CSX Corporation (CSX) 2021 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon. My name is Emma, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Q3 2021 CSX Corporation Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

下午好。我叫 Emma，今天將擔任各位的電話會議接線員。此刻，我謹代表公司歡迎各位參加 CSX Corporation 2021 年第三季（Q3）財報電話會議。（接線員指示）

Bill Slater, Head of Investor Relations, you may begin your conference.

投資人關係主管 Bill Slater，您可以開始會議。

Thank you and good afternoon, everyone. Joining me on today's call are Jim Foote, President and Chief Executive Officer; Kevin Boone, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing; Jamie Boychuk, Executive Vice President of Operations; and Sean Pelkey, Acting Chief Financial Officer. On Slide 2 is our forward-looking disclosure, followed by our non-GAAP disclosure on Slide 3.

謝謝，大家下午好。今天與我一同參與電話會議的有：總裁暨執行長 Jim Foote；銷售與行銷執行副總裁 Kevin Boone；營運執行副總裁 Jamie Boychuk；以及代理財務長 Sean Pelkey。投影片第 2 頁為我們的前瞻性聲明揭露，接著投影片第 3 頁為我們的非 GAAP 揭露。

With that, it's my pleasure to introduce President and Chief Executive Officer, Jim Foote.

接下來，我很榮幸介紹總裁暨執行長 Jim Foote。

Great. Thanks, Bill, and thank you to all who are joining us today for the call. I want to begin by thanking all of CSX' employees for their extraordinary efforts to help our customers navigate the strained global supply chain. Across virtually every industry, there are challenges presented by extended lead times, port congestion, shortages of labor and key materials and lack of storage capacity.

很好。謝謝你，Bill，也感謝今天加入我們電話會議的各位。我想先感謝所有 CSX 員工的卓越努力，協助客戶因應緊繃的全球供應鏈。幾乎在每個產業，都面臨交期拉長、港口壅塞、勞動力與關鍵材料短缺，以及倉儲容量不足等挑戰。

While the current operating environment is challenging, we are not sitting idle. We are designing new solutions to help reduce congestion, adding container yards and drayage to keep intermodal terminals fluid, and we are investing in both people and network capacity to ensure CSX is able to reliably meet customer needs today and for years to come. In a few minutes, Kevin will go through the revenue numbers and discuss some of the steps we are taking to provide new service offerings to our customers to help them overcome these challenges. And Jamie will provide an update of our hiring initiatives as well as actions we are taking to keep our network fluid.

雖然目前的營運環境充滿挑戰，但我們並未袖手旁觀。我們正在設計新的解決方案以協助降低壅塞，增設貨櫃堆場與短途拖運（drayage）以維持聯運場站順暢運作，並且投資於人力與路網容量，確保 CSX 能在當下及未來多年持續可靠地滿足客戶需求。幾分鐘後，Kevin 將說明營收數字，並討論我們為客戶提供新服務方案、協助其克服這些挑戰所採取的一些措施。Jamie 也將更新我們的招募計畫，以及我們為維持路網順暢所採取的行動。

So let's first turn to the presentation and begin on Slide 4 with an overview of our third quarter results. Operating income increased 26% to $1.44 billion. Earnings per share increased 34% to $0.43. And the operating ratio improved by 50 basis points to 56.4%. These figures include the results of Quality Carriers, which did not have a significant income -- impact on operating income but increased third quarter operating ratio by approximately 250 basis points, excluding transaction and integration expenses.

那麼我們先看簡報，從投影片第 4 頁開始，概述第三季的業績表現。營業利益成長 26%，至 14.4 億美元。每股盈餘成長 34%，至 0.43 美元。營運比率改善 50 個基點，至 56.4%。上述數字包含 Quality Carriers 的業績；其對營業利益沒有顯著的獲利影響，但在排除交易與整合費用後，使第三季營運比率約增加 250 個基點。

I'll now kick it over to Kevin.

接下來我把時間交給 Kevin。

Thank you, Jim. Turning to Slide 5. Third quarter revenue increased 24% year-over-year, with growth across all major lines of business. The inclusion of Quality Carriers revenue represented roughly 8 percentage points of the total increase. Supply chain challenges, including a lack of labor and equipment, continue to impact almost every market we serve, driving volatility and freight flows and uneven volumes.

謝謝你，Jim。請看投影片第 5 頁。第三季營收年增 24%，各主要業務線皆呈現成長。納入 Quality Carriers 的營收約占總增幅的 8 個百分點。供應鏈挑戰（包括勞動力與設備不足）持續影響我們服務的幾乎所有市場，導致波動、貨物流向改變以及運量不均。

Merchandise revenue increased 6% on 2% lower volumes as higher revenue across all other markets was offset by declines in auto, driven by the ongoing semiconductor shortages. The industrial and construction-related markets such as metals and equipment, forest products and minerals all showed strong year-over-year volume growth. In addition, our core chemicals business grew but was partially offset by declines in crude oil and other energy-related markets.

商品運輸（Merchandise）營收在運量下滑 2% 的情況下仍成長 6%；除汽車業因持續的半導體短缺而下滑外，其他各市場的營收提升抵銷了該影響。工業與建築相關市場（如金屬與設備、林產品與礦產）皆呈現強勁的年增運量成長。此外，我們的核心化學品業務成長，但部分被原油與其他能源相關市場的下滑所抵銷。

Intermodal revenue increased 14% on 4% higher volumes due to increased international shipments as a result of strong demand, inventory replenishments and growth in rail volumes from East Coast ports. The domestic side was more challenged as multiple supply-side constraints, including container and chassis shortages, have resulted in the inability to meet the strong demand.

聯運（Intermodal）營收在運量成長 4% 的帶動下增加 14%，主要因需求強勁、庫存回補，以及東岸港口的鐵路運量成長而使國際貨運增加。國內聯運則較具挑戰，因多項供給端限制（包括貨櫃與底盤 chassis 短缺）導致無法滿足強勁需求。

Coal revenue increased 39% on 16% higher volumes with growth across all end markets. Domestic coal benefited from higher utility and industrial demand, and export coal revenue increased from the combination of higher demand and higher export benchmark prices. Other revenue increased primarily due to higher intermodal storage and equipment usage due to the broader supply chain disruptions from truck driver shortages, chassis availability and the lack of warehouse capacity.

煤炭營收在運量成長 16% 的帶動下增加 39%，各終端市場皆有成長。國內煤炭受惠於公用事業與工業需求提升；出口煤炭營收則因需求增加與出口基準價格上升的組合而成長。其他營收增加主要來自聯運倉儲與設備使用費提高，反映更廣泛的供應鏈中斷，包括卡車司機短缺、底盤供給，以及倉庫容量不足。

Turning to Slide 6. This is an extraordinary time as customers and global supply chain face challenges we have never experienced before. On trucks to chassis, supports to containers, lack of truck drivers, to labor challenges at the warehouse and production facilities, we are seeing shortages everywhere. The entire CSX team has been highly focused on delivering new innovative solutions and partnering with customers to address the supply chain challenges by driving more volume to the railroad.

請看投影片第 6 頁。這是一個非比尋常的時期，客戶與全球供應鏈正面臨我們前所未見的挑戰。從卡車到底盤、支撐設備到貨櫃、卡車司機不足，到倉庫與生產設施的人力挑戰，我們到處都看到短缺。整個 CSX 團隊高度聚焦於提供新的創新解決方案，並與客戶合作，透過將更多貨量導向鐵路來因應供應鏈挑戰。

Across the network, we have accelerated investments to create new capacity. To address the truck driver shortages, we have added 13 new overflow container yards, implemented new steel wheel options for West Coast cargo and added TRANSFLO sites that offer customers additional options to move their freight at a lower cost. To address the port congestion and container shortages, we have added new solutions to accelerate repositioning of containers and utilized port-to-port lanes to alleviate marine terminal congestion.

在整個路網範圍內，我們已加速投資以創造新的運能。為因應卡車司機短缺，我們新增 13 座溢出貨櫃堆場，為西岸貨物導入新的鋼輪方案，並增設 TRANSFLO 站點，為客戶提供更多以較低成本運輸貨物的選項。為因應港口壅塞與貨櫃短缺，我們新增解決方案以加速貨櫃回置（repositioning），並利用港到港（port-to-port）路線以緩解海運碼頭壅塞。

We are working closely with partners, including GPA, to utilize additional inland rail yards to help reduce congestion at the port. We have also been aggressively expanding our customer solutions team to further supplement the significant investments we are making in customer-facing technology. Our team is working diligently to create new solutions and options for shippers, with supply chain disruptions unlikely to improve in the near term.

我們正與包括 GPA 在內的合作夥伴密切合作，利用更多內陸鐵路場站以協助降低港口壅塞。我們也正積極擴編客戶解決方案團隊，以進一步補強我們在面向客戶的科技上所做的重大投資。由於供應鏈中斷在短期內不太可能改善，我們的團隊正努力為託運人打造新的解決方案與選項。

Finally, we are starting to see early signs of customers making long-term investment decisions to reinvest in onshore production and supply chain solutions. To address these customer needs, we continue to develop and invest in new CSX select sites that offer a shovel-ready, CSX-served solution to meet customer requirements.

最後，我們開始看到一些早期跡象：客戶正在做出長期投資決策，重新投資於在岸生產與供應鏈解決方案。為滿足這些客戶需求，我們持續開發並投資新的 CSX 精選基地（CSX select sites），提供可立即動工（shovel-ready）、由 CSX 服務的解決方案，以符合客戶要求。

With that, I will hand it over to Jamie to discuss operations.

