“However, as we look ahead towards the next crop season in late fall, we're encouraged by the initial forecast.”

In context

“. Average revenue per car increased by 5%, reflecting higher fuel surcharge revenue and core pricing gains. Automotive volumes were positively driven by strengthening OEM production and dealer inventory replenishment for finished vehicles. Domestic intermodal business wins were offset by a weak freight and parcel market, driven by high inventory, increased truck capacity and inflationary pressures. On the international side, despite weakened imports, more container shipped inland versus the first quarter of last year, resulted in year-over-year growth. So now moving on to Slide 7. Here is our outlook for the rest of 2023 as we see it today. Starting with our bulk commodities, we expect grain to be challenged near term as export demand softens and supply tightens throughout this crop year. However, as we look ahead towards the next crop season in late fall, we're encouraged by the initial forecast. For coal, low natural gas prices and a milder winter allow utilities to build more inventory. We are experiencing normal softness through the shoulder months. Looking further out in the year, demand will largely be dependent on natural gas prices and summer weather. Lastly, we expect biofuel shipments of renewable diesel and their associated feedstocks to grow due to solid market demand, new production coming online and business development wins. Moving on to industrial. The forecast for industrial production is to shrink in 2023, and the demand is getting weaker in forest products. However, we expect to see continued strength in construction and metal with new business wins. And finally, for Premium, we expect near-term challenges in the intermodal market from high inventory levels, infl”