U.S. crude-by-rail volumes plummet

Year-over-year throughput of crude oil and other petroleum products dropped 22 percent last week compared to the same period last year, according to the American Association of Railroads.    Volumes of crude oil and other petroleum products transported by rail in the United States dropped 22 percent last week compared to the same week in 2014, according to data from the American Association of Railroads.
   Railways transported 13,014 carloads of crude oil and petroleum products last week, one of the lowest levels of any single week since 2012. Volumes of petroleum products are down 5.9 percent overall in 2015 as crude oil prices have fallen dramatically amid concerns of growing global oversupply.
   Total U.S. weekly rail traffic was down 1.8 percent to 566,700 carloads and intermodal units, compared with the same week last year, AAR said. Total combined U.S. traffic so far in 2015 stands at 20,725,660 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.2 percent compared to last year.