接下來我把時間交給 Jamie，請他談談營運。

Thank you, Kevin. As noted, our teams are working closely together to find new ways to overcome the supply chain disruptions and provide new solutions for our customers. In addition to the ongoing supply challenges, this past quarter was further impacted by a rise in COVID mark-offs due to the Delta variant. At peak, we had several hundred employees marked off, including regional concentrations that required us to adjust our network plan in real time to get customers their freight.

謝謝你，Kevin。如前所述，我們的團隊正緊密合作，尋找新方法以克服供應鏈中斷並為客戶提供新的解決方案。除了持續的供給挑戰外，本季也進一步受到 Delta 變異株導致 COVID 請假（mark-offs）增加的影響。在高峰期，我們有數百名員工請假，其中包含某些地區的集中情況，迫使我們即時調整路網計畫，以將貨物送達客戶。

Despite these challenges, we were able to maintain network performance compared to the prior quarter, and we expect the initiatives we have underway to drive improved fluidity going forward. Kevin touched on many of the things we're doing to help reduce congestion at the ports and keep containers moving, and I want to thank my intermodal team for the exceptional work they are doing to accomplish these goals. These efforts are highlighted by the nearly 90% intermodal trip plan compliance that continue to deliver in a challenging environment.

儘管面臨這些挑戰，我們仍能維持與前一季相當的路網表現，並預期目前推動中的各項措施將在未來提升運行順暢度。Kevin 提到我們為協助降低港口壅塞、讓貨櫃持續流動所做的許多工作；我也要感謝我的聯運團隊為達成這些目標所展現的傑出表現。這些努力的成果之一，是聯運行程計畫遵循率接近 90%，在充滿挑戰的環境中仍持續交出表現。

We entered the year focused on hiring the people required to respond to the rising demand, and I'm proud of how our team has been able to think creatively and act decisively to overcome the challenges presented by the tight labor market. Over the course of the year, we have redesigned our recruiting process to eliminate unnecessary steps and significantly shorten the time from application to offer. We have also implemented new recruiting tools and referral programs that are improving our application through different conversation rates and better identifying highly qualified candidates. These efforts have successfully increased the size and frequency of our conductor classes and provided strong ongoing hire visibility by expanding our new hire pipeline almost 300% since July.

我們在年初即專注於招募因應需求上升所需的人才，我為團隊能夠以創新思維並果斷行動，克服緊俏勞動市場帶來的挑戰而感到自豪。在這一年中，我們重新設計了招募流程，去除不必要的步驟，並大幅縮短從申請到發出錄用通知的時間。我們也導入新的招募工具與推薦獎勵計畫，透過不同的轉換率提升申請成效，並更有效辨識高度合格的候選人。這些努力已成功提高我們列車長培訓班的規模與開班頻率，並透過自7月以來將新進人員人才管道擴大近300%，提供強勁且持續的招募能見度。

We are also increasing intermodal head count and supplemental labor to keep the terminals fluid and allow us to continue moving containers for our customers. While these hiring initiatives are underway, we're taking steps to increase the availability of our existing T&E workforce. We have implemented new attendance-based initiative programs, which allow us to better utilize our existing head count to move more freight for our customers.

我們也在增加聯運（intermodal）人力編制與補充勞力，以維持場站運作順暢，讓我們能持續為客戶運送貨櫃。在這些招募措施推進的同時，我們也採取行動提升現有運輸與引擎（T&E）人力的可用性。我們已推行新的出勤導向激勵計畫，使我們能更有效運用既有人力編制，為客戶運送更多貨物。

We are also making upgrades to our network to increase throughput and create additional capacity. We're installing more automated equipment at our hump yards. We are converting intermodal terminals to grounded facilities in order to increase capacity, and we are expanding our investment in autonomous cranes to increase intermodal terminal throughput.

我們也在升級我們的網路以提升吞吐量並創造額外產能。我們正在我們的驼峰調車場（hump yards）安裝更多自動化設備。我們正將聯運場站轉型為地面堆置（grounded）設施以提升產能，並擴大對自動化起重機的投資，以提高聯運場站吞吐量。

While we still have sufficient line of road capacity, we are strategically investing in growth by extending sidings in select locations across the network. These siding investments will allow us to continue to refine our train plan and provide growth capacity for years to come.

雖然我們仍有足夠的正線運能，但我們正透過在網路中特定地點延長會車線（sidings）來策略性投資成長。這些會車線投資將使我們能持續精進列車運行計畫，並在未來多年提供成長所需的運能。

Every action we take is focused on network reliability. That begins and ends with running a balanced train plan to minimize delay and maximize network performance. Running a scheduled network ensures assets are in the right place at the right time. We will continue to maintain network balance and the principles of scheduled railroading as we add resources to meet current demand. These principles have allowed us to keep the intermodal network open and running well this year, and we are focused on continuing the strong performance as we enter into peak season.

我們採取的每一項行動都聚焦於網路可靠性。這從、也終將回到：以平衡的列車運行計畫來將延誤降至最低並最大化網路績效。採用排程化的網路運行可確保資產在正確的時間位於正確的位置。在我們增加資源以滿足當前需求之際，我們將持續維持網路平衡與排程化鐵路營運（scheduled railroading）的原則。這些原則使我們今年得以保持聯運網路暢通且運行良好；在進入旺季之際，我們也將專注於延續這項強勁表現。

Turning to Slide 8. Maintaining a safe operation is the foundation to the success of any other operating goal we want to pursue, and we remain committed to being the safest railroad. In the third quarter, personal injury rate improved sequentially, and ongoing safety initiatives also drove a decrease in injury severity. While train accident rate increased slightly from last quarter's record result, accidents rates have improved year-over-year.

接著看第8頁投影片。維持安全營運是我們追求任何其他營運目標成功的基礎，我們仍致力於成為最安全的鐵路公司。第三季人身傷害率較前一季改善，持續的安全措施也帶動傷害嚴重度下降。雖然列車事故率較上一季的歷史最佳表現略有上升，但事故率較去年同期仍有改善。

Focus for the remainder of the year will be critical rule compliance and reducing human-factor accidents. We are leveraging the approximate 9,000 tablets distributed to field employees to more productively deliver these messages. Not only do the tablets allow real-time communication of key safety information, but we are also able to more effectively combine electronic and in-person communications to increase the impact of our training programs and drive lasting changes in the behavior that will better protect our employees.

今年剩餘期間的重點將是關鍵規章遵循與降低人為因素事故。我們正運用發放給現場員工約9,000台平板電腦，更有效率地傳遞這些訊息。平板不僅能即時傳達關鍵安全資訊，我們也能更有效結合電子與面對面溝通，以提升訓練計畫的影響力，並推動行為的長期改變，從而更好地保護員工。

I'll now turn the call over to Sean for the financials.

接下來我把電話會議交給Sean說明財務部分。

Thank you, Jamie, and good afternoon. Looking at the income statement on Slide 9. Operating income grew nearly $300 million or 26%. Revenue was up 24%, reflecting gains across all major markets, higher fuel prices and the impact of Quality Carriers. The operating ratio of 56.4% is a third quarter record for CSX as we focus on operating efficiently and growing the business. As a reminder, this includes an impact of approximately 250 basis points from the ongoing operations of Quality.

謝謝你，Jamie，大家下午好。我們看第9頁投影片的損益表。營業利益增加近3億美元，增幅26%。營收成長24%，反映所有主要市場的成長、更高的燃油價格，以及Quality Carriers的影響。營業比率56.4%為CSX第三季的歷史新高，顯示我們在專注提升營運效率並推動業務成長。提醒一下，這其中包含Quality持續營運帶來約250個基點的影響。

Looking below the line. Interest and other expense was $16 million favorable to last year due to a lower weighted average coupon and lower average debt balances as well as favorable pension impacts, and income tax expense was up on higher pretax earnings. The effective tax rate for the quarter was 24.3%.

再看營業利益以下項目。利息及其他費用較去年有利1,600萬美元，主要因加權平均票面利率較低、平均負債餘額較低，以及退休金項目帶來的有利影響；所得稅費用則因稅前盈餘較高而增加。本季有效稅率為24.3%。

Looking at expenses in more detail on the next slide. Total costs increased $349 million or 23% in the quarter. Including transaction-related expenses, approximately $200 million of the increase was driven by Quality Carriers. Higher locomotive fuel prices were also a significant factor, up about $90 million versus last year. Partially offsetting these items, real estate gains were $56 million higher. Nonfuel inflation remained steady versus last quarter at around 3%. As I mentioned last time, we have some lagging contracts that may drive higher inflation going into next year.

下一頁我們更詳細看費用。本季總成本增加3.49億美元，增幅23%。包含交易相關費用在內，增量中約2億美元來自Quality Carriers。機車燃油價格上升也是重要因素，較去年增加約9,000萬美元。部分抵銷上述項目的是，不動產處分利益增加5,600萬美元。非燃油通膨相較上一季維持穩定，約在3%左右。如我上次提到的，我們仍有一些落後的合約可能使通膨在明年走高。

As Jamie discussed, we continue to focus on hiring and retaining train and engine employees. While head count was roughly flat sequentially, excluding the addition of Quality Carriers, the conductor count was up and was offset by reductions in other areas of the business. As a result, we experienced $16 million more in hiring and retention costs versus last year.

