The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that RBC analyst Walter Spracklin has lowered his third quarter earnings expectations for the railway sector. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Spracklin says North American railway volumes continue to "trend down across the group due to lower intermodal carloads resulting from inventory destocking and weak consumer demand." Mr. Spracklin has reaffirmed his "outperform" recommendation for Canadian Pacific Kansas City. Mr. Spracklin has an unchanged $133 share target. Analysts on average target the shares at $118.93. The Globe says Mr. Spracklin is now forecasting earnings per share of 93 cents, down from $1.01 and below the 97-cent consensus, "due to softer than expected grain and energy, chemicals and plastics RTMs [revenue ton miles]." Mr. Spracklin adds in a note: "In addition, we expect O/R [operating ratio] to come in worse versus our prior expectations reflecting the impact of fuel surcharge lag. Our 2023 estimate represents year-over-year EPS growth of 4 per cent, in line with guidance for EPS up mid-single digit." The Globe reported on Aug. 1 that Mr. Spracklin rated CPKC "outperform" when it was worth $108.50.