Biweekly Railroad Service Report Update – 2/26/15
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) published the 18th and 19th weekly service report updates for Class 1 railroads spanning data acquired from February 8th to February 21st. Overall, ethanol and grain transportation speeds declined from recent weeks while weekly held cars have trended mostly below past weekly average values.
Ethanol Transportation:
• Average train speeds for ethanol transportation declined to a 17 week low during the week ending February 14th before rebounding slightly during the week ending February 21st. Ethanol train speeds of 20.3 MPH remain 3.0% lower than the previous 18 week average ethanol train speeds.
• Ethanol cars held 48-120 hours have remained at below average levels throughout February, with February 21st held cars finishing the week 7.8% below the previous 18 week average cars held.
• Ethanol cars held longer than 120 hours have also remained at below average levels throughout February, with February 21st held cars finishing the week 24.0% below the previous 18 week average cars held.
Grain Transportation:
• Average train speeds for grain transportation declined 3.7% during the week ending February 21st to 21.1 MPH, an eight week low. Grain train speeds remain 0.4% higher than the previous 18 week average grain train speeds.
• Grain cars held 48-120 hours have remained at slightly below average levels throughout February, with February 21st held cars finishing the week 2.3% below the previous 18 week average cars held.
• Grain cars held longer than 120 hours increased 20.7% during the week ending February 21st to a new seven week high. Held cars were trending slightly below average until the latest weekly increase, and are currently 16.7% above the previous 18 week average cars held.