The Surface Transportation Board (STB) published weekly service report updates for Class 1 railroads spanning data acquired through the end of Jun ’16. Overall, ethanol and grain transportation speeds remained higher on a YOY basis however weekly ethanol held cars increased to above average seasonal levels. Ethanol Transportation: • Average train speeds for ethanol transportation declined to a 32 week low but remained higher on a YOY basis. Jul 2nd ethanol train speeds of 22.2 MPH were 3.1% higher YOY but 1.4% lower than the historical average ethanol train speeds. • Ethanol cars held 48-120 hours increased to above seasonal levels on average throughout the past four weeks, finishing 3.0% above the previous year figures. • Ethanol cars held longer than 120 hours also increased to above seasonal levels, finishing 8.0% above the previous year on average throughout the past four weeks. Grain Transportation: • Average train speeds for grain transportation continued to remain higher on a YOY basis. Jul 2nd grain train speeds of 23.3 MPH were 3.9% higher than the historical average grain train speeds and 7.6% higher YOY. • Grain cars held 48-120 hours remained below average seasonal levels throughout the past four weeks, finishing 1.4% lower than the previous year figures despite increasing on a YOY basis over the past two weeks. • Grain cars held longer than 120 hours also remained lower on a seasonal basis, finishing 19.9% below the previous year on average throughout the past four weeks. Total Cars Online: • Jul 2nd total cars online totaled 1.002 million, down 0.2% from the previous week and 2.5% below last year’s figures. Jul 2nd total cars online remained 0.7% above the record low experienced during the week ending May 28th. • Jul 2nd total cars online by railway were led by Union Pacific, followed by BNSF, CSX and Norfolk Southern.