The number of carloads moved on short line and regional railroads remained nearly steady, with a slight 0.6 percent decrease in year-to-year comparisons. Total carloads were down slightly from 377,950 in August 2012 to 375,728 in August 2013.
The largest gains were observed in nonmetallic minerals, up 30 percent, followed by crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 16 percent. Commodities experiencing the most significant declines were food and kindred products and grain mill products, both down eight percent. (Click here to download this file as an Excel table.)
Railinc publishes this information as a service to the rail industry. The Railinc Short Line and Regional Traffic Index can also be found monthly in Railway Age Magazine. For questions or comments, please contact the Railinc Corporate Communications department.