“We would expect a similar level of increase in compensation per employee for the full year as we continue to leverage process improvements and technology to offset wage increases.”

In context

“other revenue in the quarter were lower accessorial and subsidiary revenues. Switching to expenses. Our appendix slides provide some more detail, but I'll walk through the highlights as operating expense increased only 1% to $3.6 billion against a 4% increase in quarterly volume. Looking closer at the expense lines, compensation and benefits increased 5%, driven by the Brakeperson buyout agreement of $55 million. This is the third and final Brakeperson agreement, further enabling more efficient car handling. When you adjust for the Brakeperson agreement, quarterly compensation and benefits expense increased 1%, while our cost per employee increased 3.5%. These results demonstrate how a 3% lower workforce level and strong productivity almost entirely offset the impact of voyage inflation. We would expect a similar level of increase in compensation per employee for the full year as we continue to leverage process improvements and technology to offset wage increases. Additionally, in the quarter, we transferred close to 250 employees to Metro, completing the majority of the transfers we began in the second quarter of 2024. Fuel expense declined 8% on an 11% decrease in fuel prices from $2.73 to $2.42 per gallon. Our fuel consumption rate improved 2% and set a second quarter record. Ongoing benefits from our fuel and locomotive initiatives, coupled with running a more fuel-efficient business mix, drove the improvement. Equipment and other rents increased 5%, driven by lower equity income and our business mix. Finally, other expense improved 5% versus last year. Lower casualty, including environmental costs, more than offset last year's $46 million gain from the intermodal equipment sales. Our reported operating income grew to $2.5 billion, a second qua”