Strong demand helped CSX in 2Q but railroad had to scramble to keep up with volume

CSX Corp. officials are optimistic about the railroad's long-term results, but its third-quarter profit will likely be relatively flat.

The Jacksonville, Florida-based railroad discussed its second-quarter results Wednesday, one day after reporting the results.

The railroad saw a surge in demand for most of what it hauled during the second quarter at the same time it was dealing with a backlog of shipments delayed by severe winter weather.

CSX expects volume to continue growing, and it's investing an additional $100 million in equipment to handle that. But officials expect only modest profit growth this year with most of that coming in the fourth quarter.

CSX said Tuesday its second-quarter profit improved 2 percent to $529 million, or 53 cents per share, from $521 million, or 51 cents per share, last year.

Its shares slipped 7 cents to $31.08 in morning trading Wednesday.