The Surface Transportation Board (STB) published weekly service report updates for Class 1 railroads spanning data acquired through the end of Dec ’16. Overall, ethanol and grain transportation speeds finished lower on a YOY basis while weekly held car results increased sharply as total cars online reached a 13 month high. Ethanol Transportation:

• Average train speeds for ethanol transportation finished lower on a YOY basis throughout the final four weeks of December. Dec 31st ethanol train speeds of 23.7 MPH remained 4.4% higher than the historical average grain train speeds but finished 0.7% lower YOY.

• Ethanol cars held 48-120 hours increased sharply during the week ending Dec 31st, finishing at the highest figure on record. Total ethanol cars held 48-120 hours finished 8.5% above the previous record high experienced during the week ending Jan 7th, 2015, driven higher by increases in the Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific railways.

• Ethanol cars held longer than 120 hours also finished above average seasonal levels, finishing 2.7% above the previous year throughout the past four weeks.

Grain Transportation:

• Average train speeds for grain transportation also finished lower on a YOY basis throughout the final four weeks of December. Dec 31st grain train speeds of 21.7 MPH finished 9.8% lower YOY and 3.8% below the historical average grain train speeds. Overall, Dec 31st grain train speeds declined to a 16 month low.

• Grain cars held 48-120 hours increased sharply during the week ending Dec 31st, finishing at a two year high. Total grain cars held 48-120 hours finished 26.5% above the previous year figures over the past four weeks, driven higher by increases in the Union Pacific, CSX and Norfolk Southern railways.

• Grain cars held longer than 120 hours also remained above average seasonal levels, finishing 21.7% above the previous year figures throughout the past four weeks.

Total Cars Online:

• Dec 31st total cars online totaled 1.025 million, up 0.6% from the previous week and 1.3% above last year’s figures. Dec 31st total cars online finished at a 13 month high overall, up 3.0% above the record low experienced during the week ending May 28th.

• Dec 31st total cars online by railway were led by Union Pacific, followed by BNSF, CSX and Norfolk Southern.