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In a dual plunge that “defied seasonal patterns,” crosstie purchases and production in May dropped 29 percent and 17 percent, respectively, from April levels, according to the Railway Tie Association (RTA). Purchases totaled 1.65 million units vs. April’s 2.3 million units and production totaled 1.9 million units vs. April’s 2.3 million units.

During 2009’s first five months, purchases of 9.5 million ties inched up 1.9 percent and production of 10.8 million ties jumped 38 percent compared with totals from the same 2008 period, according to RTA’s monthly crosstie market report.

Meanwhile, 12-month rolling data shows purchases are growing at a 1.3 percent annual rate while production is expanding at a 16 percent rate. Inventories, which only rose 1 percent in May to 17.5 million units, have increased 14 percent during the past 12 months, the report states.

“The inventory-to-sales ratio dropped in April, the rebounded, and now stands at 0.83, above the five-year average of 0.77,” RTA said.