Crude-By-Rail Sets Record; Crude Oil Loadings Up 250 Percent Over Previous Year

The Association of American Railroads is reporting:

AAR today reported that U.S. Class I railroads originated a record 233,811 carloads of crude oil in 2012, up 256 percent from the 65,751 carloads of crude oil originated in 2011. Crude oil in 2012 represented 0.8 percent of all U.S. Class I rail carloads, up from 0.2 percent in 2011.  AAR reports crude-only carloading data on a quarterly basis, with 4Q12 seeing 81,122 carloads.

Linked article spotted via CarpeDiem. 

Also via CarpeDiem, this trucking report:

The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.9% in January after jumping 2.4% in December. (The 2.4% gain in December was revised down from a 2.8% increase ATA reported on January 22, 2013.) Tonnage has surged at least 2.4% every month since November, gaining a total of 9.1% over that period. As a result, the index equaled 125.2 (2000=100) in January versus 121.7 in December. January’s index was the highest on record. Compared with January 2012, the index was up a robust 6.5%, the best year-over-year result since December 2011.

“The trucking industry started 2013 with a bang, reflected in the best January tonnage report in five years,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. “While I believe that the overall economy will be sluggish in the first quarter, trucking likely benefited in January from an inventory destocking that transpired late last year, thus boosting volumes more than normal early this year as businesses replenish those lean inventories.”