{"id":823810,"date":"2026-07-24T20:25:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T20:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/823810\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T20:25:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T20:25:18","slug":"canadian-national-raises-guidance-says-wildfires-and-tariffs-pose-little-threat-to-shipping-volumes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/823810\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian National raises guidance, says wildfires and tariffs pose little threat to shipping volumes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

CN Rail locomotives move shipping containers from port, in Vancouver, in June.DARRYL DYCK\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Canadian National Railway Co. CNR-T<\/a> executives say wildfires and tariff threats are unlikely to do major damage to shipping volumes this year, after the country\u2019s largest railway beat earnings expectations for the quarter and raised financial projections for 2026.<\/p>\n

CN said tracks in northwestern Ontario have now reopened after shutting down for more than a week due to wildfires that forced one crew to flee on foot<\/a> and traffic to be rerouted through the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mainline in northern Ontario is open at this point, and we currently do not expect a significant impact to our business,\u201d chief operating officer Patrick Whitehead told analysts on a conference call Friday.<\/p>\n

Regulators investigating why CN workers were forced to flee wildfires on foot<\/a><\/p>\n

On the tariff front, CN\u2019s chief executive held out hope that U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s latest tariff proclamations<\/a> \u2013 a 50 per cent duty on a raft of Canadian goods set to take effect Aug. 19 \u2013 would resolve in a \u201cconstructive agreement\u201d between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve embedded in our guidance as we look forward is a tariff level that looks a lot like what it is right now,\u201d CEO Tracy Robinson said.<\/p>\n

The railway raised its full-year guidance Friday, forecasting mild volume growth versus the flattish figures predicted six months ago. It also now expects adjusted diluted earnings per share growth in the mid-to-high single digits instead of the low single-digit range.<\/p>\n

The more optimistic outlook comes after CN raked in revenue from oil as well as grain and fertilizer shipments in its second quarter.<\/p>\n

Revenues soared 16 per cent year-over-year for petroleum and chemicals and 18 per cent for grain and fertilizer. The two categories alone accounted for 42 per cent of CN\u2019s freight revenues.<\/p>\n

The price of petroleum and some fertilizers have spiked since late February amid supply bottlenecks brought on by the Middle East war, which helped push CN\u2019s potash volumes to record second-quarter levels. A bumper crop also delivered record shipments of Western grain, the company said.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Robinson addressed a deal that CN struck earlier this week with Union Pacific Corp. UNP-N<\/a> that would end the Montreal-based company\u2019s opposition to its rival\u2019s proposal for a massive merger south of the border.<\/p>\n

CN agrees to end opposition to mega rail merger in U.S. in exchange for greater network access<\/a><\/p>\n

The agreement would hand CN more network access in the U.S. Midwest in exchange for its tacit support of Union Pacific\u2019s proposed US$85-billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern Corp. NSC-N<\/a>. The settlement is contingent on the merger\u2019s approval by American regulators.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been talking a lot about the need for more competition,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cSo as we\u2019ve come to this agreement, we are satisfied that we\u2019ve mitigated much of that concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe won\u2019t have a large voice in the merger considerations as we go forward,\u201d the CEO added.<\/p>\n

Competitors and customers worry the merger would cost shippers \u2013 and ultimately consumers \u2013 as well as placing unprecedented market power in the hands of a single railway, which would handle some 40 per cent of American freight traffic.<\/p>\n

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern argue that getting hitched would slash costs and prompt rivals to lower their rates to compete.<\/p>\n

A second deal with UP announced Wednesday would also give CN a quicker route to Mexico from Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just southbound, it\u2019s northbound,\u201d Robinson said. Automotive and container shipments as well as commodities would be among freight hauled, she said.<\/p>\n

On Friday, CN reported that net income increased seven per cent year-over-year to $1.25-billion for the three months ended June 30. Total revenues jumped 11 per cent to $4.75-billion from the same period a year earlier on higher fuel surcharges as well as the income from oil, grain and fertilizer.<\/p>\n

On an adjusted basis, CN earned $2.08 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from $1.87 per diluted share a year ago and far outpacing analysts\u2019 expectations of $1.96, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: CN Rail locomotives move shipping containers from port, in Vancouver, in June.DARRYL DYCK\/The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":823811,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,45,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-823810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=823810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/823811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=823810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=823810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=823810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}