Rail

By Daryl Delano -- Logistics Management, 4/1/1998

Railroad linehaul operators saw their average charges rise by about 0.3 percent during February, following six months of little change. Not all categories shared in the February gain, however: The price index for the movement of farm products declined a sharp 1.2 percent between January and February. The Association of American Railroads reports that both carload and intermodal freight movements were off in the U.S. during February. Slowing demand and increased competition from other modes should keep average rail-freight inflation to under 1.0 percent this year.

% CHANGE VS.: 1 month ago 6 mos. ago 1 yr. ago

Coal NA NA NA

Chemicals -0.2 -0.1 +0.4

Grain -1.2 -0.3 +2.8

Motor vehicles +0.1 -0.2 -1.3

Metallic ores NA NA NA