(The Associated Press circulated the following on May 11.)
GREENWICH, Conn. — Short line and regional freight railroad operator Genesee & Wyoming Inc. said Friday its same-railroad traffic in April declined 6.8 percent, as the company hauled less coal, coke and ores because two power plants in Illinois went down for maintenance.
Genesee & Wyoming’s April traffic, excluding carloads from its Australia unit that the company began operating in June, and carloads from the Chattahoochee Bay Railroad it took over in August, fell by 4,480 carloads. The railroad expects the power plants will complete their maintenance in mid-May.
Shipments of pulp and paper products also declined, but an uptick in corn and grain freight shipments pushed farm and food traffic higher in the period.
Including Genesee & Wyoming Australia and the Chattahoochee Bay Railroad, the railroad’s April traffic increased 3 percent to 67,748 carloads from 65,981 carloads in the same period last year. Shipments of minerals and stone rose the most, followed by farm and food products freight.