Railroad Service Report Update – Aug ’20
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 ’20. Total cars online continued to rebound from the record low levels experienced throughout the second week of May, reaching a 16 week high level, overall. Grain rail transportation speeds remained higher on a YOY basis for the 73rd consecutive week however ethanol rail transportation speeds finished below previous year levels for the fourth time in the past five weeks.
Total Railcars Online:
Aug 1st week ending total railcars online totaled 965,000, finishing 0.2% above the previous week and reaching a 16 week high level. Total railcars online declined to a record low level throughout the second week of May, prior to rebounding by a total of 2.6% over more recent weeks. Online railcar figures have been compiled since the fourth quarter of 2014. Total railcars online remained lower on a YOY basis for the 90th consecutive week, however, finishing down 5.8%.
Grain Rail Transportation:
Aug 1st week ending grain train speeds of 23.1 MPH finished 1.0% higher YOY and 2.4% above historical average grain train speeds. The YOY increase in grain train speeds was the 73rd experienced in a row.
Ethanol Rail Transportation:
Aug 1st week ending ethanol train speeds of 22.7 MPH finished 0.7% below previous year levels and 1.0% below historical average ethanol train speeds. The YOY decline in ethanol train speeds was the fourth experienced throughout the past five weeks.