RailAmerica, Inc. posted freight carloads of 67,707 for December 2009, up 6.4 percent from the same month in 2008. The report excluded carloads from the Ottawa Valley Railway, a RailAmerica unit that is terminating its track lease with CP.
The Jacksonville, Fla.-based short line holding company had increased shipments in December 2009 in eight out of 12 commodity groups compared with December 2008. The largest percentage increases were in motor vehicles (up 110 percent), agricultural products (up 22 percent), chemicals (up 16 percent) and waste & scrap materials (up 15 percent).
RailAmerica owns and operates a portfolio of 40 railroads with about 7,400 miles of track in 27 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces.