Cheerful financial news there was, last week, in September's railroad earnings report. Net income for Class 1 roads was estimated to be a swaggering $36,000,000, twice September 1937's $16,110,527, three times August's $10,053,000, six times September 1938's $6,276,573.
Principal surprise was that when gross operating revenue humped sharply (18.3%) since last year, expenses were kept down so well that nearly all of the increase in revenue was brought down to net operating income. Typical of this policy was New York Central, whose gross jumped $5,900,000 (from $25,800,000 to $31,700,000) compared with September 1938, while its net operating income jumped $4,100,000...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
