RTA report: Crosstie production, purchases rose in first quarter

In first-quarter 2016, crosstie production rose 16.4 percent to 6.9 million units and purchases climbed 5.6 percent to 6 million units compared with crosstie activity in 2015's first quarter, according to the Railway Tie Association (RTA).

In March, production increased 15.5 percent to 2.5 million units and purchases decreased 2.8 percent to about 2.2 million units from February levels.

In comparison with year-ago levels, production in March was up 23 percent and purchases were up 5.8 percent.

Tie inventory in March stood at 19.57 million units, up 21.5 percent compared with March 2015 inventory and 1.7 percent higher than in February.