WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. rail delivery of petroleum and petroleum products was up 12.4 percent last week from the same period in 2013, the American Association of Railroads said.
The AAR said Thursday 13,881 carloads of petroleum and petroleum products, or about 9.71 million barrels of oil, were delivered on the U.S. rail system for the week ending Jan. 11.
One rail company, Genesee & Wyoming, which has headquarters in Connecticut, said this week it transported 2,747 rail cars of petroleum and petroleum products in North America in December, a 254.8 percent increase over the same month in 2012.
An accelerating pace of oil production in the United States has placed a burden on pipeline capacity, industry officials say. U.S. oil production has increased, in part, because of gains from states including Texas and North Dakota.
In a short-term market report for January, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. oil production should increase from the average 7.5 million barrels per day in 2013 to 8.5 million bpd this year.
The AAR said its total for U.S. operations excludes deliveries from the Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway.
