The Surface Transportation Board (STB) published weekly service report updates for Class 1 railroads spanning data acquired through the end of Oct ’16. Overall, ethanol and grain transportation speeds finished higher on a YOY basis while weekly held car results were mixed. Ethanol Transportation: • Average train speeds for ethanol transportation finished higher on a YOY basis throughout the final four weeks of October. Oct 29th ethanol train speeds of 23.5 MPH were 3.6% higher than the historical average grain train speeds and 0.8% higher YOY. • Ethanol cars held 48-120 hours remained below average seasonal levels throughout much of the past four weeks, finishing 9.8% lower than the previous year figures. • Ethanol cars held longer than 120 hours also remained below average seasonal levels, finishing 30.5% below the previous year throughout the past four weeks. Grain Transportation: • Average train speeds for grain transportation also finished higher on a YOY basis. Oct 29th grain train speeds of 22.9 MPH were 1.6% higher than the historical average grain train speeds and 1.1% higher YOY. • Grain cars held 48-120 hours increased to above average seasonal levels throughout the past four weeks, finishing 3.7% higher than the previous year figures. • Grain cars held longer than 120 hours also increased to above average seasonal levels, finishing 5.5% higher the previous year figures throughout the past four weeks. Total Cars Online: • Oct 29th total cars online totaled 1.01 million, up 0.2% from the previous week but remaining 1.6% below last year’s figures. Oct 29th total cars online finished 1.5% above the record low experienced during the week ending May 28th. • Oct 29th total cars online by railway were led by Union Pacific, followed by BNSF, CSX and Norfolk Southern.