rail industry

North American rail volumes have fallen both week-over-week and year-over-year in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The fall comes as nonessential businesses close up shop and consumers become less inclined to spend money in light of a likely recession. Still, North American railroad leaders...

Analysts at BMO Capital Markets oversee a proprietary index called the "BMO Rail Demand Index" (RDI), which measures demand momentum for rail carloads. As noted by BMO's Fadi Chamoun, the RDI historically led carloads by three to six months. The May reading of 44 is roughly in line with April's...

It's been just over a year since a freight train carrying crude oil from the Bakken shale fields in North Dakota derailed and exploded in a Quebec town near the U.S.-Canadian border, killing 47 people. That accident, along with several others in its wake, drew attention to the enormous...