A little over a year after the railroad crisis hit the northwestern cornbelt, it looks like service has returned to normal and railroads should be able to handle the upcoming bumper crop. Mike Steenhoek, Executive Director of the Soy Transportation Coalition says the rail companies have stepped up to make investments to alleviate the logjams and rail car and locomotive shortages that were prevalent last summer.

Steenhoek says market factors have also helped ease the crisis, with lower grain prices resulting in more grain going into storage. Slower exports due to the global economic climate are also expected to result in less volume being moved by the railroads.

Plus, he says the drop in crude oil prices has also lessened the demand for rail cars out of the Bakken Oil fields in North Dakota.

Of course Steenhoek says the main wildcard is weather. Both volume of snow and severity of temperatures can significantly curtail railroad performance.