如Jamie所述，我們持續聚焦於招募並留任列車與引擎（train and engine）員工。雖然人力編制較前一季大致持平，但若排除新增的Quality Carriers，列車長人數增加，並被業務其他領域的人力縮減所抵銷。因此，相較去年我們的招募與留任成本增加了1,600萬美元。

You'll note that we have renamed the prior MS&O line to purchase services and other. The base expenses are identical to the prior MS&O category, but the new description better reflects the costs in this line post acquisition. Increased costs on this line reflected the addition of Quality as well as higher intermodal terminal and locomotive expense. Depreciation was up on a higher asset base that also includes the acquisition impact.

你會注意到，我們已將先前的MS&O項目更名為「外購服務及其他」。基礎費用與先前MS&O類別相同，但新的描述更能反映併購後該項目中的成本內容。該項目成本增加反映Quality的加入，以及更高的聯運場站與機車費用。折舊因資產基礎提高而增加，其中也包含併購影響。

Finally, we are proud to report another all-time record for fuel efficiency in the quarter. This reflects continued focus and investment by CSX, demonstrating our commitment to sustainability and the ongoing environmental advantage of rail.

最後，我們很自豪地報告本季燃油效率再創歷史新高。這反映CSX持續的專注與投資，展現我們對永續發展的承諾，以及鐵路在環境面持續具備的優勢。

Looking into the fourth quarter. We typically see a seasonal increase in operating expense due to weather, lower capitalized labor as well as holidays and vacations. That trend should continue this year, in addition to expected headwinds from higher incentive compensation and lower sequential gains on property sales in the fourth quarter. Peak season expenses are also likely to be higher than normal as a result of ongoing supply chain disruptions.

展望第四季。我們通常會因天候、資本化人工較低，以及假期與休假等因素，看到營運費用的季節性上升。今年這一趨勢應會延續，此外第四季也預期會受到較高的獎酬性薪酬，以及不動產出售收益較前一季下降的逆風影響。由於供應鏈持續受干擾，旺季費用也可能高於正常水準。

Now turning to cash flow on Slide 11. With operating income up 34% on a year-to-date basis, free cash flow before dividends this year is $2.9 billion, up nearly 50%. Free cash flow conversion on net income is exceeding 100% year-to-date, and we expect it to remain near this level on a full year basis. The company's cash balance of $2.2 billion is beginning to normalize. The lower balance reflects the acquisition in the quarter and a step-up in distributions to shareholders. We expect cash to continue to normalize over time.

接著看第11頁投影片的現金流。在年初至今營業利益成長34%的帶動下，今年股利發放前的自由現金流為29億美元，增加近50%。年初至今自由現金流對淨利的轉換率超過100%，我們預期全年將維持在接近此水準。公司22億美元的現金餘額正開始回到常態水準。較低的餘額反映本季的併購，以及對股東分配的提高。我們預期現金水位將隨時間持續正常化。

After fully funding capital investments in our core infrastructure, year-to-date shareholder returns have exceeded $2.9 billion, including approximately $2.3 billion in buybacks and over $600 million in dividends. We will continue to be balanced and opportunistic in our buyback approach, and we remain committed to returning excess cash to our shareholders.

在為我們核心基礎設施的資本投資提供充足資金後，截至目前股東回饋已超過29億美元，其中約23億美元為庫藏股回購，股利超過6億美元。我們將持續在回購策略上保持均衡並把握機會，同時我們仍致力於將多餘現金回饋給股東。

With that, let me turn it back to Jim for his closing remarks.

接下來，我把時間交還給Jim做結語。

Great. Thank you, Sean. Concluding with Slide 12. We are maintaining our full year outlook for double-digit revenue growth before the impact from Quality Carriers. We expect capital expenditures to be at the top end of our initial $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion range due to materials cost inflation, the capacity investments we just reviewed and the inclusion of Quality Carriers capital spending.

很好。謝謝你，Sean。最後看第12頁投影片。我們維持全年展望：在不考慮Quality Carriers影響之前，營收將維持雙位數成長。由於材料成本通膨、我們剛剛回顧的產能投資，以及納入Quality Carriers的資本支出，我們預期資本支出將落在原先17億至18億美元區間的上緣。

I'll conclude my remarks the same way I began: we are committed to helping our customers overcome the current supply chain challenges. And as you heard today, our entire team is aligned around this goal, and we will continue to act. We have a strong hiring pipeline, and we will hire until we have staffed the network to match demand. We expect to hire above attrition throughout the rest of this year and into next year.

我將以與開場相同的方式作結：我們致力於協助客戶克服當前供應鏈挑戰。正如各位今天所聽到的，我們整個團隊都圍繞此目標一致對齊，並將持續採取行動。我們有強勁的招募管道，並將持續招募，直到人力配置足以讓網路運能符合需求。我們預期在今年剩餘時間以及明年，招募人數都將高於自然流失。

Economic demand remains strong, and CSX will help customers capture that demand. Everything we do begins with a commitment to providing customers a high-quality service. We will build on the positive momentum from actions taken to date. We will continue putting resources in place to drive growth, and we will provide customers with creative new offerings that make CSX a more meaningful part of the customer supply chain. Back to you, Bill.

經濟需求仍然強勁，CSX將協助客戶掌握這些需求。我們所做的一切都始於對提供客戶高品質服務的承諾。我們將在迄今採取行動所帶來的正向動能上持續加碼。我們將持續配置資源以推動成長，並為客戶提供具創意的新方案，使CSX在客戶供應鏈中扮演更重要的角色。交回給你，Bill。

Thank you, Jim. (Operator Instructions) With that, we will now take questions.

謝謝你，Jim。（接線員指示）接下來我們開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Ken Hoexter.

（接線員指示）第一個問題來自Ken Hoexter。

Congrats on some really solid results in a tough environment. Great to see. Maybe just a follow-up, either Jim or Sean, just talking about your thoughts on pricing. I know you were kind of running through some of the categories there. Maybe how much you can still address and some of the opportunities to catch this rising market, and obviously, coal up 20%. It seems like you're touching some of that maybe even faster than thought or there's different kind of moves. Maybe just delve into the pricing outlook.

在艱難環境下仍交出非常穩健的成績，恭喜。很高興看到這樣的表現。我想追問一下，Jim或Sean都可以，談談你們對定價的看法。我知道你們剛剛大致跑過一些類別。想請教你們還能在多大程度上進一步調整，以及有哪些機會可以把握這個上行的市場；而且煤炭上升20%。看起來你們可能比預期更快地觸及其中一些機會，或是採取了不同的動作。能否再深入談談定價展望。

Ken, I'll take a shot at that. This is Kevin. I think it's clear that cost inflation over the last year, expectations have risen and are arising into next year. And this is not surprising to our customers. They're facing the same cost inflation pressures that we see. And what we strive to do is be transparent around that in our conversations with customers.

Ken，我來試著回答。我是Kevin。很明顯，過去一年成本通膨使得市場預期上升，並且延續到明年。這對我們的客戶而言並不意外。他們也面臨與我們相同的成本通膨壓力。我們努力做到的是，在與客戶的對話中對此保持透明。

Fourth quarter and first quarter are heavy renewal periods for us, so we'll be having those discussions. But the exciting part, though, as we get into a higher inflation environment is really the value proposition we offer when a customer is looking to offset some of that cost inflation, rail is such a great alternative to shift more of their volumes over to rail. And then you add on top of that, the persistent driver shortages that we're likely to see well into next year and probably the years ahead, the value proposition is there.

第四季與第一季是我們合約大量續約的期間，因此我們會進行這些討論。不過令人振奮的是，當我們進入較高通膨環境時，若客戶希望抵銷部分成本通膨，我們所提供的價值主張就更凸顯；鐵路是一個非常好的替代方案，可把更多運量轉移到鐵路。再加上我們很可能在明年、甚至未來數年都會持續看到的司機短缺問題，這個價值主張就更明確。

And then on top of that, the environmental discussions that we're having increasingly with customers is really resonating with those. So it's no surprise, cost inflation is higher than what we saw last year. It will be a higher cost inflation environment than what we've probably seen in the last number of years, and we've got to have conversations with our customers around that.

此外，我們與客戶日益增加的環境議題討論，也確實引起他們的共鳴。因此並不意外，成本通膨高於我們去年所見。這將是一個比過去若干年更高的成本通膨環境，而我們必須就此與客戶進行對話。

I guess just any -- just a follow-up. Any detailed thoughts on kind of the trend of pure pricing pace of acceleration or any level of that detail?

我想再追問一下——對於純粹定價的加速趨勢，或任何這類細節，你們有更具體的看法嗎？

Well, we get to touch, as I mentioned, contracts into the fourth and first quarter. That's a heavy renewal period. And we'll continue to have those discussions. I think I'll probably leave it at that.

如我提到的，我們會在第四季與第一季接觸到合約。那是續約高峰期。我們會持續進行這些討論。我想我就先說到這裡。

Your next question comes from the line of Amit Mehrotra.

下一個問題來自Amit Mehrotra。

Kevin, can you just update us on the Quality Carriers acquisition, the status of the revenue opportunity you're seeing, converting some of those into chemical carloads and just when we may see kind of a more meaningful uplift? Obviously, that's a great offset to intermodal carloads, which are growing. Just seems like it's a great idiosyncratic opportunity. If you can just give us a little bit of update there. And then just any initial thoughts on margins or performance next year? Obviously, you've got a big pricing cycle ahead of you. Just any willingness to opine about what the opportunity is from an OR perspective next year would be highly appreciated.

