RAIL TRAFFIC DIPS IN JANUARY
U.S. rail carload traffic fell 2.3 percent to 1.61 million carloads, while intermodal traffic was down 1.7 percent in January, according to figures reported by the Association of American Railroads.
Motor vehicles and equipment fell 20.5 percent, while nonmetallic minerals fell 18.0 percent. Primary forest products and lumber/wood products were down 13.9 percent. In all 15 of 19 commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw declines in January compared with January 2000.
AAR reported 818,326 trailers and containers on flat cars in January, ending a streak of 27 straight monthly increases in that category.
Total ton-miles fell 1.2 percent to 135.5 billion.