That’s the average freight tonnage growth experienced by railroads the past three years, compared to real GDP growth of 3.47%. There are several reasons for this strong performance. As discussed by the industry analysts at BMO Capital Markets Transportation Group, the flow of domestic freight is increasing with intermodal growth continuing to grow in excess of GDP driven by increased container traffic from China. Shippers are conscious of rising fuel expenses and railroads become more competitive when diesel fuel prices increase; shipping by rail can be approximately 30% cheaper than by truck. Finally, a driver shortage for truck-load carriers (which was at its worst in ’04/’05) gave rise to increased shipping rates and supply constraints of available trucks.