Weekly service report updates for Class 1 railroads provided by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) were recently updated with values spanning through the end of Jul ’18. Overall, total cars online remained higher on a YOY basis while grain and ethanol rail transportation speeds finished lower.

Total Railcars Online:

• Aug 4^th week ending total railcars online totaled 1.050 million, finishing 0.1% below the previous week. Total railcars online remained higher on a YOY basis for the 85^th consecutive week, however, finishing up 1.6%.

Grain Rail Transportation:

• Aug 4^th week ending average train speeds for grain transportation remained lower on a YOY basis for the 21^st consecutive week. Aug 4^th week ending grain train speeds of 21.4 MPH finished 5.1% lower YOY and 4.4% below historical average grain train speeds.

Ethanol Rail Transportation:

• Aug 4^th week ending average train speeds for ethanol transportation remained lower on a YOY basis for the 26^th consecutive week. Aug 4^th week ending ethanol train speeds of 22.4 MPH finished 4.9% lower YOY and 1.6% below historical average ethanol train speeds.