Kevin，你能否更新一下Quality Carriers收購案的進度、你們看到的營收機會狀況、將其中一些轉換為化學品車載量的進展，以及我們何時可能看到更有意義的提升？顯然，這對正在成長的聯運車載量是一個很好的抵銷。看起來這是一個很有特色、具公司特定性的機會。如果可以，請給我們一些最新進展。另外，對明年的利潤率或表現有沒有初步想法？顯然你們前方有一個很大的定價週期。若你們願意就明年從營運比率（OR）角度的機會做些評論，我們將非常感謝。

Maybe I'll let Sean take the OR question, but I don't think we're giving guidance today on next year. But on the Quality Carriers, as you'll remember, that really is focused on our chemical franchise, and the customer reception has been overwhelmingly positive. In a market where supply is constrained, our customers are looking for more options to move their freight. And so Randy and his team, combined with our TRANSFLO team, have found a number of options and we're moving freight today now that we're doing it in a way where it's thoughtful and calculated and that the customer is seeing a good service on that product, and we'll continue to build momentum in the market. But I think everything that we thought before we made the acquisition is coming true.

OR的問題我可能讓Sean來回答，但我認為我們今天不會提供明年的指引。至於Quality Carriers，如你所記得的，這主要聚焦在我們的化學品業務，而客戶反應極為正面。在供給受限的市場中，客戶正在尋找更多運輸其貨物的選項。因此Randy和他的團隊結合我們TRANSFLO團隊，已找到多種方案；我們現在就已在運貨，而且我們是以審慎且經過計算的方式進行，讓客戶在該產品上看到良好的服務，我們也會持續在市場上累積動能。但我認為，我們在收購前所預期的一切都正在實現。

The only thing I will say is from an equipment standpoint, obviously, with things tight right now, the equipment backlog is going to take a little bit longer into next year to really ramp that up when we think about some of the ISO tank solutions that we're contemplating out there.

我唯一要補充的是，就設備而言，顯然在目前供應吃緊的情況下，設備積壓訂單要到明年才會花更長時間逐步消化並真正拉升；尤其當我們考量一些我們正在評估的ISO槽罐解決方案時更是如此。

So other than that, everything is full speed ahead. I would say there's customers that we believe would be longer -- it would take a lot longer to adopt that have been first to adopt, which is exciting for us, market leaders in the industry. And their adoption, I think, is going to really set the tone for this to really take off into the market.

除此之外，一切都全速推進。我會說，有些我們原本認為需要更久——也就是要花更長時間才會採用的客戶，反而成為第一批採用者，這對我們來說很令人振奮，因為他們是產業的市場領導者。而他們的採用，我認為將真正為這項方案在市場上起飛定下基調。

So the other thing that I think is positive, it shows other partners that we have that we're capable of doing this, using the TRANSFLO solution in unique ways. And we don't always have to do it ourselves. We would love partners to continue to bring freight and through all of our different capabilities that we have. So I think that momentum is starting to be seen in the market as well.

另外我認為正面的地方是，這也向我們的其他合作夥伴展現：我們有能力以獨特的方式運用TRANSFLO解決方案來做到這件事。而且我們不一定都要自己做。我們也很樂意讓合作夥伴持續帶來貨源，並透過我們各種不同的能力來承接。因此我認為，這股動能也開始在市場上被看見。

Do you want to -- Sean, do you want to talk about the OR? I mean maybe you can't offer guidance, but maybe another way to ask it is, there's obviously a lag on this coal revenue ARPU opportunity. Just wondering, are we going to see more uplift in coal yields in the fourth quarter as you -- as some of that lag gets caught up. Just talk to us maybe about the cadence if you don't want to answer the OR question next year.

你想要——Sean，你想談談 OR（營運比率）嗎？我的意思是，也許你不能提供指引，但換個方式問就是，這個煤炭營收 ARPU 的機會顯然存在滯後。想請教，我們是否會在第四季看到煤炭單位收益有更多上升，因為——因為部分滯後會追上來。如果你不想回答明年的 OR 問題，也請跟我們談談可能的節奏。

Yes. On the -- clearly, on the export coal side, you've seen some favorability in the prices there. And as we've mentioned before, our price is tied to the benchmarks. And you will see some favorability sequentially in the fourth quarter versus third quarter.

是的。就——很明顯，在出口煤炭方面，你已經看到那邊價格有一些有利變化。而且如我們之前提到的，我們的定價與基準價格掛鉤。你會看到第四季相較第三季，按季會有一些有利變化。

It's a strong market. We continue to see favorability in the next year. How long it holds up at these levels, they probably won't hold here, but these are extremely elevated levels that will probably carry into next year and hopefully create some favorability there. But it's -- everybody is trying to produce more coal, and we're trying to move more of it today.

這是個強勁的市場。我們持續看到明年也會有利。這些水準能維持多久——它們可能不會一直維持在這裡，但這些是極度偏高的水準，可能會延續到明年，並希望在那裡帶來一些有利因素。但——每個人都在努力生產更多煤炭，而我們今天也在努力運更多。

And at the mine, there's been some struggles here in the third quarter, as you could see with some of the production hiccups that some of the producers have had. So we're working through that as diligently as we can and really ramping up our ability to serve those customers.

而在礦端，第三季這裡有一些掙扎，正如你從部分生產商出現的一些產量小插曲所看到的。所以我們正盡可能勤勉地處理這些問題，並真正提升我們服務這些客戶的能力。

Your next question comes from the line of Tom Wadewitz.

你的下一個問題來自 Tom Wadewitz。

I think this is probably for you, Kevin, but maybe for others also. How do you think about the impact of capacity constraints on volumes? You think intermodal would have been meaningfully stronger? Do you -- how much optimism do you have as you look forward that -- maybe into '22, that capacity constraints get alleviated quickly? And how does that kind of inform your perspective on growth looking to next year? Is it reasonable to expect easing of constraints and a pretty good acceleration? I guess it's primarily around intermodal, but you may have capacity constraints in other areas as well.

我想這可能主要是問你，Kevin，但也可能其他人也能回答。你如何看待產能限制對運量的影響？你認為聯運本來會顯著更強嗎？你——當你往前看——也許到 2022 年，對於產能限制能快速緩解有多少樂觀？而這又如何影響你對明年成長的看法？是否合理預期限制會緩解並出現相當不錯的加速？我想主要是圍繞聯運，但你們在其他領域也可能有產能限制。

Tom, it's Jim. Let me take a shot. I would say, yes, we're clearly constrained. There was more business out there this quarter. There has been more business out there throughout this year that we could not handle. And the primary reason for that is our inability, like everyone else in the world right now, to ramp up our workforce coming out of the steep declines in the early phases of the pandemic.

Tom，我是 Jim。我來試著回答。我會說，是的，我們顯然受到限制。本季外面有更多業務。今年整體也一直有更多業務是我們無法承接的。而主要原因是，我們跟現在世界上其他人一樣，無法在疫情早期階段的急劇下滑之後，迅速擴增我們的勞動力。

And as Jamie talked about, we are now starting to see the fruits of all of our hard work for the last 9 months or more and are beginning to bring on more people and actually deploy those people into the field. So we're able to operate a little bit better. And we fully expect that, that trend will continue as we go forward unless some other crazy curveball gets thrown at us, and be in a much, much better position as we exit this year and move into next year and hopefully be able to take advantage of what seems to be a continuation of strong demand for transportation services into 2022, and now some people are even saying 2023.

而正如 Jamie 談到的，我們現在開始看到過去 9 個月或更久所有努力的成果，並開始招募更多人，且實際把這些人部署到現場。所以我們能運作得更好一些。我們完全預期這個趨勢在未來會持續，除非又有其他瘋狂的意外變數丟向我們；並且在今年結束、進入明年時處於更、更加有利的位置，並希望能把握看起來將延續到 2022 年的強勁運輸服務需求；現在甚至有人說到 2023 年。

Do you think a lot of that is in your control? Or is it hard to have visibility given the warehouse labor, drayage labor, other pieces?

你認為其中很大一部分是在你們可控範圍內嗎？還是說，考量到倉儲勞力、短途拖運（drayage）勞力以及其他環節，很難有能見度？

My first -- the #1 priority is getting enough CSX employees in the train -- principally conductors on the train, so we can operate more fluidly and get back to some of the performance metrics that we were putting up prepandemic, in the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020.

我第一——第 1 優先事項是讓 CSX 有足夠的員工在列車上——主要是列車上的列車長（conductors），這樣我們才能更順暢地營運，並回到疫情前、也就是 2019 年底與 2020 年初我們所達到的一些績效指標水準。

The fluidity, the dwell, the on-time performance, the customer service metrics that we put out there, the trip plan compliance numbers, those numbers are all down. And it's principally a result of our having an extremely difficult time getting people to come to work for us. And it's taken a complete, I would say, reengineering of the hiring process, a complete review of everything that we do when we onboard employees for us to get to this point. This has been extremely difficult. We're no different than every business -- at least in the United States, every business, I think, every business, every hospital, every school, everybody is struggling with the same phenomena of trying to get people to come to work.

