BNSF News

Industry Brief: Transportation Industry Statistics Slip

2010-07-19

The Freight Transportation Services Index slipped 0.4 percent in May, according to a recent report from The Journal of Commerce Online.

The Department of Commerce reports that freight shipments, measured in ton-miles, fell after two consecutive monthly increases. The index has risen in nine of the last 12 months and 4.4 percent during the last year after declining 15.3 percent in the previous 10 months beginning in August 2008. The index measures month-to-month changes in freight shipments in ton-miles. It encompasses shipments using for-hire trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight.

At the same time, The Journal of Commerce Online also reported that rail owners pulled more than 3,000 cars out of storage in June. That leaves nearly 24 percent of North American railcars idle. The Association of American Railroads said that as of July 1, an estimated 365,279 freight cars had gone without a revenue load for at least 60 days.

Industry analysts said that most of the cars pulled out of storage would most likely be put into revenue service, but that during this slow recovery, more railcars than usual may be sold to scrap dealers whenever metal prices are attractive enough.

June's figure of pulled cars was higher than May's number of 747, but the figures are still low.

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BNSF Railway Company
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Phone: (817) 352-1000

For more information on the company and its transportation solutions, visit the BNSF Web site at www.bnsf.com