RRA Railamerica

RailAmerica, Inc. (NYSE:RRA) ("RailAmerica" or the "Company") today reported its freight carloads for the month ended August 31, 2006. Total carloads for August 2006 were 107,025, down 2,262 carloads, or 2.1%, from 109,287 in August 2005. The sale of the San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad, the E&N Railway and the three Alberta properties, net of the impact of the acquisition of the Alcoa railroads and the Fremont line in Michigan, accounted for a decrease of 1,723 carloads. On a "same railroad" basis, August 2006 carloads decreased 539 carloads, or 0.5%, to 104,056 from 104,595 in August 2005. The August 2006 carloads were primarily affected by lower shipments of Coal, Lumber & Forest Products, Intermodal and Paper Products, partially offset by increases in Bridge Traffic, Metals and Petroleum Products. Lumber & Forest Products carloads were affected by the continued slow down in the housing market and shipments of Paper Products continue to be negatively impacted by a work stoppage at a shipper's facility in Nova Scotia. For the eight months ended August 31, 2006, total carloads decreased 2.5% to 846,497 from 868,392 in 2005. On a "same railroad" basis for the same period, carloads were 818,898 down 1.4% from 830,419 in 2005. "Same railroad" totals exclude carloads associated with railroads, or portions of railroads, sold or acquired by the Company after January 1, 2005. Historically, the Company has found that carload information may be indicative of freight revenue on its railroads, but may not be indicative of total revenue, operating expenses, operating income or net income. Attached is a comparison of carloads by commodity group for the periods ended August 31, 2006 and 2005. RailAmerica, Inc. (NYSE:RRA) is a leading short line and regional rail service provider with 42 railroads operating approximately 7,800 track miles in the United States and Canada. The Company is a member of the Russell 2000(R) Index. Its website may be found at http://www.railamerica.com. DISCLAIMER REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement was made. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information. If the Company does update any forward-looking statement, no inference should be drawn that the Company will make additional updates with respect to that statement or any other forward-looking statements. We refer you to the documents that RailAmerica files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as the Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K, which contain additional important factors that could cause its actual results to differ from its current expectations and from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. -0- *T RailAmerica, Inc. Carload Comparisons by Commodity Group Month/Year-to-Date Ended August 31, 2006 and 2005 Consolidated Carloads AUGUST YEAR-TO-DATE ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity Group 2006 2005 % Chg 2006 2005 % Chg ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bridge Traffic 17,304 15,304 13.1% 140,212 136,238 2.9% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Coal 11,657 13,126 -11.2% 102,232 99,880 2.4% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Lumber & Forest Products 10,273 11,966 -14.1% 83,645 92,916 -10.0% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Chemicals 9,589 9,656 -0.7% 74,059 78,757 -6.0% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Agricultural & Farm Products 8,986 9,431 -4.7% 73,939 77,495 -4.6% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Metals 8,881 8,288 7.2% 63,233 64,878 -2.5% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Metallic/Non-metallic Ores 7,987 6,575 21.5% 60,577 45,144 34.2% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Food Products 7,444 7,367 1.0% 57,479 58,055 -1.0% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Paper Products 7,055 9,037 -21.9% 54,112 71,251 -24.1% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Minerals 5,102 5,184 -1.6% 39,926 39,127 2.0% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Other 4,106 3,728 10.1% 29,864 26,736 11.7% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Petroleum Products 4,044 4,359 -7.2% 30,676 38,327 -20.0% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermodal 2,475 3,157 -21.6% 21,517 23,491 -8.4% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Autos 2,122 2,109 0.6% 15,026 16,097 -6.7% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL 107,025 109,287 -2.1% 846,497 868,392 -2.5% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- *T -0- *T "Same Railroad" Carloads AUGUST YEAR-TO-DATE ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Commodity Group 2006 2005 % Chg 2006 2005 % Chg ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bridge Traffic 17,304 15,301 13.1% 140,211 136,226 2.9% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Coal 11,657 13,126 -11.2% 102,232 99,880 2.4% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Lumber & Forest Products 10,273 11,107 -7.5% 83,098 85,736 -3.1% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Chemicals 9,492 9,421 0.8% 72,670 75,883 -4.2% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Agricultural & Farm Products 8,968 8,876 1.0% 73,431 72,038 1.9% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Metals 8,694 8,198 6.1% 61,703 64,326 -4.1% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Food Products 7,419 7,267 2.1% 57,016 57,638 -1.1% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Paper Products 6,901 7,408 -6.8% 52,151 60,060 -13.2% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Metallic/Non-metallic Ores 5,786 6,124 -5.5% 42,472 41,855 1.5% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Minerals 5,034 5,165 -2.5% 39,324 39,007 0.8% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Other 4,099 3,673 11.6% 29,684 26,379 12.5% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Petroleum Products 3,915 3,663 6.9% 28,905 31,803 -9.1% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Intermodal 2,475 3,157 -21.6% 21,517 23,491 -8.4% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Autos 2,039 2,109 -3.3% 14,484 16,097 -10.0% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TOTAL 104,056 104,595 -0.5% 818,898 830,419 -1.4% ---------------------------------------------------------------------- *T