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For many years, the Association of American Railroads has provided weekly traffic data gathered from the Class Is and a smattering of regionals and short lines. Now, a software and transportation/information services provider is offering the RailConnect Index® of short-line traffic, which is designed to provide weekly traffic statistics culled from about 180 small roads.

RMI collects and aggregates data for the index through its RailConnect® suite of services. RailConnect customers process more than 5 million carloads annually for railroads, shippers and rail-car lessors.

"With the introduction of the RailConnect Index, we are proud to take information sourcing to a new level and make it available to the industry as a means of analyzing traffic trends in the industry," said RMI Chairman Peter Kleifgen in a prepared statement.

The index includes traffic data from about 40 percent of all U.S. short lines and regionals — or about half of all short-line carloads — and provides traffic summaries of 13 commodity groups, including chemicals, coal, intermodal, grain, metals, motor vehicles, aggregates and paper products.

RMI plans to distribute the index free-of-charge each week to industry analysts and trade publications.

The company's traffic data from July's four full weeks (excluding July 1-3) and 2004's first full seven months will be published in Progressive Railroading's September issue, page 16.