The number of carloads moved on short line and regional railroads decreased by about 5 percent in year-to-year comparisons. Total carloads were down from 341,663 in January 2015 to 323,123 in January 2016.
Metallic ores and trailer or container led commodity gains with a 62 percent and a 17 percent increase, respectively.The most significant declines were observed in nonmetallic minerals, down 65 percent, followed by coal, and crushed stone, sand and gravel, down 31 percent and 25 percent, respectively. (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.