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Yesterday, RailAmerica Inc. reported December carloads totaled 70,889, down 0.4 percent compared with December 2010 volume. “Same railroad” carloads declined 1.1 percent.

The company — which owns 43 regionals and short lines in the United States and Canada — registered the largest year-over-year drops in coal (12.9 percent), chemicals (11.9 percent), and pulp, paper and allied products (8 percent). Coal volume fell because of source shifts affecting the Indiana Southern Railroad and fewer shipments in the Central Region, while chemical volume reflects reduced shipments in the Northeast and Midwest regions, RailAmerica officials said in a prepared statement. Pulp, paper and allied products volume primarily was down in the Northeast Region.  
   
Despite the overall volume drop, the company registered traffic gains in eight of 12 commodity groups, including motor vehicles (154 percent), metallic ores and metals (10.7 percent), forest products (8.6 percent) and agricultural products (4.6 percent).

In the fourth quarter, RailAmerica’s carloads totaled 211,848, down 1.7 percent compared with fourth-quarter 2010 volume. Same railroad traffic declined 2.4 percent.