順暢度、停留時間（dwell）、準點表現、我們對外公布的客戶服務指標、行程計畫遵循（trip plan compliance）數字，這些數字都在下滑。而這主要是因為我們在讓人來為我們工作這件事上極其困難。為了走到這一步，我會說，我們對招募流程做了徹底的再工程，也全面檢視了我們在員工到職（onboard）時所做的一切。這非常困難。我們和所有企業沒有不同——至少在美國，我想每個企業、每家醫院、每所學校，所有人都在為同樣的現象所苦：試著讓人願意來上班。

I am confident that we have done everything we can do right now and are seeing that numbers are increasing in terms of the number of employees that we can put into our training programs and begin to qualify them to go to work. And like I said, unless something else comes along that disrupts that process, I hope we're going to be in a lot better shape at the end of this year, the beginning of next year than we have been over the last 9 months.

我有信心，我們目前已經做了所有能做的事，也看到可投入訓練計畫的人數正在增加，並開始讓他們取得上工資格。而如我所說，除非又出現其他事情干擾這個流程，我希望我們在今年底、明年初的狀況會比過去 9 個月好得多。

Your next question comes from the line of Justin Long.

你的下一個問題來自 Justin Long。

Sean, I think you called out a few sequential headwinds to OpEx in the fourth quarter. I believe it was incentive comps, lower gains on sale and then some peak season expense. Any way you can put a finer point around those 3 items to just help us understand the order of magnitude here in the next quarter?

Sean，我想你提到第四季 OpEx（營運費用）有幾個按季逆風。我相信是激勵薪酬比較基期、出售收益下降，然後還有一些旺季費用。你能否把這三項再說得更精確一些，幫助我們理解下季的量級大概是多少？

Yes. Thanks, Justin. So you got the items right: higher incentive comp, lower gains on property sales and then just some additional costs related to the supply chain. If you put all those together, you're probably looking about a couple of pennies over and above what we would normally see from the third quarter to the fourth quarter.

可以。謝謝，Justin。所以你提到的項目都對：較高的激勵薪酬、較低的不動產出售收益，然後是一些與供應鏈相關的額外成本。把這些加總起來，你大概會看到比我們通常從第三季到第四季的變化，再多出約幾美分。

Okay. Very helpful. And then any thoughts on other revenue as well? I know it was pretty elevated and took a decent step up here sequentially ex Quality, but thoughts on that into the fourth quarter and maybe into next year?

好的。非常有幫助。那其他收入（other revenue）方面有什麼看法嗎？我知道它相當高，而且在排除 Quality 後按季也明顯上升；但對第四季以及可能到明年的走勢有什麼想法？

So if you look just at the pure other revenue line, not considering the trucking revenue line, which should -- trucking revenue should be pretty consistent quarter-to-quarter, really, the big driver, as Kevin said there, is the intermodal storage and premise-use charges as well as demurrage. And that's a direct result of what's going on in the supply chain that we've been talking about here. So as things start to improve, that line -- the other revenue line will come down. But here we sit in October, we're probably in about the same place as we were in Q3, and we'll see where it goes from here.

所以如果你只看純粹的其他收入項目，不把卡車運輸收入那一行算進去——卡車運輸收入其實應該每季都相當一致——真正的主要驅動因素，如 Kevin 在那裡所說，是聯運的堆存費與場地使用費（premise-use charges），以及滯期費（demurrage）。而這是我們一直在談的供應鏈現況所直接造成的結果。所以當情況開始改善時，那一條——其他收入那一條會下降。但就我們現在在 10 月所處的位置來看，大概和第三季差不多，接下來就看它如何發展。

Your next question comes from the line of Scott Group.

您的下一個問題來自 Scott Group 的來電。

So just back on head count. If you can get all the people that you'd like to get, I guess, two thoughts. One, how much -- it sounds like you want to be above attrition directionally. Like what kind of percentage increases in head count are you thinking about? And is there a way to think about if you add back 5% to head count, what do you think that means to volume growth and things like that? Do you still think you can grow volume in excess of head count? I'm just trying to understand the spreads there.

所以回到人力編制。如果你們能招到所有想招的人，我想有兩個想法。第一，你們聽起來方向上希望人數增幅能高於自然流失。你們在想的人力編制百分比增幅大概是多少？另外，有沒有一種方式可以思考：如果人力編制加回 5%，你們認為這對運量成長之類會意味著什麼？你們仍然認為運量可以成長得超過人力編制的增幅嗎？我只是想理解其中的差距。

Yes, Scott. So what we're looking on a sequential basis is modest increases in head count, right? We're bringing on, trying to fill classes of 40 every week and then getting those folks trained up and out into the field, right? So you're not going to see dramatic increases in head count. I think it's also fair to assume that we've got capacity still on our existing trains and capacity on the network. So we are hiring for growth, but it's not -- it doesn't need to be one for one.

是的，Scott。所以我們按季（逐季）來看，目標是人力編制小幅增加，對吧？我們每週都在招募、嘗試把每班 40 人補滿，然後把這些人訓練好並派到現場，對吧？所以你不會看到人力編制出現劇烈增加。我想也可以合理假設，我們現有列車仍有產能，網路也還有產能。所以我們是在為成長而招人，但不需要——不必一比一對應。

Okay. So I didn't -- I probably didn't ask that so well. But do you think next year is a year where you could grow volume in excess of head count?

好的。所以我——我可能問得不太好。但你們認為明年會是運量成長可以超過人力編制增幅的一年嗎？

I don't see any reason why that wouldn't be the target.

我看不出有任何理由不把那個當作目標。

Your next question comes from the line of Brian Oglenski (sic) [Brandon Oglenski].

您的下一個問題來自 Brian Oglenski（原文如此）[Brandon Oglenski] 的來電。

This is Brandon. I just want to ask a quick one about the fourth quarter cost commentary. I guess -- I don't know if [this has been asked], but does that mean it's going to be hard to show OR improvement in the near term? And then I guess longer term, if I can sneak a two-part question. Kevin, what are some of the structural things that you think you can leverage with the head count, kind of building off of Scott's question there?

我是 Brandon。我想快速問一個關於第四季成本評論的問題。我想——我不知道是否[已有人問過]，但這是否意味著短期內很難看到 OR（營運比率）改善？然後我想如果可以再加問一個兩段式問題。Kevin，就人力編制而言，你認為有哪些結構性的事情可以槓桿化（發揮效益），延續 Scott 那個問題？

Yes. So just on the OR question, we're not going to give OR guidance. But I think it's fair to assume sequentially given some of the cost pressures as well as just the normal seasonality, we'll probably see an OR that's a little bit higher in the fourth quarter than the third quarter.

是的。先就 OR 的問題，我們不會提供 OR 指引。但我想可以合理假設，按季來看，考量一些成本壓力以及正常的季節性因素，我們第四季的 OR 可能會比第三季略高一些。

Brandon, I guess the question was what can we do with more head count?

Brandon，我想你的問題是：人力編制增加後我們能做什麼？

Yes, like strategically.

是的，像是策略面。

Strategically, we're going to move a lot more freight. When we talk to customers right now, they're looking for capacity. And they're trying to offset a lot of cost inflation, too. The environment couldn't be any better for us to go out and sell the product we have. So we're going to move more freight, and we're going to get more wallet share with the customer. It's a perfect environment for us.

在策略上，我們會運更多貨。我們現在跟客戶談，他們在找的是產能。而且他們也在試著抵消大量的成本通膨。對我們來說，出去銷售我們現有產品的環境再好不過。所以我們會運更多貨，並且在客戶那裡取得更高的錢包份額（wallet share）。這對我們是完美的環境。

Your next line comes from the -- your next question comes from the line of Brian Ossenbeck.

您的下一個問題來自 Brian Ossenbeck 的來電。

So, Jim, I just wanted to ask a bigger-picture question about just capacity and interplay with the regulators in D.C. And we'll see what your peers put out there later this week and next week, but it looks like you have some -- obviously a lot of capacity solutions here that you're ramping up on your own. Do you think you need additional help on that for some of your supply chain partners? Maybe just some perspective on what you can do on your own versus what you sort of need help with.

所以，Jim，我想問一個更宏觀的問題，關於產能以及與華府監管機構之間的互動。我們會在本週稍晚和下週看到同業的說法，但看起來你們——顯然你們有不少產能解決方案正在自行推進。你認為你們是否需要額外的協助，來幫到你們的一些供應鏈夥伴？也許請分享一下，你們能靠自己做到什麼，以及哪些部分你們需要外部協助。

And then just contrasting that with obviously the big other revenue you just mentioned. Clearly, demurrage is a cost for everybody at this point. But there have been some fairly pointed comments out of the STB about growing and focusing maybe less on OR than on growth. So maybe you can address all that in terms of adding capacity if you need help and what the regulators do you think will take away from all this.

然後把這點跟你剛提到的另一個很大的收入項目作對照。很明顯，滯期費（demurrage）在此時對所有人都是成本。但 STB 那邊也有一些相當直白的評論，談到要成長、並且可能少把焦點放在 OR、而是放在成長上。所以也許你可以就這些面向回應：如果需要協助來增加產能，以及你認為監管機構會從這一切中帶走（造成什麼影響）什麼。

I think Kevin did a very good job of outlining all of the activities that we've been undertaking here over the last 6 months or so to do on our own without any plotting to improve and increase capacity. We were way ahead of the curve in Chicago, the biggest terminal for us in terms of intermodal capacity, expanding our 59th Street facility that -- we bought that property 2 years ago. We had it -- we had another yard right down the street, which was ready to go, cranes available.

