NEWSLETTER - TEALINC TOUCHBASE - 2007 December 2007 - Spring Wheat Market Shows Volatility, Not Excitement BNSF Winter Open Top Loading Rules Effective December 1 Investment on U.S. Railroads Speculated To Come To A Halt If Congress Decides To Re-Regulate The Industry Federal Reserve Battles Recession Fears; Optimists Forecast Federal Funds Rate Close To 3.75 Percent By Summer November 2007 - As World Corn Prices Rise, So Too Do Those Of Wheat and Rice Changes To BNSF Intermodal Storage Policy Effective November 5, 2007 2007 Freight Carload Traffic Down From 2006; Considerable Long Term Growth Predicted Citing Turmoil In The Housing Market, Feds Lower Funds Rate to 4.5 Percent; Dollar Hits New Low October 2007 - Cement and Steel Companies Could See Demand Improve Over The Next Couple Years CSXI's Fuel Surcharge To Rise; UP's To Hold Steady In October Coke, Grain and Chemicals Carloads Up; Metallic Ore, Pulp and Paper Products, Metal and Metal Products Down Fed's Lower Interest Rates to 4.75 Percent; Another Quarter Point Cut Expected During October 31 Meeting September 2007 - Slower Lumber Market Conditions Predicted in 2008 States Say "No" to Re-Regulating Rail Industry STB Will Order Independent Study of Rail Competition Most Investors Still Expect The Feds Will Cut the Federal Funds Rate During September 18 Meeting August 2007 - USDA Reports That Current Crop Conditions Still Point Towards Large 2007 Corn, Soybean & Cotton Crops ASLRRA Rallies Support From Politicians and Shippers for Tax-Credit Extension Bill U.S. Freight Railroad Carload Traffic Down 2.7 Percent in June; 2007 Expected to be Second Highest Year for U.S. Intermodal Traffic in History Our Job is to Make a Difficult Task Understandable - Interested in a Seminar? July 2007 - Portland Cement Association Expects Single-Family Building Slump to Continue Into 2008 CN Introduces "Weekend Loading Advantage Program" Intended To Help Western Canadian Grain Elevator Operators 2007 Estimated Rail Volume Totaled 789.4 Billion Ton-Miles, Representing a Three Percent Year-Over-Year Decline As Signs of a Stronger Economy Have Increased, The Possibility of a Fed Rate Cut In Coming Months Has Faded June 2007 - USDA Reports Corn Planting Largest In 63 Years; Experts Say Increase Driven By Ethanol Production U.S. Lagging When It Comes to Transportation Investment Freight Carloads of Chemicals and Petroleum Products Up; Crushed Stone, Sand and Gravel, Metals and Metal Products Down Federal Reserve Keeps Funds Rate at 5.25 Percent; Investors See No Rate Hikes Ahead May 2007 - Global Demand For Steel Puts Price At A Premium UP, NS Teaming Up To Speed Eastbound Intermodal Trains From Los Angeles To The Southeast Shippers, Carriers Addressing Necessary Infrastructure Improvements To Accommodate Projected 40 To 70 Percent Rail Volume Growth Economy Likely To "Pick Up Steam" April 2007 - Housing Slowdown Making 2007 a Harder Year for Cement UP Lifts Coal Embargo Snow, Ice and GDP Blamed in February Freight Traffic Fed Keeps Rates at 5.25 Percent; Says That Recent Economic Indicators "Have Been Mixed" March 2007 - Newsprint Consumption Down 24.2 Percent Since 1999; Prices Steadily Dropping Tentative Settlement Reached More Than Two Weeks After CN Workers Began Strike Bernanke Says Financial Markets "Working Well"; Speculators Say Futures Show Fed Closer to Cutting Interest Rates Freight Car Trends: Managing Infrastructure To Help Create Efficiencies For The Railroads February 2007 - Early Estimates Show Domestic Sand & Gravel Production and Consumption To Increase in 2007 BNSF Announces That It Will Divest Its Woodchip Gondola Fleet U.S. Freight Railroads Complete Another Record Breaking Year; Freight Volume Up 2.5 Percent in 2006 Federal Funds Rate Sit Steady at 5.25 Percent January 2007 - 2006 Falling Lumber Prices Due to Rising Mortgage Rates & Slower Housing Demand The BNSF and CSX Seamless Intermodal Doublestack Corridor Set to Begin Service February of 2007 Rail Ton-Mileage Sets Ninth Consecutive Annual Record Odds of 2007 Recession Likely; Many Economists Speculate That The Central Bank May Cut Rates In 2007

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