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 Aug ’18. Overall, total cars online remained higher on a YOY basis while grain and ethanol rail transportation speeds finished lower. Total Railcars Online:

• Sep 1^st week ending total railcars online totaled 1.047 million, finishing 0.1% below the previous week. Total railcars online remained higher on a YOY basis for the 89^th consecutive week, however, finishing up 0.9%.

Grain Rail Transportation:

• Sep 1^st week ending average train speeds for grain transportation remained lower on a YOY basis for the 25^th consecutive week. Sep 1^st week ending grain train speeds of 21.2 MPH finished 3.8% lower YOY and 5.1% below historical average grain train speeds.

Ethanol Rail Transportation:

• Sep 1^st week ending average train speeds for ethanol transportation remained lower on a YOY basis for the 30^th consecutive week. Sep 1^st week ending ethanol train speeds of 21.1 MPH finished 7.5% lower YOY and 7.2% below historical average ethanol train speeds.