我認為 Kevin 已經非常清楚地概述了我們在過去大約 6 個月裡所採取的所有行動，這些都是我們自行推動、沒有任何盤算（plotting）地去改善並提升產能。在芝加哥——就我們的聯運產能而言是最大的場站——我們在擴建第 59 街設施方面遠遠走在前面；那塊地我們 2 年前就買了。我們當時——我們在街的另一頭還有另一個場站，已經準備就緒，也有可用的吊車。

So we've always tried to be somewhat visionary in trying to determine where the growth would be and make sure that we were properly positioned. Some of these new initiatives, like Kevin talked about moving traffic inland from Savannah into a facility in Atlanta. We had a yard available there. It wasn't an intermodal yard. We created an intermodal yard. And so we're taking the steps that we think are appropriate and necessary in order to make sure that our railroad continues to operate the more fluid and provide better service all the time. And it actually has always been the case. That will always be the case and it's -- whether that's mainline track that moves merchandise business or whatever it is, we're always being thoughtful in our planning process to make sure that we have the capacity available to handle the traffic growth as it comes on.

所以我們一直都試著更有前瞻性，去判斷成長會出現在哪裡，並確保我們的佈局到位。一些新的措施，例如 Kevin 提到把貨流從薩凡納往內陸移到亞特蘭大的一個設施。我們那裡有一個可用的場站。它原本不是聯運場站。我們把它打造為聯運場站。因此我們正在採取我們認為適當且必要的步驟，以確保我們的鐵路能持續更順暢地運作，並且一直提供更好的服務。而且事實上一直都是如此。未來也會一直如此——不論是承載一般貨運業務的主線軌道，或是其他任何項目，我們在規劃流程中始終審慎思考，確保有足夠產能可用，以因應交通量成長到來時的需求。

The lucky fact is that we, over the last 4 years, by changing the methodologies we used to run the railroad, have freed up an enormous amount of capacity across the rail network just simply by running the trains in a more reliable and efficient manner. And so we don't need to make big, big, big investments in the railroad in order to handle future growth. We've got locomotives in storage. So we're ready to go.

幸運的是，過去 4 年裡，透過改變我們營運鐵路的方法論，我們僅僅因為以更可靠、更有效率的方式運行列車，就在整個鐵路網路釋放出龐大的產能。因此，為了因應未來成長，我們不需要在鐵路上做非常、非常、非常大的投資。我們有機車在庫存（封存）中。所以我們隨時可以上線。

Have thought, I believe, it was on the year-end conference call in January, where I called out the fact that we were going to be hiring. I fully believed inasmuch as at that point in time, we had about 300 of our train and engine service employees off on COVID, that we would just simply do what we've always done. We hired 500 employees. The 300 employees would come back from off sick, and we'd be rocking and rolling and we'll be moving freight. No one ever gave me a heads-up that says, "Oh, by the way, when you want to hire somebody, nobody is going to want to work for you." Plus all the people that you had furloughed as the railroad had -- the traffic had declined so dramatically. It was so many more than was usual, when we called them back and said, "Do you want to come back to work?" They said, "No, I've decided to go do something else. I've changed my lifestyle. I'm going to go enjoy the scenery on the Jersey Coast," or whatever it might be.

我記得我曾在 1 月的年終電話會議上提到，我們將會招募人員。我當時完全相信，因為那個時間點我們大約有 300 名列車與機務服務員工因 COVID 而休假，我們只要像以往一樣做就好。我們招了 500 名員工。那 300 名員工會從病假回來，然後我們就能全速運轉、把貨運起來。但從來沒有人先提醒我說：「喔，順帶一提，當你想招人時，沒有人會想為你工作。」再加上，當鐵路——運量大幅下滑時，你們曾經資遣（furlough）的人數遠比平常多；當我們把他們召回並問「你想回來上班嗎？」他們說：「不，我決定去做別的事了。我改變了我的生活方式。我要去享受新澤西海岸的風景，」或不管是什麼。

This is not a phenomena that is unique to CSX. This is a phenomena that nobody saw coming. And it is a phenomena that everybody in the supply chain, whether you're a trucker, whether you're a steamship company, whether you're a port, whether you're a warehouse operator, whatever you do, this is a phenomena that is impacting everyone, and everyone is trying to deal with this said, what is now the new norm. So we've got to change everything the way we think about it. And that's -- but have done that. As we always do, we adapted. We recognized the situation and we adapted and we made changes, and that's why we're reasonably confident that we'll be in better shape as we move forward this year and in pretty good shape as we move into next year. I don't need any help from the government in order to figure out what I'm supposed to do. I just don't want to make sure the government does something that screws it up worse.

這並不是 CSX 獨有的現象。這是一個沒有人預見到的現象。而且這是一個影響供應鏈上每一個人的現象，不論你是卡車司機、不論你是遠洋航運公司、不論你是港口、不論你是倉儲營運商，不管你做什麼，這個現象正在影響所有人，而所有人都在試著應對這個所謂、如今已成為新常態的狀況。所以我們必須改變我們思考這件事的所有方式。而那就是——但我們已經做到了。就像我們一貫所做的，我們適應了。我們認清了情勢並且適應，並做出改變，這也是為什麼我們相當有信心，隨著今年往前推進我們會處於更好的狀態，而進入明年時也會處於相當不錯的狀態。我不需要政府的任何協助來弄清楚我該做什麼。我只是希望政府不要做出把事情搞得更糟的事。

Understood. If I could sneak one, a quick one in the -- all the stuff on Page 6. Do you think that would be permanent going into the future of these things you had pulled forward from prior plans? Or do you think this is more of a case of reacting to kind of what we see here?

了解。如果我可以插問一個、很快的問題——關於第 6 頁上的那些內容。你覺得把一些原本計畫中的事項提前做，未來會成為永久性的作法嗎？還是你覺得這比較像是因應我們目前看到的情況所做的反應？

Well, I think what we're doing is we're responding to the situation, as simple as that. We can think, we can plan, we can do all kinds of things. Unfortunately, I think we've had more black swan events in the last 2 years than most people would experience in a lifetime. So as I said, what's the next thing?

嗯，我想我們所做的就是回應當下的情勢，就這麼簡單。我們可以思考、可以規劃、可以做各種事情。不幸的是，我認為過去兩年出現的黑天鵝事件，比大多數人一輩子遇到的還多。所以就像我說的，下一件事會是什麼？

So I am -- I started off my remarks telling -- saying how proud I was of our employees. All of this going on, all of these challenges, all of these changes, all of these demands, all of these people saying -- first of all, the entire supply chain issue was as a result of the railroad. Oh, my god, the railroads, it's screwed this thing up. Well, then as time went on, everybody figured out it's probably due to the railroads. We don't own the warehouses where this stuff goes. We don't have the trucks that bring it there. If I need to buy a truck and bring it there, I'll bring it there, and I'll put the box in the warehouse parking lot. That's going to be somebody else's problem.

所以我——我一開始的發言就說到我對我們員工有多自豪。在這一切發生的同時、面對所有這些挑戰、所有這些變化、所有這些需求、所有這些人說——首先，整個供應鏈問題都是鐵路造成的。噢，我的天，鐵路把這件事搞砸了。嗯，然後隨著時間推移，大家才弄清楚這可能不是鐵路的問題。我們不擁有這些貨物要去的倉庫。我們也沒有把貨送到那裡的卡車。如果我需要買一輛卡車把它送過去，我就會送過去，然後我會把貨櫃放在倉庫停車場。那就會是別人的問題了。

But most of the issues associated with everything that was talked about, the railroads are doing an extremely good job. Their employees have been critical workers throughout the entire pandemic, have been out there working and not been home in the basement and then complying with all the requirements and making sure that the economy keeps going. And so the railroad guys, not just CSX, but the entire railroad industry has done a phenomenal job under unbelievably difficult circumstances.

但就所談到的各種相關問題而言，鐵路公司其實做得非常好。他們的員工在整個疫情期間都是關鍵工作者，一直在外工作，而不是待在家裡地下室；同時還遵守所有要求，並確保經濟持續運轉。因此，鐵路人員不只是 CSX，而是整個鐵路產業，在難以置信的艱困情況下都做得非常出色。

Our next question comes from the line of Chris Wetherbee.

我們的下一個問題來自 Chris Wetherbee 的線上。

Jim, I think you mentioned on the call that the Quality impact was more than 200 basis points on the operating ratio. And so I guess it sort of struck me that you guys are running sort of the core rail business at an operating ratio I really haven't seen before. And I guess in the context -- and I understand the pricing environment, particularly on the accessorial side, is certainly elevated, and that probably has some impact on how we should be thinking about operating ratio.

Jim，我想你在電話會議上提到，Quality 的影響讓營運比率（OR）惡化了超過 200 個基點。所以我想，這讓我覺得你們核心鐵路業務的營運比率，已經來到我以前真的沒看過的水準。而且我想在這個脈絡下——我也理解定價環境，特別是在附加費（accessorial）那一塊，確實偏高，這可能也會影響我們該如何看待營運比率。

But maybe big picture, as we think forward, you are growing volume, arguably better than your peers. Pricing is going to be a cycle here for a period of time. And you're talking about bringing some folks back, but service is good. Can we talk a little bit about maybe we need to think about a new way to think about OR over the long run? I guess I just want to make sure I understand what this business is capable of in terms of incremental margins and the ability to take on some of these new freight and new opportunities, what seems to be very, very good margins going forward.

