S&P 500
0.00
+0.00%
Dow Jones
0.00
+0.00%
Nasdaq 100
30,411.80
-0.23%
Russell 2000
2,975.48
-0.09%
FTSE 100
10,384.80
-0.34%
Nikkei 225
71,987.20
+0.02%

Commodities & Metals

Rail Cars Fill Up with Crude Oil, While Grain and Coal Shipments Remain Soft

Photo of Paul Ausick
By Paul Ausick Updated Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Railroad Oil Tank Cars

Thinkstock
In its weekly report issued yesterday, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) noted that rail carloads of petroleum rose 50.8% in the week, compared to the same week a year ago. For the year to date, U.S. railroads have hauled 54.1% more petroleum than they did a year ago.

The numbers are truly impressive. The AAR counted 259,141 petroleum carloads last week. Just over a year ago, the count was just shy of 120,000 carloads for the comparable week. And that represented a rise of nearly 30% from the same week in 2011. Rail transportation of crude oil and petroleum products has nearly tripled in three years.

Coal shipments by rail still outnumber petroleum shipments by about eight to one, but coal carloads are down 5.6% year-to-date, compared with last year. And the number of carloads of grain has fallen 16% in the same period.

Among the railroads, the big winner is the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), which is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) and plies the rails along the northern tier, including the oil-producing states of North Dakota and Montana. Railroads that depend more heavily on coal shipments, like CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) and Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP), have all experienced double-digit percentage drops in coal ships, weighing on revenues and profits.

DISCLOSURE:
INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, member FINRA(www.finra.org)/SIPC(www.sipc.org). Advisory services are offered by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Information about SoFi Wealth’s advisory operations, services, and fees is set forth in SoFi Wealth’s current Form ADV Part 2 (Brochure), a copy of which is available upon request and at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Probability of Member receiving $1,000 is a probability of 0.026%; If you don’t make a selection in 30 days, you’ll no longer qualify for the promo. Customer must fund their account with a minimum of $50.00 to qualify. Other fees, such as exchange fees, may apply. Please view our fee disclosure to view a full listing of fees. Investing in alternative investments and/or strategies may not be suitable for all investors and involves unique risks, including the risk of loss. An investor should consider their individual circumstances and any investment information, such as a prospectus, prior to investing. Interval Funds are illiquid instruments, the ability to trade on your timeline may be restricted. Brokerage and Active investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, Member FINRA(www.finra.org) /SIPC(www.sipc.org). There are limitations with fractional shares to consider before investing. During market hours fractional share orders are transmitted immediately in the order received. There may be system delays from receipt of your order until execution and market conditions may adversely impact execution prices. Outside of market hours orders are received on a not held basis and will be aggregated for each security then executed in the morning trade window of the next business day at market open. Share will be delivered at an average price received for executing the securities through a single batched order. Fractional shares may not be transferred to another firm. Fractional shares will be sold when a transfer or closure request is initiated. Please consider that selling securities is a taxable event. Options involve risks, including substantial risk of loss and the possibility an investor may lose the entire investment Before trading options please review the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options  Investing in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) involves substantial risk, including the risk of loss. Further, there are a variety of risk factors to consider when investing in an IPO, including but not limited to, unproven management, significant debt, and lack of operating history. For a comprehensive discussion of these risks please refer to SoFi Securities’ IPO Risk Disclosure Statement This should not be considered a recommendation to participate in IPOs and investors should carefully read the offering prospectus to determine whether an offering is consistent with their investment objectives, risk tolerance, and financial situation. New offerings generally have high demand and there are a limited number of shares available for distribution to participants. Many customers may not be allocated shares and share allocations may be significantly smaller than the shares requested in the customer’s initial offer (Indication of Interest). For more information on the allocation process please visit IPO Allocation.
Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google
Photo of Paul Ausick
About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

The $2.3 Million 401(k) Tax Trap: Why Maxing Out Costs You $64,000 in Retirement
Marc Guberti |

The $2.3 Million 401(k) Tax Trap: Why Maxing Out Costs You $64,000 in Retirement
Bernie Sanders vs. Elon Musk: Would Taxing the Rich Actually Save Social Security?
Michael Williams |

Bernie Sanders vs. Elon Musk: Would Taxing the Rich Actually Save Social Security?

Continue Reading

Paul Ausick |

U.S. Railroads: Do CSX Results Provide a Signal?

Thinkstock After CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) reported its first quarter results last night, investors began selling the railroad company’s stock…

Paul Ausick |

Railroad Traffic Continues Decline on Lack of Coal Shipments (GWR, CSX, UNP, NSC, KSU)

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (NYSE: GWR) this morning released its traffic volume report for March and for the first quarter…

A Halt in Federal Relief Payments Could Derail CSX Stock
Paul Ausick |

A Halt in Federal Relief Payments Could Derail CSX Stock

Any supply-side relief for the U.S. rail industry is likely to come as an afterthought because politicians will go for…

For CSX Stock, Things Could Get Worse
Paul Ausick |

For CSX Stock, Things Could Get Worse

Once China's manufacturing capacity comes back, goods will begin flowing around the globe again. At least that's what CSX investors…

Paul Ausick |

Railroad Stocks Falter on Coal Outlook (NSC, UNP, CSX, KSU, KOL)

Earlier this week, CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) reported quarterly results that were more or less in line with estimates, but…

Rail Traffic Paints Dire Situation for Autos, Coal and Steel — and for Railroads!
Jon C. Ogg |

Rail Traffic Paints Dire Situation for Autos, Coal and Steel — and for Railroads!

Monitoring freight and rail traffic is one of the primary means of knowing what is happening inside the economy. The…

Paul Ausick |

Rail Traffic Increase Builds Hopes for Holiday Season

ThinkstockU.S. railroads moved nearly 260,000 intermodal units (containers) in the week ended August 10. That is a 6.1% increase over…

Paul Ausick |

CSX Kicks Off Railroad Earnings with a Bang (CNI, CP, CSX, KSU, NSC, UNP)

US railroads have suffered from the warm winter with falling volume on coal transportation, but rising prices for gasoline and…

Why CSX Stock Looks Good Even If the Market Goes South
Chris Lange |

Why CSX Stock Looks Good Even If the Market Goes South

Yet, as the global economy picks up and China starts shipping again, railroads will get busier. CSX stock may be…

Top Gaining Stocks

CarMax
KMX • Vol: 7,330,419
Corning
GLW • Vol: 22,800,969
Intel
INTC • Vol: 233,719,006
Super Micro Computer
SMCI • Vol: 68,465,534
Enphase Energy
ENPH • Vol: 13,978,376

Top Losing Stocks

Accenture
ACN • Vol: 41,744,333
EPAM Systems
EPAM • Vol: 5,636,587
Cognizant
CTSH • Vol: 61,311,400
Coterra Energy
CTRA • Vol: 73,319,495
Kroger
KR • Vol: 26,704,230