Research Guides: Transportation Industries: Railroad Industry

Industry Metrics

Tonnage - Revenue and long-term growth trends are measured by industry shipments.
Ton-miles - Calculated by measuring industry shipment weight times the average lenght of haul. This data is collected by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Revenues per Ton-mile - Measures how much revenue comes from moving on ton of freight one mile. An annual measure from the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Originated Tonnage - The total volume handled by the railroads. Another number collected by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Carloadings - The number of railroad cars used. this measure of short-term trends is collected weekly by the AAR

Getting Started with Railroad Industry Research

The Association of American Railroads is the trade association for the industry.They publish Rail Traffic Data and weekly performance measures for the six largest U.S. freight carriers.

In the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Railroad Administration provides information on freight rail, passenger rail and new rail programs including high speed service.

Industry Surveys, Statistics & Overviews

REPORTS/SURVEYS - LIBRARY DATABASES

Fitch Solutions BMI (formerly FitchConnect)
Covers the "Freight Transport" industry in the U.S. and worldwide. Features a quarterly "Industry Forecast."
IBISWorld
The IBISWorld industry survey covers "Rail Transportation in the U.S."
S&P NetAdvantage
Railroads are covered in the industry survey on "Road and Rail." Global industry surveys cover Europe and Asia.
Value Line
Railroad industry report and company reports offering over 10 years of historical data including sales, profits, and earnings per share. ** Click on "Industry Analysis" tab on top right.

OTHER REPORTS/SURVEYS

Trade Journals, Articles & News

TRADE JOURNALS:

LIBRARY DATABASES:

ABI/INFORM Global Find articles from trade journals and magazines, scholarly journals, and general interest magazines covering accounting, advertising, business, company information, industry Information, management, marketing, real estate, economics, finance, human resources, and international business.
Business Source Complete Search over 3,000 business magazines and trade journals covering management, economics, finance, accounting, and international business.
Factiva Provides global news, business, and financial information from newspapers, magazines, newswires, and trade journals. Includes information on companies and industries, and financial profiles. Try our search tutorial.

Railway Age News

The news feed from Railway Age: