[MCN] Falling demand for coal, oil pinches rail traffic

[Lance Olsen]

Wall Street Journal  Aug. 7, 2015 5:29 p.m. ET
LOGISTICS REPORT
Freight Rail Traffic Tumbles on Falling Coal, Oil Demand
Carloads carrying energy products declined at a double-digit rate in 
July, the Association of American Railroads says
http://www.wsj.com/articles/freight-rail-traffic-tumbles-on-falling-coal-oil-demand-1438982945
By BRIAN BASKIN AND ALISON SIDER

Excerpt: first 4 paragraphs

Rail traffic fell in July from a year ago as an increase in container 
volumes couldn't offset a steep decline in oil and coal shipments, 
the Association of American Railroads said in its monthly report 
Friday.

The number of carloads carrying oil and petroleum products dropped 
13.6% from a year ago to 67,909 last month, while coal volumes sank 
12.5%. Container shipments rose 3.8% to 1.2 million. Traffic overall 
fell 1.8% to 2.7 million, the association said.

Oil-train shipments have tumbled this year, hurt by plunging prices 
for crude and concerns about the safety of transporting petroleum by 
rail. That, plus declining demand for coal from power plants and 
overseas buyers, has hit railroad operators' earnings. Norfolk 
Southern Corp. , CSX Corp. and Union Pacific Corp. are among the 
major operators to attribute declining revenue to waning 
energy-related business.

"Railroads are overexposed, relative to the economy in general, to 
the energy sector," analysts with the AAR said in the traffic report.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/freight-rail-traffic-tumbles-on-falling-coal-oil-demand-1438982945

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"Contrary to the expectation that surviving trees have weathered 
severe drought, the hydraulic deterioration demonstrated here reveals 
that surviving regions of these forests are actually more vulnerable 
to future droughts due to accumulated xylem damage. As the most 
widespread tree species in North America, increasing vulnerability to 
drought in these forests has important ramifications for ecosystem 
stability, biodiversity, and ecosystem carbon balance."

William L. R. Anderegg et al. Drought's legacy: multiyear hydraulic 
deterioration underlies widespread aspen forest die-off and portends 
increased future risk.  Global Change Biology (2013) 19, 1188-1196, 
doi: 10.1111/gcb.12100
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