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Katrina detours rail lines to north (The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette posted the following article on its website on August 30.) LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Freight railroads whose lines through the New Orleans area were damaged by Hurricane Katrina detoured rail traffic Tuesday as far north as Chicago. A Fort Smith generator manufacturer, Baldor Electric Co., meanwhile, expects a business lift after the devastating hurricane. Trains were stopped as far as 400 miles from New Orleans on CSX Corp. ’s lines and up to 200 miles from the city on Norfolk Southern Corp. rails. Rail lines were still working to assess the damage to their tracks and other infrastructure, but industry analysts predicted shipping delays would cost the companies no more than a few pennies per share. "It is very early to quantify the potential market impact," analyst Thomas Wadewitz said in an investor note. About 100 freight trains a day serve New Orleans, one of the cities where Eastern railroads such as CSX deliver shipments and exchange traffic with Western lines such as Union Pacific. Shipments that typically run through New Orleans are being detoured as far as Chicago, 900 miles to the north. None of the railroads provided delay estimates. CSX said on its Web site that service was being resumed late Tuesday between Montgomery, Ala., and Pensacola, Fla., and that efforts to inspect track between Mobile, Ala., and New Orleans are continuing. Burlington Northern plans to resume service between Lafayette, La., and New Orleans on Thursday, after bridge repairs and restoration of signals, spokesman Patrick Hiatte said. In other business news related to Katrina: An executive at Baldor in Fort Smith said the company expects to have increased demand for the motors it makes because of Katrina. The company, which produces generators, electric motors and motor controls, saw sales increase last year after each of four Florida hurricanes. "When the National Hurricane Center put out their advisories three months ago saying that it was going to be a busier than typical season, we started bolstering inventory not only in Fort Smith, but in Tampa, Fla.; Greensboro, N. C., Atlanta, Memphis and Houston warehouses," said Randy Breaux, Baldor vice president of marketing. Baldor sold twice as many generators last year, compared to 2003. Soybeans rose Tuesday on speculation that rains from Katrina will miss most of the Midwest growing regions, hurting already from dry crops. Soybeans price gains were tempered by speculation that hurricane damage to the grain-export depots in the Gulf of Mexico are likely to be less severe than previously expected, avoiding major disruptions to shipments, analysts said. The Port of New Orleans handles about 70 percent of total U.S. grain and oilseed exports. Soybeans for November delivery rose 5 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $6.11 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Information for this article was contributed by Bloomberg News and The Associated Press. Wednesday, August 31, 2005 From BLET Site
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