Intermodal and bulk carloads swell to new heights on major rail lines
Major U.S. freight railroads hit their highest load levels of 2010 in intermodal as well as bulk carload shipments during the week ending July 31, the Association of American Railroads said.
The end-of-July gains followed months in carloadings of bulk materials and equipment held below their April peaks. Intermodal traffic had continued to grow after April, but slowed some during the past month.
The period in which rail traffic was down from its springtime peaks corresponded with a slowdown in overall economic growth. However, rail loadings have been on the rise again in the past few weeks.
The AAR said the 300,292 carloads that major carriers originated in the latest week were 4.7 percent higher than in the July 24 week. That July 31 level was also up 9.4 from the same week in 2009, though still 10.6 percent below the 2008 week before the worst of the recession set in.
A big reason is coal shipments, which have grown about 10,000 carloads a week over the past month as the nation’s heat wave has finally drawn down power plant fuel stockpiles enough for them to increase their replenishment rate. However, various industrial inputs and semi-finished goods cargoes have also been on the rise since mid-July after weeks of declines.
Major U.S-owned railroads originated 232,895 intermodal containers and trailers in the final seven days of July, up 1 percent from a week earlier but 20.2 percent stronger than at that point in 2009 and even up 0.9 percent from the 2008 week.
D700 is now a 5 day a week train out of Wyoming Yard in Grand Rapids, MI
Last edited by Jochs on Mon Aug 30, 2010 8:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jeff O.
Celebrating 11 years dial-up free!
(18:36:45) MagnumForce: Railfanning is way more fun when you stop caring about locomotives and signals
(19:11:29) cbehr91: I can't believe I'm +1ing Brent but +1
The Surface Transportation Board announced Friday that is has scheduled a meeting of the National Grain Car Council for Sept. 16 to discuss the readiness of U. S. railroads to move export grain to ports in quantities far higher than earlier expected.
The agenda includes “a report by railcar manufacturers and lessors on current and future availability of various grain-car types; presentation and discussion of developments regarding Positive Train Control; discussion of export grain in intermodal containers; and an open forum on BMNSF Certificates of Transportation for Processors; weather's effect on supply/demand of equipment; and export market impact on U.S. grain car supply.”
While Friday's STB announcement did not allude to it, expectations for a significant increase in world demand for U.S. wheat were examined in the latest monthly Wheat Outlook, released Aug. 16, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.
“This month's changes,” said the report, “feature a dramatic 13.5 million-ton reduction in wheat production forecast collectively for Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan, three companies that together produce more than 85% of ESU-12 wheat. Wheat production for EU-27 for 2010-11 is projected down 4.3 million to 13.5 million.”
What this means to U.S. wheat exports and the need forgrain-carrying railroad cars or containers is this, says the USDA report: “U.S. exports are expected to reach 33.0 million tons for July-June marketing year 2010/2011, up 6.0 million from last month’s projection. This forecast is 8.8 million tons, or 36.5%, more than U.S. exports in the 2009/10 year. The main U.S. competitors in the lower protein wheat market are the EU-27 and the three countries of the FSU 12 ... With all of these main competitors’ wheat projections down this month, and with the announcement of the Russian export wheat ban, U.S. export prospects soar.”
