For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 527,989 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.4 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending June 15 were 257,385 carloads, down 4.6 percent compared with the same week in 2018, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 270,604 containers and trailers, down 6.2 percent compared to 2018.
Two of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2018. They were petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,528 carloads, to 12,747; and chemicals, up 701 carloads, to 32,431. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2018 included coal, down 7,625 carloads, to 77,903; non-metallic minerals, down 2,226 carloads, to 37,766; and forest products, down 1,284 carloads, to 9,547.
For the first 24 weeks of 2019, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 6,032,967 carloads, down 2.8 percent from the same point last year; and 6,385,232 intermodal units, down 2.8 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 24 weeks of 2019 was 12,418,199 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.8 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending June 15, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 363,560 carloads, down 3.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 359,366 intermodal units, down 4.4 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 722,926 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9 percent. North American rail volume for the first 24 weeks of 2019 was 16,908,063 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.9 percent compared with 2018.
Canadian railroads reported 85,070 carloads for the week, up 0.6 percent, and 70,512 intermodal units, up 1 percent compared with the same week in 2018. For the first 24 weeks of 2019, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 3,607,069 carloads, containers and trailers, up 2.1 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 21,105 carloads for the week, down 4.7 percent compared with the same week last year, and 18,250 intermodal units, up 2.9 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 24 weeks of 2019 was 882,795 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 4.2 percent from the same point last year.
— An Association of American Railroads news release. June 19, 2019.
Flooding in the middle of US bottled up a lot of traffic this month. Don’t read more into this report than it deserves.
It would be interesting to see how BNSF numbers as a privately held compares to the rest of the share holder, wall street driven railroads compares. I have enjoyed some of Fred’s articles and blogs about railroads more interested in bottom line than growing carloads.
Also some sanity instead of the one of political trolling comments. But yes, trade war with China is not helping exports and therefore rail shipments to terminals. That being said, Midwest flooding did turn shipping upside down for both rail and barges and weather truly, really doesn’t care about politics
So I take rail shipments two fold, a long term trend of wall street ruling road and the ups and downs of commodity movements. The first is on the railroads and the second is give and take with what mother nature gives you. I’m just hoping BNSF gobbles up another railroad and gives the country a true transcontinental and therefore a railroad with long term ambition and maybe the gumption to truly take on the truckers
Winter is coming.
trump is out to ruin the World.
How much is weather related?
Looks like a recession is a comin’. My financial adviser told me the same thing and he doesn’t look at the rail traffic reports.