RTA: Crosstie production, purchases marked declines in May

Crosstie production slipped slightly and purchases slid hard in May. Production totaled 1.6 million units, down 0.4 percent, and purchases totaled 1.3 million units, down 38.3 percent compared with April levels, according to the Railway Tie Association (RTA).

On a year-over-year basis, purchases fell 52 percent and production decreased 11.4 percent. In May, tie inventories reached 16.7 million units and the inventory-to-sales ratio clocked in at 0.71 compared with 16.5 million units and 0.66, respectively, in April.

Through 2014's first five months, production tumbled 13.6 percent to 7.7 million units and purchases dropped 9.7 percent to 9.3 million units compared with the same 2013 period.

Meanwhile, 12-month rolling data through May showed purchases — which have been climbing for more than a year — totaled 23.7 million units and were rising at a 4.4 percent annual rate, RTA officials said in a monthly report. However, production (at 20.1 million units) was declining at a 15.6 percent rate.