Oct. 23--Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. reported a 29 percent decline in third-quarter profit, which company officials said was largely due to the weak economy and resulting sharp declines in freight shipments.

The Fort Worth-based parent of BNSF Railway said Thursday that it earned $488 million, or $1.42 a share, compared with $695 million and $1.99 a share a year ago.

"Our third-quarter results were strong in a period of soft volume," Chief Executive Matthew Rose said in a conference call with analysts.

Competitor Union Pacific, based in Omaha, Neb., reported similar results, as net income fell 26 percent, to $517 million, and revenue fell 24 percent, to $3.67 billion.

Burlington Northern's freight shipments fell 17 percent, and revenue from them declined 27 percent to $3.5 billion. Fuel surcharges were down $725. In total, the railroad's fuel costs dropped $743 million, or 55 percent from the third quarter of 2008. Total operating expenses declined by $1 billion.

The impact of the U.S. and, to a lesser degree, global economic slump is starkly evident in nearly all areas of the railroad's business.

Coal shipments were down 6.4 percent as electricity generation declined in tandem with U.S. industrial production. Shipments of agricultural products, primarily grain, were down 9 percent on reduced meat consumption and exports.

Sharper declines were evident in automobile shipments, down 22 percent from a year ago. Industrial products, such as lumber and other building materials, plummeted nearly 27 percent, and international intermodal, or container shipments of mostly manufactured consumer goods from overseas, also fell nearly 27 percent.

BNSF executives report some improvement in shipping volumes compared with the second quarter, a sign perhaps that the economy is beginning to grow. But they also warned that no major turnaround was imminent.

"We will continue to feel the impact of the economic downturn, especially in building products," said Carl Ice, BNSF's executive vice president and chief operations officer.

BNSF officials said that as freight volumes have declined, the railroad has improved its efficiency. The average train consisted of more cars, spent less time in rail yards and saw on-time performance improve 6 percent compared with 2008.

In another indicator of the impact of the economy on the railroad business, the company now has 900 locomotives and 28,000 rail cars in storage and has returned 200 other locomotives to leasing companies when the leases expired.

BOB COX, 817-390-7723

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