The number of carloads moved on short line and regional railroads increased by 14 percent in year-to-year comparisons. Total carloads were up from 290,963 in February 2015 to 331,709 in February 2016.
Metallic ores led commodity gains with a 183 percent increase, followed by trailer or container & grain mill products, up 46 percent and 37 percent, respectively. The only two commodities experiencing declines this month were nonmetallic minerals, down 41 percent along with crushed stone, sand and gravel, down 3 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.