GLG News by Railcar Market Experts (EU)

The American Association of Railroads (AAR) reported that US carload traffic during the week of Nov. 15 was 5.1% higher than the similar week in 2006 and that intermodal traffic was only down 0.8% . Carload traffic began to improve at the start of the fourth quarter, but this was the first time since...

    Coal plants utilize high-calcium limestone as a reagent in flue gas desulphurization (FGD or “scrubbers”) to remove the sulfur from the coal rather than it going up the stack as air emissions. The usage of this limestone will increase as scrubbers are included on new coal plants...

CP Rail recently announced that their third quarter operating income had increased over 7% compared to the same period in 2006 and that its operating ration had improved from 74% to 73%. Although most of the other major, Class I railroads in North America had reported similar results for the 3rdquarter,...

    Many previously announced coal plants have been formally cancelled or delayed this year. This is the result of either regulatory rejections or uncertainty, cost increases because of materials and labor, or environmental (CO2 emissions) issues.     U.S. Department...

    There have been several published reports of coal plant cancellations due to lack of the perceived need by regulators, differences in cost recovery in rates to consumers, the belief surrounding CO2 emissions or other reasons, Cancellation of the coal plant projects does not...

1.    Until now the contractual details that have governed the spinoff of shortline railroads have been confidential. 2.    Public scrutiny of these agreements will prove to be pro-competitive for rail shippers. 3.    The Class I's are not in...

Wabtec announced that they had been awarded a contract by Norfolk Southern (NS) to develop a positive train control (PTC) system. PTC is the first change in the basic method of controlling train operations since the current system was first established in the late 1880s. Previously, the BNSF had awarded...

    As a quick background, a “paper barrier” is a provision contained in an agreement when a Class I Railroad sells a line segment to a Class III Railroad preventing or limiting the acquiring Class III Railroad from interchanging traffic with a connecting railroad other than the...

How much of the current railroad renaissance is due to Ethanol? And how much more growth can we expect in the future? The impact of ethanol on grain markets and the demand for covered hopper cars is a matter of some debate. Our view is that while increased ethanol production will have a positive impact...

For 41 weeks, the AAR has reported that the weekly railroad carload totals were less than they were in the same week one year ago, and for most of that time, that railroad ton miles were less than the same week in 2006. The story actually began on January 12thof this year when the weekly totals turned...