RTA report: Tie purchases tumbled, production held stable in April

Crosstie production in April was relatively stable at 1.7 million units, but tie purchases fell 11 percent from March's level to 1.9 million units, according to the Railway Tie Association's (RTA) monthly market report.

Inventories dipped 1 percent to 19.1 million units and the inventory-to-sales ratio dropped to 0.71 versus 0.87 in April 2012.

Through 2013's first four months, tie purchases plunged 13.3 percent to 7.5 million units while production declined 10.8 percent to 7.2 million units compared with totals from the same 2012 period.

Meanwhile, 12-month rolling totals showed both production (at 24.4 million units) and purchases (at  21.9 million units) were easing off peaks reached in recent months, RTA officials said in the report. Production was 4 percent below a high mark set in October 2012 and purchases were 10 percent off a peak reached in July 2012.