In this travel diary Pablo Kohen, Senior Investment Analyst of Global Listed Infrastructure, shared his visits in the US and Canada attending industry conferences, and the meetings with management teams of railroad and pipeline companies. Please click to find out the latest sector trend and its implication to our portfolio.

 

Key Points

  • Freight railroad management teams’ ability to align resources to a weakening volume environment continues to be tested. More positively, the sector’s pricing power remains solid.
  • Energy pipeline infrastructure has been supported by the recent oil price recovery. However, management teams have maintained a cautious outlook, given the lack of visibility over future volumes and in the absence of a clear path to leverage the expected recovery in ethane production.
  • Both railroads and pipelines face potential regulatory headwinds. Railroads’ current lenient regulatory environment could be tightened over the long term, whereas pipeline companies face challenges to get approvals to build much needed new pipeline capacity, especially in the natural gas segment.
  • A Donald Trump administration may have material impacts on US freight railroads and on the US energy industry.
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