AAR: U.S. crude-by-rail volumes drop 17% in 2015

Crude oil shipments in 2015 accounted for 1.4 percent of all carloads originating in the United States, down from 1.6 percent in 2014, according to updated data from the Association of American Railroads.    United States crude-by-rail volumes in 2015 fell 16.8 percent compared with the previous year, according to updated data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
   AAR reported U.S. Class I railroads transported 410,249 carloads of crude oil last year, down from 493,146 carloads in 2014. Volumes of petroleum products fell dramatically across the industry during 2015 as crude oil prices plummeted due to growing global oversupply.
   In fourth quarter 2015, U.S. railroads carried 84,925 carloads of crude oil, down 16.1 percent (16,242 carloads) from the third quarter and 35.2 percent (46,146 carloads) from the fourth quarter of 2014.
   Crude oil shipments in 2015 accounted for 1.4 percent of all carloads originating in the U.S., down from 1.6 percent in 2014, according to AAR.