CSX Corp. (CSX) said railroad freight volume likely will slide by a double-digit percentage rate in the third quarter, albeit not quite as steeply as the second quarter's 21% decline.

Executives of the Jacksonville, Fla.-based railroad said plunging year-over-year volume showed signs of "leveling" in the second quarter for the bulk of its markets.

"All and all, it looks to us that most of these markets are stabilizing.... barring any unforeseen circumstances," said Clarence Gooden, executive vice president of sales and marketing at CSX, speaking Tuesday on a post-earnings conference call.

A slump in coal shipments widened significantly, however, falling by 21% in the second quarter from a 7% first-quarter slump. CSX blamed the decline on reduced usage by electric utilities and lower natural gas prices, as well as on reduced coal exports due partly to lower steel production in Europe.

Gooden said the slide in coal volume will moderate a bit in the third quarter, although he stopped well short of predicting the trend will improve.

Meanwhile, CSX said it expects its planned increase in 2009 core prices, which don't include fuel surcharges, to exceed a previous forecast of 5% to 6% for the full year. The company said core prices climbed 6.6% in the second quarter and 6.5% in the first quarter, despite the steep slide in freight volume.

CSX said it has seen "some compression" in prices on new business where the railroad competes with truck and barge transport. But it said it generally has avoiding cutting prices merely to win business.

"We haven't sacrificed price overall to bring volume onto the railroad," Gooden said. "There's been some cases where we have just elected not to go after some new business."

As for 2010, Gooden said CSX is committed to a similar strategy. He said he expects 2010 core prices to exceed inflation.

CSX shares rose 5.9% to $34.46 in early trading Tuesday.

Late Monday, CSX reported second-quarter earnings of $308 million, or 78 cents a share, down from $385 million, or 93 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding discontinued operations related to the struggling Greenbrier Resort, earnings fell to 72 cents a share from 95 cents a share.

Revenue fell 25% to $2.2 billion amid the 21% drop in volume.

-By Bob Sechler, Dow Jones Newswires; 512-394-0285; bob.sechler@dowjones.com