但從更宏觀的角度來看，往前看，你們的運量成長，某種程度上比同業更好。定價在一段時間內會是一個循環。你們也在談把一些人員找回來，但服務表現是好的。我們能不能談談，長期而言也許我們需要用新的方式來思考 OR？我想我只是想確認，我理解這個業務在增量利潤（incremental margins）方面的能力，以及承接一些新貨源與新機會的能力；看起來未來的利潤率會非常、非常好。

Yes, you did the math. And yes, that was excluding some of the transaction costs and some other things, too. So it's pretty simple math. Yes, the railroad is running efficiently.

是的，你算得沒錯。而且是的，那還排除了部分交易成本以及其他一些項目。所以這是很簡單的數學。是的，鐵路的營運效率很高。

When we stretch, as we've always said a million, million times, it's not about OR. This is not about how low can we go, how many heads can we take out. When we run the railroad good, when we stretch like we're doing right now, and the reason we're stretching is because we're trying every single hour of every single day to move our customers' freight. And when you do that and you focus on getting it there as quickly as you can and as efficiently as you can, it resulted in -- unfortunately, not a perfect service product but a very good service product in difficult times. You do it efficiently.

當我們把自己拉到極限時，就像我們已經說過一百萬次、又一百萬次的那樣，重點不在 OR。這不是在比誰能降到多低、能裁掉多少人。當我們把鐵路營運好，當我們像現在這樣把自己拉到極限，而我們之所以這麼做，是因為我們每天每一個小時都在努力移動客戶的貨物。當你這麼做，並把重點放在盡可能快、盡可能有效率地把貨送達時，結果是——不幸的是，服務產品不是完美的，但在艱難時期是一個非常好的服務產品。而且你是用有效率的方式做到的。

And as a result of that, the score adds up that says, you got a low operating ratio. That's not the goal. That's just a result. And so yes, we run up a pretty good number. I would have preferred to do a lot more business. As we said, we could have and we try to do every single day. We try to move more freight. Kevin is out there right now, constantly trying to figure out how he can provide solutions to our customers. Our goal here is to move more freight. That's what we do: we move freight. And the more freight we move, the more revenue deploying the type, the more efficiently you operate it, as simple as that. It's just math.

而這樣的結果，分數加總起來就會顯示：你有一個很低的營運比率。那不是目標。那只是結果。所以是的，我們做出了一個相當不錯的數字。我本來更希望能做更多生意。就像我們說的，我們本來可以，而且我們每天都在努力做到。我們試著運更多貨。Kevin 現在就在外面，不斷想辦法看看如何為客戶提供解決方案。我們的目標是運更多貨。這就是我們做的事：我們運貨。而我們運得越多，收入就越多；以這種方式配置資源、並且越有效率地營運，就這麼簡單。這只是數學。

So it's -- think about what -- think about -- you want to worry about what the operating ratio was? Think about what the operating ratio could be for the railroad industry if they were able to grow more than they've historically grown. And you can start talking about what the operating ratios might be. Stop thinking about how much cost you can take out.

所以——想想看——想想——你想擔心營運比率是多少嗎？想想看，如果鐵路產業能夠比歷史上成長得更多，鐵路產業的營運比率可能會是多少。然後你就可以開始談營運比率可能會到什麼水準。別再只想著你能削減多少成本。

Your next question comes from the line of Bascome Majors.

你的下一個問題來自 Bascome Majors 的線上。

Jim, as you alluded to earlier, you've been talking about hiring to support growth since January. Certainly doubled down that -- on that in July, and it's been a big topic today. But at this point, it doesn't feel like our U.S. competitors are talking as much about labor and some of the challenges there that they're having as you are today. And maybe while that's a messaging difference rather than a fundamental difference, you got a letter from the STB on Monday about CSX service specifically. So can you help us understand, is there something different with your situation with labor versus your other public peers in the U.S.? Is it a messaging difference? Just anything to help us unscramble this would be helpful.

Jim，正如你先前提到的，你們自一月以來就一直在談為了支援成長而招聘。七月時當然也加碼強調了——而且今天這也是一個重要主題。但在這個時間點，感覺你們在談勞動力以及相關挑戰時，比你們在美國的競爭同業更頻繁。也許這是訊息傳達上的差異，而不是基本面差異；但你們週一收到了 STB（地面運輸委員會）針對 CSX 服務的來函。所以你能幫我們理解一下嗎：在勞動力方面，你們的情況和美國其他上市同業相比，有什麼不同嗎？這是訊息傳達上的差異嗎？任何能幫助我們釐清這些的資訊都會很有幫助。

Yes. Well, I'm trying to unscramble it for myself. And yes, I've said from the very beginning of this year that we had a challenge in terms of hiring. We needed to hire. I thought we would be able to hire like we always had. We weren't able to hire like we always did and said that now for 3 quarters.

是的。嗯，我正在試著自己把它理清楚。而且是的，我從今年一開始就說過，我們在招募方面面臨挑戰。我們需要招人。我原本以為我們能像以往一樣招到人。但我們沒能像以前那樣招到人，這點我們也已經說了三個季度了。

Yet my metrics, as I reported to the STB in terms of all of the railroads, whether it be velocity, whether it be dwell, my service metrics are continuing to lead in those areas. So the railroad here is still running better than most.

然而，就我向STB就所有鐵路公司所報告的各項指標而言，不論是速度、停留時間（dwell），我的服務指標在這些方面仍持續領先。所以這裡的鐵路營運仍然比大多數同業更好。

During that period of time, where we were finding out that a lot of people wanted to make career choices and leave the company that we hadn't expected, we were having the difficulties that everybody else was having during that period of time. We were the epicenter of the world in terms of the pandemic here in Jacksonville. So I think we got probably hit during that period of time a little more severely. The states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi have had a little more rough time, and I'm not calling out any reasons why that might be. That's just the facts.

在那段期間，我們發現有很多人想做職涯選擇、離開公司，這是我們未曾預期的；同時我們也遇到和其他人一樣的困難。在傑克遜維爾這裡，就疫情而言我們是全球的震央。所以我認為那段時間我們可能受到的衝擊更嚴重一些。佛羅里達、喬治亞、阿拉巴馬、路易斯安那、田納西、密西西比這些州的情況更艱難一些，我不打算點出任何可能原因。這些只是事實。

And so while we have been saying publicly, we are hiring as fast, aggressively anyone right now that will want to come and work here during the midst of the worst of the pandemic in the world ongoing in our service territory. And yes, guess what, I got a letter. Well, the STB takes in complaints from customers, and they relay them to me. So we'll respond. They're just doing their job. We'll respond. I found it a little unfortunate, but under the circumstances of everything we're doing based upon what our overall service metrics show our performance to be, based upon how the STB measures us in terms of how we operate, that we got the letter. But I'm a big boy. I've been around. We'll deal with it. We'll respond. We'll work with the regulator and our customers to try and address any customer issues.

因此，雖然我們一直公開表示，我們正以最快、最積極的速度招募任何願意在全球最嚴重疫情期間、在我們服務區域內來這裡工作的人。而且是的，你猜怎麼著，我收到了一封信。STB會接收客戶的申訴，並轉交給我。所以我們會回覆。他們只是在做他們的工作。我們會回覆。在我們整體服務指標所顯示的表現、以及STB衡量我們營運方式的結果之下，我覺得收到這封信有點遺憾。但我也是見過世面的人。我在這行很久了。我們會處理。我們會回覆。我們會與監管機關及客戶合作，嘗試解決任何客戶問題。

The letter is posted, if you can figure out who the customer is that's having a problem from the letter, I don't know why they just don't call me to tell every customer I need. I give them my business card. I gave him my cell phone number. I said, "You got an issue, give me a call." And Jamie Boychuk's the same way. So I wish they'd just call me if there's a challenge.

那封信已經公開張貼了；如果你能從信裡看出是哪位客戶遇到問題，我也不知道為什麼他們不直接打電話給我——我會告訴每一位我需要的客戶。我把我的名片給他們。我把我的手機號碼給他們。我說：「你有問題就打給我。」Jamie Boychuk 也是一樣。所以如果有挑戰，我希望他們直接打給我。

Your next call comes from the line of Jon Chappell.

下一通來電來自 Jon Chappell。

Kevin, the theme of the earnings season has been pricing power. And obviously, there's things like accessorials that are helping intermodal, but your whole core business has been kind of reset a bit higher on the revenue per carload front. So the question is, what's the stickiness of some of these pricing increases that have gone in? And where does the total portfolio sit on a contractual basis as we think about maybe the ability to continue to push pricing higher this quarter or two?

Kevin，本季財報季的主題一直是定價能力。顯然，像附加費（accessorials）這類因素正在幫助聯運（intermodal），但你們整個核心業務在每車皮收入（revenue per carload）方面似乎也被重新拉高了一些。所以問題是：這些已經實施的漲價，有多大的「黏著度」？另外，從合約角度來看，整體產品組合目前處於什麼位置——當我們思考未來一兩個季度是否仍有能力繼續推升價格時？

Yes. Look, I've gotten a couple of pricing questions already, and I'm going to stick to the script for the most part. It's a discussion we're having with our customers. We're being transparent around the cost pressures that we face and that we expect to cover those costs. But we also want to talk about volume growth with our customers, wallet share and all those other things.

是的。你看，我已經被問了幾個定價問題了，我大致上會照著既定說法來回答。這是我們正在與客戶進行的討論。我們會就我們面臨、且預期需要吸收的成本壓力保持透明，並且我們預期要把這些成本涵蓋進去。但我們也希望與客戶討論運量成長、錢包份額（wallet share）以及其他各種議題。

We do have parts of our business that you're well aware of, coal, which moves with the benchmark prices. So we have seen some favorability there. We participate when our customers are participating in a good market. And obviously, when those markets come down, we participate on the other side as well.

