Economy

By: Reuters | May 21 2015 at 03:35 PM | Intermodal

Crude oil shipments by top U.S. railroads fell nearly 12 percent in the first quarter of this year from the previous three months, the American Association of Railroads said, a drop likely tied to refinery work on coastal plants.

The AAR said about 897,172 barrels per day - or 113,089 carloads - originated on U.S. Class I railroads in the first three months of the year, down from more than 1 million bpd in the fourth quarter of 2014. ... The decline came during heavy seasonal refinery maintenance, which reduces demand for crude to process into fuels.

In the East Coast region, where several refineries receive North Dakota Bakken crude via rail, inputs to processing units were 23 percent lower in February at 780,000 bpd compared with November, Energy Information Administration data show.

On the West Coast, where Washington state refineries also regularly get Bakken shipments, such inputs were down 9 percent in February to 2.4 million bpd compared with December.