US weekly rail chemical traffic rises 6.9%
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Lavender [2011-05-20]
US chemical railcar traffic rose 6.9 % in the week ended 22 September, compared with the same period in 2006, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) said on Thursday.
Chemical railcar loadings for the week rose to 30,586, from 28,618 in the same week last year, the association said.
Cumulatively, US chemical railcar loadings came to 1.151m for the first 38 weeks this year, an increase of 2.6% from the same period last year.
The AAR did not cite reasons for the increase in chemicals shipments.
Analysts consider rail shipment data to be a good early indicator of current chemical industry activity. Railroads transport more than 20% of chemicals produced in the US.
The association said overall railcar loadings for the 19 commodity categories it tracks rose 0.2% in the 38th week to 339,266, compared with the same week last year.
Cumulatively, carload for all commodities for the first 38 weeks this year were 12.362m, down 3.3% compared with the same period last year, the AAR said.