The Surface Transportation Board (STB) published weekly service report updates for Class 1 railroads spanning data acquired through the end of Feb ’17. Overall, ethanol and grain transportation speeds remained lower on a YOY basis while weekly held car results remained above the previous year levels. Ethanol Transportation:

• Average train speeds for ethanol transportation remained lower on a YOY basis throughout Feb ’17. Feb 25^th ethanol train speeds of 23.5 MPH finished 3.0% above historical average grain train speeds but remained 2.6% lower YOY.

• Ethanol cars held 48-120 hours remained higher on a YOY basis throughout the week ending Feb 25^th, finishing up 69.8%. Total ethanol cars held 48-120 hours have finished higher on a YOY basis throughout the past 13 weeks.

• Ethanol cars held longer than 120 hours finished higher on a YOY basis over four consecutive weeks through the week ending Feb 25^th. Feb 25^th total cars held finished 111.2% above previous year figures, reaching the second highest figure experienced throughout the past year.

Grain Transportation:

• Average train speeds for grain transportation also finished lower on a YOY basis throughout Feb ’17. Feb 25^th grain train speeds of 22.2 MPH finished 7.2% lower YOY and 1.6% below the historical average grain train speeds.

• Grain cars held 48-120 hours remained higher on a YOY basis throughout the week ending Feb 25^th, finishing up 66.4%. Total grain cars held 48-120 hours have finished higher on a YOY basis throughout the past 13 weeks.

• Grain cars held longer than 120 hours also remained higher on a YOY basis, finishing 90.3% above the previous year figures during the week ending Feb 25^th. Grain cars held longer than 120 hours have finished higher on a YOY basis throughout the past eight weeks.

Total Cars Online:

• Feb 25^th total cars online totaled 1.029 million, down 0.2% from the previous week but remaining 2.0% above last year’s figures. Total cars online had reached a 22 month high as of the week ending Feb 11^th, prior to declining over the past two weeks.

• Feb 25^th total cars online by railway were led by Union Pacific, followed by BNSF, CSX and Norfolk Southern.