Canadian National (CNI) December Grain Movement Hits New Record

Canadian National Railway Company’s CNI record-setting grain movement continues. The company shipped more than 2.84 million metric tonnes (“MMT”) of Canadian grain and processed grain products for the tenth consecutive month in December.

In October and November, the company moved more than 3 MMT of Canadian grain each month. In the 2020-2021 crop year to date, Canadian National has moved 14.5 MMT of grain, exceeding its previous record set in 2018-2019 by more than 15%. This upbeat grain movement is likely to get reflected in the Grain and Fertilizers segment’s performance in the fourth quarter of 2020. Evidently, revenues in the Grain and Fertilizers segment increased 5% in first nine months of 2020.

The company’s ability to meet the significant rise in volumes is a result of its investments in track, locomotives and railcars, including the purchase of 1,500 new high-capacity grain hopper cars.

Fellow railroad player Canadian Pacific (NYSE:CP) Railway Limited’s CP performance with respect to grain transportation is also encouraging. In December, the company moved 2.84 MMT of Canadian grain and grain products, breaking its previous record set in 2019 by 13.6%. In the fourth quarter, it moved 8.84 MMT of Canadian grain and grain products, beating the second-quarter 2020 record by 5.1%. Moreover, in 2020, the company moved 31.32 MMT of Canadian grain and grain products, the highest in its history.

Both the stocks mentioned above carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Key Picks

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Transportation sector are ArcBest (NASDAQ:ARCB) Corp. ARCB and Herc Holdings (NYSE:HRI) HRI, both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Shares of ArcBest and Herc Holdings have gained more than 58% and 30% in a year’s time, respectively.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>