我們確實有一些你很清楚的業務板塊，例如煤炭，其運價會隨基準價格（benchmark prices）變動。因此我們在那裡看到了一些有利因素。當客戶處於良好市場時，我們也會一同受益。而且顯然，當那些市場下行時，我們也會在另一面一同承受影響。

Intermodal businesses, some other parts of our business are tied directly to inflation. Metrics and those have moved up. And so we'll see some favorability in those parts of our business that are tied to those indices. And those will continue to probably flow through into the fourth quarter and into next year. So we'll have some momentum there.

聯運業務以及我們其他一些業務板塊，則是直接與通膨掛鉤。相關指標都已上升。因此，在那些與指數連動的業務部分，我們會看到一些有利因素。而這些因素很可能會持續反映到第四季以及明年。所以我們在那裡會有一些動能。

And then obviously, this is probably -- our expectations for inflation into next year are higher than the previous year, last year. And so we'll have those discussions and price accordingly. I'll probably leave it at that.

然後很明顯地，我們對明年通膨的預期，可能——比前一年、也就是去年——更高。因此我們會進行那些討論，並據此定價。我大概就說到這裡。

Your next question comes from the line of Jason Seidl.

下一個問題來自 Jason Seidl。

Gentlemen, congratulations on that impressive OR. I wanted to drill down a little bit on a comment you made about some onshoring production due to sort of supply chain issues. Is that sort of a one-off customer? Is this a trend you're seeing? And then also, are you having customers coming to you telling you that they might change sort of how they run their inventories in the future?

各位先生，恭喜你們交出令人印象深刻的營運比率（OR）。我想更深入追問一下你提到的，因供應鏈問題而有部分生產回流（onshoring）的評論。這是某個單一客戶的一次性情況嗎？還是你們看到的一個趨勢？另外，是否有客戶來找你們，表示他們未來可能會改變其庫存運作方式？

Absolutely. There's -- I can think of multiple industries right now, and you've seen some announcements from some large producers out there that are making incremental investments in U.S. production. I think they're looking at the volatility and how much -- how costly it is to get freight from overseas. Labor is less of a component in some of these production facilities than it's ever been. So that labor differential moving in here to U.S., this doesn't matter as much. It's more about having availability to the inventory. And the onshore phenomenon, I hope, has legs here. We're seeing the early signs of that. You've seen some big announcements. I hope we'll see some further announcements coming forward.

絕對是。我現在就能想到好幾個產業，而且你也看到一些大型製造商宣布在美國本土生產上追加投資。我認為他們正在看海外運輸的波動性，以及把貨從海外運進來有多昂貴。在其中一些生產設施裡，勞動成本所占比重比以往任何時候都更低。所以把這個勞動力差異移回美國，其重要性就沒那麼大。更重要的是能否取得庫存的可用性。我希望這股回流現象能持續下去。我們已經看到一些早期跡象。你也看到一些重大宣布。我希望接下來還會看到更多宣布。

And we talked about this with the energy renaissance here a number of years ago when we had cheap energy, with gas and oil and the fracking. That never materialized. I think this time, in my opinion, could be different. I think all the things are starting to align for our customers and others to reconsider where they want to have production and more balanced so they don't run into the same issues that they're having currently.

而且我們在幾年前談到能源復興時也討論過這件事，當時因為天然氣、石油以及頁岩油氣開採（fracking），能源很便宜。但那並沒有真正實現。我認為這一次，以我個人看法，可能會不一樣。我覺得各種因素正開始對齊，讓我們的客戶以及其他人重新思考他們想把生產放在哪裡，並更趨於平衡，如此就不會再遇到他們目前正在面臨的同樣問題。

And in terms of total inventories carried, are you seeing a change there as well?

就總庫存持有量而言，您是否也看到那裡出現變化？

I certainly think there's more -- customers are reevaluating forward positioning inventory levels. We're having those discussions around our TRANSFLO products. So they don't need next-day shipping or things like that, but they're forward positioning those things so they can make sure that their production facilities remain up and running. That's very, very important. So all these factors are, I think, playing into investments that we'll see customers make over the next couple of years.

我確實認為更多了——客戶正在重新評估前置配置的庫存水位。我們正在圍繞我們的 TRANSFLO 產品進行這些討論。因此他們不需要隔日送達或諸如此類的服務，但他們會把這些物資前置配置，以確保其生產設施能持續運轉。這非常、非常重要。所以我認為所有這些因素，都會反映在未來幾年我們將看到客戶所做的投資上。

Your next question comes from the line of Ben Nolan.

您的下一個問題來自 Ben Nolan。

I guess I wanted to -- we talked a lot about labor and some of the issues that are impacting there. But just thinking about maybe the opportunity to actually get a little bit more volume through. And specifically, we've talked about coal, but curious what your customers are talking about with respect to sort of further ramp up there?

我想我想問——我們談了很多勞動力以及一些正在影響那方面的問題。但如果從實際上有機會讓通過的運量再多一些來思考。特別是，我們談過煤炭，但我很好奇，您的客戶在進一步提升那邊的量方面是怎麼說的？

And also on the intermodal side, we've seen the steamships diverting cargoes away from Savannah, for instance, to get into Jacksonville or other places on the East Coast, trying to fit more volume through the system. But I guess the question is, how capable are you of accommodating some of those things?

另外在聯運方面，我們看到遠洋船公司把貨物從例如 Savannah 轉移出去，改進 Jacksonville 或東岸其他地方，以便讓更多運量進入系統。但我想問題是，您有多大能力去承接其中一些變化？

Well, look, you've seen the East Coast ports outgrow the West Coast ports for the last number of years. That's going to continue to -- ongoing. Savannah's making significant investments. All the ports that we operate into are making investments to be able to handle that. So we're well positioned. Whether it's Savannah, Charleston, Jacksonville, Tampa, all those locations are areas where we have the ability to serve. So we're ready to take on that volume. We've made some investments. Our intermodal network continues to be the best network in the East operationally. There's no question around that. You just look at the service metrics, look at the growth, we've been able to handle that better than anybody else. And we'll continue to leverage that product into the market.

嗯，你看，過去多年你已經看到東岸港口的成長超過西岸港口。這將會持續——並且是長期趨勢。Savannah 正在進行重大投資。我們所營運進出的所有港口也都在投資，以便能夠處理這些需求。所以我們的佈局很到位。不論是 Savannah、Charleston、Jacksonville、Tampa，這些地點都是我們有能力提供服務的區域。所以我們已準備好承接那樣的運量。我們也做了一些投資。我們的聯運網路在東岸的營運表現仍然是最好的網路。這點毫無疑問。你只要看服務指標、看成長，我們一直以來都比任何人更能處理這些。而且我們會持續把這項產品優勢推向市場。

Sure. So there's not a -- there's no near-term [inhibitant] to being able to put more volume through some of the network, I guess, is the question?

了解。所以我想問的是，短期內並沒有——沒有任何近端的[抑制因素]會妨礙在網路某些部分增加更多運量，對嗎？

We talked about all the capacity.

我們談到了所有的產能。

Yes, clearly, we have the rail capacity. We're well positioned with all of the ports. And again, it's not just international steamship companies that are coming. It's plastics, imports, exports, there's a lot of merchandise business -- both business that we move through these ports as well. And so yes, we're working with them through the transload facilities, either our own facilities or partnering with people who are building a big, big, big transload facilities along the coast to be able to handle the capacity. And we clearly, as I said earlier, 30% room on the railroad to handle the traffic without making any more big investments.

是的，很明顯，我們有鐵路運能。我們在所有港口的佈局也很到位。而且再次強調，來的不只是國際遠洋船公司。還有塑膠、進口、出口，有很多商品業務——包括我們透過這些港口運輸的各類業務。因此是的，我們正透過轉運（transload）設施與他們合作，無論是我們自有設施，或是與正在沿海興建非常、非常、非常大型轉運設施的夥伴合作，以便能夠處理這些產能需求。而且正如我先前所說，鐵路方面我們明確還有 30% 的空間可在不再進行任何重大投資的情況下承接這些運量。

Our next question comes from the line of Jeff Kauffman.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jeff Kauffman。

Congratulations. Just some questions for Kevin. I'm trying to get used to my model with Quality Carriers in it here. Your non-locomotive fuel expense was up about $38 million year-on-year. How much of that was attributable to the inclusion of Quality?

恭喜。我有幾個問題想問 Kevin。我正在讓我的模型適應把 Quality Carriers 納入其中。你們的非機車燃料費用年增約 3,800 萬美元。其中有多少可歸因於納入 Quality？

Just a little over $20 million.

略高於 2,000 萬美元。

Okay. And just one other net, the depreciation. And that was up about $19 million sequentially. About how much of that would have been attributable to Quality?

好的。另外還有一項，折舊。折舊環比增加約 1,900 萬美元。其中大約有多少可歸因於 Quality？

Jeff, it's Sean again. Yes, about half of that is related to Quality. And we'll see that impact carry forward.

Jeff，我是 Sean，再次回答。是的，其中大約一半與 Quality 有關。而且我們會看到這個影響延續到後續期間。

There are no further questions at this time, and this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

目前沒有進一步的問題，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位參與。您現在可以斷線。