For an industry which hauls the heaviest, densest loads overland, no other material has proven itself more useful to railroads than that combination of iron, carbon, and trace minerals.
For more than 150 years, U.S. steelmakers have needed railroads to efficiently haul their heavy iron ore, taconite pellets, and coal, and also to transport finished steel coils, bars, and plates that become washing machines, automobiles, and skyscrapers.
The relationship, though, has changed to accommodate modern times.
Gone are the days when train loads of iron ore and coke streamed to plants in cities with names such as Youngstown, Bethlehem, and Lackawanna.
Trains now arrive in steel making cities with scrap metal, pre-formed ingots from overseas, and token amounts of iron ore. Instead of burning coke leavened with limestone, today’s steel mills melt more metal with electricity.
For railroads, the news is mostly good.
Class I railroads hauled 10,000 carloads of iron and steel a week by December 2014.
Iron and steel scrap moves dipped for first time in recent years, and iron ore loads are as high as they were in 2011 and 2012.
The better news is that while Class I railroads have a lion’s share of long-distance traffic, short line railroads from Northern Indiana to Upstate New York, and even Mississippi are originating more loads and coming up with creative ways to keep their steel mill customers efficient – at least on the transportation side.
What short lines are doing for steel mills is what short lines do best: switching as needed, making sure the right freight cars are available when the customer needs them, and working with Class I railroads, trucking companies, and barge companies to ensure materials and product flows without a hitch.
