Coal train loadings from the Powder River Basin fell 12.8% week on week to drop to year-low totals, US Surface Transportation Board filings showed.
Data filed by the four major US railroads -- CSX, Union Pacific, BSNF and Norfolk Southern -- for the week ended March 10 showed PRB coal loadings averaged 51 trains/d, down from 58.5 the previous week.
PRB loadings were last lower in the final week of December 2016 at an average of 50.3 trains/d.
Western declines pushed down total nationwide loadings by 6.1% week on week to 91.5 trains/d from 97.5.
Central Appalachian coal loading counts dipped to 14.9 trains/d from 15.2 the previous week, while Northern Appalachian loadings increased slightly to 10 trains/d from 9.9.
Illinois Basin loadings grew to 8.7 trains/d from 8.3.
Elsewhere, Utica Basin coal train loadings were up to 4.3 trains/d from 3.7, and loadings from outside the primary basins increased to 2.6 trains/d from 1.9.
