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Freight Rail Yields

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Freight Rail Yields

Operating Yield (quarterly data, not seasonally adjusted)

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Freight Rail Yields. If you are a user with disability and cannot view this image, use the table version. If you need further assistance, call 800-853-1351.

For freight, operating yield is a measure of revenue per ton-mile. This is a way of showing the average price paid by freight rail users. Yields break down into costs (such as fuel and labor) and profits associated with rail operations, which may vary by commodity hauled and geography.

Freight Rail Operating Yields (Class I only) 2010 Quarter 3 2011 Quarter 3
Operating Yield (cents per ton-mile) 3.51 3.95
Percent change from same quarter previous year 10.3 12.8

NOTE: The current value is compared to the value from the same period in the previous year to account for seasonality.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, calculations based upon Surface Transportation Board, Office of Economics, Environmental Analysis, and Administration, Quarterly Earnings Reports, available at http://www.stb.dot.gov/ as of December 2011.