BNSF Railroad to Hire 5,000 Workers this Year for Expansions, Replacements

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--BNSF Railway Company (Fort Worth, Texas) plans to hire 5,000 workers this year, including 2,000 for expansion projects. BNSF is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKA) (Omaha, Nebraska).

"More than 3,000 will be for attrition to replace retiring workers and about 2,000 for expansion for the traffic growth BNSF is experiencing," said Steve Forsberg, general director of external communications for BNSF.

Industrial Info is tracking about $4 billion in BNSF projects, including a $161 million statewide rail rehabilitation and upgrade project for Kansas in 2016.

Chief Executive Officer Carl Ice said during an interview with CNBC on March 18 that BNSF saw significant growth last year: "In 2013, the railroad industry grew by 8,000 units. About half of that was BNSF."

Last year's growth included an 8% increase in domestic intermodal units; an 11% increase in industrial products volumes, led by crude-by-rail traffic; a 3% percent increase in coal volumes; and a fourth-quarter jump in agricultural products, the railway company said.

BNSF in February announced a plan to commit $5 billion in capital expenditures for 2014, a $1 billion increase from 2013. The plan includes $2.3 billion for BNSF's core network and related assets; $1.6 billion for locomotive, freight car and other equipment acquisitions; $900 million for terminal, line and intermodal expansion and efficiency projects; and $200 million for continued installation of positive train control (PTC), a system for monitoring and controlling trains to improve safety.

"Much of the capacity expansion in the 2014 capital plan is for infrastructure investment on BNSF's Northern Corridor to put the company in position to meet all customer service expectations, including Amtrak," the company said.

In all, BNSF plans to spend $900 million to this year to expand and maintain the corridor, which spans the U.S. from the Pacific Northwest to Chicago, and also reaches three Canadian provinces.

Ice told CNBC that during the quarter, the railway's resources were strained by harsh winter weather and a surge in commodity traffic, such as grain, energy and coal.

However, he denied that crude oil shipments had pushed the supply chain for other industries. "The energy segment is only about 4% of our business," he said. "We are working hard for all of our customers."

For related information, see March 20, 2014, article - Mother Nature, Crude Oil, Grain and Ethanol Clog Rail Transportation in U.S. Midwest.

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