RTA: Tie production, purchases rose in August

In August, tie production jumped 20.2 percent to 1,695,000 units and purchases rose 16.8 percent to 2,247,000 units compared with July levels, according to the Railway Tie Association's (RTA) latest market report.

On a year-over-year basis, production fell 15.2 percent and purchases dropped 10.7 percent.

Year to date, production totaled 11,677,000 ties, down 20.3 percent. Tie purchases through the first eight months of 2018 dipped 6.1 percent to 15,245,000 units compared with the same period last year.

Meanwhile, 12-month rolling totals through August showed purchases declined at a 1.9 percent annual rate. Production is trending lower and is down by a 24.1 percent annual rate. The inventory-to-sales ratio was 0.66, down by 0.20 percent compared with the year-ago level, the RTA reported.