CSX (NYSE: CSX), a railway entity similar to companies such as Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (NYSE: BNI), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC), and Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP), saw a nice bid during Tuesday's after-hours session. The market enjoyed CSX's Q3 earnings report so much it sent shares of the company higher by 2.6%.

What was so good about the data? According to TheStreet.com, CSX made 74 cents per share from continuing operations. The analyst community was counting on 71 cents per share. Perhaps more importantly, management seemed pretty upbeat on the state of the economy. Like a lot of other pundits, CEO Michael Ward thinks that the recession will eventually start to wane, and that we may have already experienced the bottom of the cycle.

CSX (NYSE: CSX), a railway company whose peers include Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI), Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) and Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC), reported earnings for the second quarter on Monday after the bell. Net sales declined 25%, and earnings from continuing operations declined 24% to 72 cents per share.

Declines are never nice, but for a company like CSX, it's only to be expected. The recession continues to have an impact on operations. Management said that volumes decreased; it also mentioned how CSX is doing its best to run as efficiently as possible to combat the dropping top line. Maybe it's working out, because according to Reuters, the company beat Wall Street estimates by 10 cents.

A brief look at railroad freight traffic numbers offers some tell-tale signs as to where our economy is heading. I like to review railroad loading statistics because they can give you a crystal-ball edge in guessing where the big money is leaning in the volatile economic food chain. Basically, right now the numbers are firm year over year, but the freight demographics are what I find interesting.

According to the Association of American Railroads: Total rail freight volume is up 8.9% as compared to 2006, but while container volume is up about 14%, trailer volume is down 6.2%. That indicates that for the year so far, the railroads are probably moving more imported product than domestic product.

While total carload freight (not including inter-modal) was down nearly 1% this week as compared to the same week last year, total ton-miles increased 0.3%, indicating that less freight is moving but it is traveling more miles. That is clearly due to the decreasing inventories of manufactured product, which should bode well for manufacturers in the second and third quarters. That's assuming that consumer spending maintains current levels.

Nonmetallic mineral shipments have increased nearly 20% by volume over last year. This shows strength in base chemicals, base raw materials, glass, concrete, asphalt, industrial construction, and infrastructural improvements. Metallic ore shipments are down over 50%; I believe that shows weakness most especially in steel, tin, aluminum, and copper. Lumber and wood product shipments declined nearly 25% -- no reprieve for the home building market there! Petroleum product shipments are up 9.2% year over year, and coal shipments have increased 3.1%. Here's a tip, it looks like road building and resurfacing will be a big gainer this summer!

On November 9, 2006, Edward R. Hamberger, President and CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR) issued a statement of congratulations and welcome to the 110th Congress. CEO Hamberger stated in part, "We have worked well with the Congressional leadership of both parties in the past and look forward to continuing that relationship in the future. Addressing the enormous logistical challenges the nation faces will require a united and concerted effort by Congress, the Administration, the rail industry, its customers and employees."

The demands for freight movement and logistical support are predicted to triple over the next decade. This could mean that If we don't add logistical capacity soon, we could very well be faced with a freight movement capacity shortage that has the potential to intermittently cripple our national economy.

The AAR President confirmed, "The nation's freight carriers are committed to continuing to do their part to expand rail capacity. Over the past decade, the railroad industry has invested $64 billion in its infrastructure, a rate that far exceeds that of most other industries. In 2006 alone, the rail industry plans to invest a record $8.3 billion in track, locomotives and other capital equipment. Over the next six years, the railroad industry will create 80,000 of the best-paying jobs in the country; jobs that are located here in America; jobs that will stay in America. We look forward to working with Congress to build and expand the American economy through freight rail transportation."

The fact is that freight railroads today are moving record amounts of cargo and posting unsurpassed safety numbers while at the same time charging freight rates that are - on average - considerably less than they were in 1982.

If you'd like to get an amazing view of the number of American (and other) railroad operators, have a look at the huge list I've linked to. If you'd like to invest in a railroad this is a great place to get started!