Week 38 of 2015 shows same week total rail traffic (from same week one year ago) declined according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR) traffic data. Intermodal traffic insignificantly expanded year-over-year, which accounts for approximately half of movements. but weekly railcar counts continued in contraction.
This analysis is looking for clues in the rail data to show the direction of economic activity – and is not necessarily looking for clues of profitability of the railroads. The weekly data is fairly noisy, and the best way to view it is to look at the rolling averages (carloads and intermodal combined).
A summary of the data from the AAR:
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported u.s. rail traffic for the week ending Sept. 26, 2015.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 566,700 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.8 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending Sept. 26 were 285,856 carloads, down 5.4 percent compared with the same week in 2014, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 280,844 containers and trailers, up 2.1 percent compared to 2014.
Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2014. They include: grain, up 30.1 percent to 22,232 carloads; miscellaneous carloads, up 14 percent to 10,100; and motor vehicles and parts, up 8.7 percent to 18,727. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2014 included: petroleum and petroleum products, down 22.3 percent to 13,014 carloads; coal, down 14.2 percent to 101,561 carloads; and metallic ores and metals, down 10.4 percent to 24,128 carloads.
For the first 38 weeks of 2015, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 10,590,411 carloads, down 4.4 percent from the same point last year; and 10,135,249 intermodal units, up 2.5 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 38 weeks of 2015 was 20,725,660 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 1.2 percent compared to last year.
