Severe winter weather hindered Q1 volumes, Genesee & Wyoming says

Genesee & Wyoming Inc.'s (GWI) railroads in March registered 167,993 carloads, up 9 percent compared with March 2013 data.

North American volume rose 9.6 percent primarily because of increased coal and overhead Class I shipments, and Australian volume increased 5.3 percent primarily due to increased iron ore shipments that partially offset decreased minerals and stone traffic.

North American coal and coke carloads climbed 26.2 percent as steam coal shipments netted gains in GWI's Midwest and Ohio Valley regions. Metallic ores traffic jumped 31.1 percent mostly due to increased iron ore shipments in the Australia Region.

In the first quarter, GWI railroads registered 467,379 carloads, up 3.8 percent compared with first-quarter 2013. Severe winter weather in the quarter caused lower-than-expected traffic and higher-than-expected expenses, GWI officials said in a press release.

North American traffic rose 3.7 percent and Australian traffic rose 4.5 percent versus first-quarter 2013 results. Coal and coke traffic climbed 14.2 percent primarily because of increased steam coal shipments in the Midwest and Ohio Valley regions, which partially was offset by decreased shipments in the Mountain West Region.