The beginning of the month brought little relief to freight railroads as business in many commodity lines continued to fall in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Total U.S. weekly rail traffic for the week ending June 4 was 455,346 carloads and intermodal units, down 17.3 percent compared with the same week last year, according to the American Association of Railroads.
Total carloads for the week ending Jun. 4 were 224,258 carloads, down 16.6 percent compared with the same week in 2015, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 231,088 containers and trailers, down 17.9 percent compared to 2015.
The decline in U.S. coal production as utilities switch to cleaner-burning, and cheap, natural gas has put a big dent in carload volumes, low oil prices have slowed production in U.S. shale oil fields that primarily utilize rail to move to market, and the sluggish economy and trade volumes have helped keep intermodal volumes down, analysts say.
Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2015 included petroleum and petroleum products, down 29 percent to 9,706 carloads; coal, down 23 percent to 68,008 carloads; and motor vehicles and parts, down 21 percent to 15,411 carloads.
For the first 22 weeks of 2016, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 5,274,449 carloads, down 13.7 percent from the same point last year; and 5,648,851 intermodal units, down 2.1 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 22 weeks of 2016 was 10,923,300 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 8.1 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Jun. 4 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 307,051 carloads, down 14.8 percent compared with the same week last year, and 300,037 intermodal units, down 15.8 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 607,088 carloads and intermodal units, down 15.3 percent. North American rail volume for the first 22 weeks of 2016 was 14,327,661 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.7 percent compared with 2015.
Canadian railroads reported 66,457 carloads for the week, down 11.3 percent, and 57,296 intermodal units, down 9.3 percent compared with the same week in 2015. For the first 22 weeks of 2016, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 2,811,071 carloads, containers and trailers, down 7.6 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 16,336 carloads for the week, down 1.6 percent compared with the same week last year, and 11,653 intermodal units, down 0.9 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 22 weeks of 2016 was 593,290 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 0.1 percent from the same point last year.
AAR: North American freight volumes decline sharply to start June
