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After tumbling in May, North American crosstie purchases rose 22 percent in June to 1.79 million units, according to a Railway Tie Association (RTA) report.

June tie production increased 19 percent to 1.79 million units compared with May while suppliers’ inventories rose by 5,000 units to 13.99 million ties.

During the second quarter, tie purchases totaling 5.1 million units rose 12 percent compared second-quarter 2004 — “their strongest showing in three years,” RTA said. Quarterly tie production of 4.7 million units increased 18 percent compared with the same 2004 period.

During the year’s first half, tie purchases totaling 9.7 million units rose 8 percent, but production totaling 8.7 million units dropped 12 percent compared with first-half 2004.

Looking at rolling 12-month data, “tie purchases stabilized just short of 18.5 million, but still outpaced production, which stood at 18.1 million units,” RTA said. “Purchases are growing at a 4 percent rate while production has declined 6 percent.”

The inventory-to-sales ratio held steady at 0.76 during the 12-month period.