlier. That dragged the railroad’s overall coal volumes down by 3pc from the same period in 2023 to 20.1mn st.

Lower natural gas prices continue to affect domestic coal shipments, but the railroad has seen “good signs from the hot summer, with several utilities in our service region maximizing their coal units in response to very strong demand”, Boone said. As a result, inventory levels have started to “moderate from the highs seen earlier this year”.

Other CSX business units had better results in the second quarter. The company’s intermodal and merchandise volumes rose, offsetting the decline in coal shipments to bring CSX’s overall traffic for the quarter to 1.58mn units, a 2pc increase from a year earlier.

Intermodal volumes increased by 5pc from the same period last year to 716,000 units, driven by higher international demand and inventory replenishment. Domestic intermodal shipments fell during the quarter because of a “soft” trucking environment.

CSX’s chemicals shipments rose by 9pc to 174,000 carloads last quarter. That was the sharpest gain for the company’s merchandise business and reflected higher shipments of plastics, crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas liquids, as well as automotive shipments.

Agricultural and food products, the second-largest CSX merchandise sector after chemicals, fell by 3pc from the second quarter of 2023 to 115,000 carloads because of lower grain and ethanol shipments. Fertilizers as well as metals and equipment also decreased by 9pc and 8pc during the quarter.

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