Genesee & Wyoming logged traffic gain in April

In April, Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (GWI) subsidiary railroads handled 157,695 carloads, up 103.1 percent compared with April 2012 primarily because of the RailAmerica acquisition. Same-railroad traffic increased 5.6 percent.

By commodity group, petroleum products traffic soared 69.9 percent to 9,746 units; metallic ores traffic climbed 29.5 percent to 5,542 units; lumber and forest products traffic increased 17.7 percent to 12,043 units; auto and auto parts traffic rose 15.6 percent to 3,057 units; and pulp and paper traffic grew 14.5 percent to 13,868 units. Only three groups posted declines: agricultural products, 8 percent; waste, 5.1 percent; and coal and coke, 3.4 percent.

Petroleum products traffic was driven by increased shipments of crude oil and liquid propane gases in the Pacific, Canada, Southern and Mountain West regions, GWI officials said in a press release. Lumber and forest products traffic rose primarily in the Pacific and Canada regions, and metallic ores traffic increased mainly in the Australia Region due to higher iron ore volume.

GWI owns and operates 108 regionals and short lines in the United States and Canada. The company also operates railroads in Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands.