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US coal train loadings fall to year-low totals: Surface Transportation Board filings

Coal train loading volumes on the four major US railroads fell week over week to year-low totals, according to reports filed with the Surface Transportation Board.

Data in EP 724 filings by BNSF, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific released Thursday show on average a year-low 101 coal trains were loaded each day for the week ending July 3, down from 106.6 trains the prior week.

The previous year-low average was 106.1 train loadings for the week ending May 29.

Coal train loadings have steadily dropped since the end of winter, with average loadings in five of the last six weeks featuring the five lowest totals of 2015.

Year to date, an average of 119.9 trains have been loaded a day, a volume that has not been reached since mid-April.

COAL LOADINGS DROP IN APPALACHIAN BASINS

Coal loadings fell to year-low totals in Northern Appalachia for the week, averaging 4.8 trains a day down from 12.2 trains a day the previous week.

Daily Central Appalachia coal loadings slipped to 14.6 trains from 18.5 trains the prior week. It was the third-lowest daily loadings count for the region this year.

Combined, daily coal train loadings for Appalachian basins have averaged 33.6 trains a day but fell to 19.4 trains a day in the previous report. Shipments of coal from the Power River Basin and Illinois Basin actually increased week over week.

Daily PRB loadings increased to 63.7 trains from 60.1 trains the previous week, making the highest average loadings for the region since 65.6 trains daily day for the week ending May 1.

This year, on average 69 trains/day have been loaded with PRB coal, but totals have not reached that average mark since the first week in April. PRB coal loadings during the winter from January through March averaged 75.1 trains/day.

ILB daily train loadings were up to 10.2 trains for the week, a jump from a year-low 8.4 trains reported for the week before.

Daily coal train loadings from the Utica Basin were slightly down, falling to an average of 5.1 trains/day from 5.3 trains the week before, and loadings from outside the primary basins were up to 2.6 trains/day from 2.1 trains the week before.

LOADINGS UP FOR BNSF, UNION PACIFIC

BNSF reported an average of 43.7 daily coal trains loadings, up from 42.5 trains the previous week, with 41.1 trains of PRB coal and 2.6 trains of coal from outside the primary basins.

Union Pacific reported an average of 27 daily coal train loadings, up from 25 trains the previous week, with 22.6 trains of PRB coal and 5.1 trains of Utica Basin coal.

CSX reported an average of 12.9 daily train loadings, down from 21 trains the previous week, with 7.6 trains of CAPP coal, 0.5 train of NAPP coal and 4.8 trains of ILB coal.

Norfolk Southern reported an average of 16.7 daily train loadings, down from 18.1 trains the previous week, with seven trains of CAPP coal, 4.3 trains of NAPP coal and 5.4 trains of ILB coal.

source: http://www.platts.com