Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-28
RAILROAD EARNING
TOTALS SHOW LOSS
Drop in Shipments Reflected
in Decreased Income
of Carriers.
BY CHARLES F. SPEARE.
Special Dispatch t. The Star.

NEW YORK, December 28.-Esti-
mates of earnings per share on in
dividual railroad stocks prepared at the
end of September and following nine
months of the most satisfactory results
since 1926 will have to be adjusted to
the change that has come over the sit
uation since that time and has made
smallest comparative net earnings in
several years.
The effect of this recasting of &C.
counts will be to bring down earnings
from 81 to So per share, but so large
were net revenues in the first three
quarters of the year that this shrinkage
will not lead to any changes in dividend
policies.
Traffic Deferred.
Some of the traffic that the roads
missed during the Autumn months has
only been deferred and will come to
them and figure in their 1880 reports.
This is particularly true of the systems
in the Northwest, whose current earn
ings are among the poorest relatively of
any being published on account of the
holding back of the grain crops in the
big Spring wheat States and also on
the Pacific Coast.
1t is the feeling of some of the traffic
managers in the East that tonnage out
of the industrial centers that is just
now scant will move in greater than
seasonal volume next year when the
effects of the present business recession
have passed over.
The showing Of the Northwestern
roads, of the anthracite coal and auto
mobile carriers and of the trunk line
systems for November is the poorest of
all of the various American groups
Great Northern, for instance had a
gross decrease last month of Is per cent
and net loss of 40 per cent. The North
ern Pacific had a cut in its gross of IA
per cent while its net was 81 per cent
smaller than in the same month of
1928. The st. Paul came through bet
ter than its competitors with gross de-
crease of a little over per cent and a
reduction in net of 26 per cent. The 500
Line had its net cut exactly in two
The Chicago & Northwestern had only
nominal losses in gross and net and the
Chicago e. Great Western even was able
to show both higher gross and net than
year ago.
on November as one of their poorest
months. The Lehigh Valley suffered
heavily, although its earnings were az
fected materially by the smaller ship
mentS of automobiles which figure con-
SpicuouSly in its traffic. The gross de-
crease of this road was 20 per cent,
with net off go per cent. The Reading
had decrease of about Z per cent in
gross, with loss in net of "a per cent.
The Erie system suffered a cut in gross
of about per cent, although it earned
more in November this year than in
the same month of 1927. For the first
time in many months the Pennsylvania
system in November experienced smaller
gross and net earnings, the one being
off per cent and the other 81 per
cent. For the IL months to November
go, however this road has to its credit
net earnings of $l7600,000, or over
II per cent more than in the CORE
spending months of 1923, and earned
for its interest and dividends in the
period approximately 25.000,000 more
than to November 80, 1927.
Trend in East.
The Baltimore & Ohio reported a net
loss last month of 81, 1872 900, or 81 per
cent. New York Centrals earnings
have not so far been indicated, but it
is understood that they exhibit the
general trend in the East already shown
by the Pennsylvania, Baltimore e. Ohio
and other competitive lines. In the
Southwest the effect of smaller ship
mentS of agricultural products, mer-
chandise and oil are reflected in the
declining revenues of the Texas & Pa
ciflc; Missouri, Kansas & Texas; ST.
Louis-San Francisco, International &
Great Northern and Kansas City South
ern. The Southern Pacific has been
similarly affected, but, like the Penn
sylvania, it shows for IL months a
large margin of net earnings over both
1928 and 1927.
Preliminary reports of December
traffic point to additional losses this
month both in gross and net with tho
latter item affected in many sections of
the country by extreme weather, which
caused an increase in operating eX-
penses over December a year ago, when
conditions were more favorable for
economy in transportation.