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After a seasonal dip in December, North American crosstie production rebounded in January to 1.7 million units, a 36 percent increase compared with January 2005, according to the Railway Tie Association’s (RTA) monthly report.

Tie production continued to exceed purchases, RTA said. However, January purchases went up, too, rising 9 percent to 1.5 million units compared with January 2005. The tie inventory totaling 15.7 million units as of Jan. 31 increased 1.4 percent.

During a 12-month period ending in January, tie purchases increased 4 percent to a record 18.9 million units compared with the previous 12-month period. Production totaling 19.7 million ties increased 3.8 percent while the inventory-to-sales ratio of 0.83 held steady, RTA said.