President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil plans to build 11,000 kilometers (6,835 miles) of rail and grant wider access to existing privately operated lines to cut shipping costs by as much as 30 percent in the country. The auction of a concession to build and manage the first of a dozen railways costing a total $42bn will take place as early as October.

United States freight carload traffic gained ground during the week ending March 16, 2013, up 0.5 percent measured against the comparable week in 2012, said the Association of American Railroads.