Trump to inaugurate bulk train resurgence?
Donald Trump is inaugurated indoors today, to avoid the deep cold of a Washington winter. Keeping the Capitol warm might well mean economic and environmental policy is up for change. That could have an impact on railroad operations in North America, by sparking a resurgence in a traditional commodity.
The Association of American Railroads, which monitors operational performance, has stated concern with an underlying metric in bulk cargo deliveries. Specifically, a decline in coal traffic is skewing their figures. Could today’s new president and his administration change all that?
A three-decade low for industrial products
The AAR takes a holistic view of the railroad industry in the US. It closely relates railroad health to the overall economy. The US Federal Reserve says manufacturing output has been slowly falling for two and half years. However, the AAR noted that, excluding coal, US railroad bulk carloads are on an eleventh consecutive year-on-year gain, even though broader economic indicators are not as optimistic.
A significant fall in coal volume has skewed US rail figures. A policy switch to a mineral-based economy (“dr…
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