NEW YORK - PBF Energy Inc is storing at least 100 unused tank cars along a short-line railroad in upstate New York, according to a report in a local newspaper, the latest sign that the oil rout is taking its toll on the rail industry. The decision to park unused tank cars is the first hard evidence that the slowdown in oil-rail traffic is leaving new assets unused, racking up potential losses for leasing companies like Greenbrier Cos Inc and GATX Corp and refiners who had scrambled to order new tank cars after U.S. shale oil production started to boom in 2009. The Olean Times Herald said the cars are being stored along a stretch of the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railroad, near Hillsdale, New York. The railroad’s chief operating officer, Carl Belke, told the newspaper that the cars were never used and have been sitting there for four months. The rail line is charging a fee for storage, Belke said. “These cars are stored all over the country right now,” he told the newspaper. Belke did not respond to requests from Reuters for comment on Tuesday. Crude rail volumes fell by more than 17 percent year-over-year in the week ending Aug. 8, according to the latest data from the American Association of Railroads, the largest decline since the shale revolution unleashed millions of barrels on U.S. railroads. Crude rail volumes are down by nearly 4 percent this year, according to AAR, following consecutive years of double-digit growth. PBF, along with East Coast refiners like Phillips 66 and Philadelphia Energy Solutions Inc, have taken advantage of the shale boom by building rail terminals. The investments have allowed the companies to switch between waterborne imports and domestic crude. PBF Energy did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The drop in demand for rail cars comes as refiners and other industry players are awaiting deliveries of pre-ordered tank cars, putting pressure on lease rates. Monthly lease rates for the most common of oil rail cars are now below $500 a month, from a high of $2,450 last year, Tom Williamson, owner of Transportation Consultants Co. Williamson said lease rates for the newer tank cars that meet more stringent U.S. regulations have fallen below $1,000 a month. “To me that’s amazing,” Williamson said. “If you would’ve told me six months ago these new tank cars would be below $1,000, I would’ve laughed.”