Railroad intermodal volumes are down, but consumer spending remains relatively strong. Carloads of coal are up, but forest products are down. Whether these volume changes reflect broader macroeconomic slowing remains less clear.
Lawmakers hear testimony on how smaller shippers are disproportionately hurt by supply chain disruptions.
The U.S. housing market is tight heading into 2021, with higher housing starts and limited inventories helping to support lumber and wood carloads.
U.S. rail volumes on a weekly basis were 2% higher last week amid a 9% increase in intermodal traffic.
U.S. rail volumes were down by only 1.3% compared with the same period in 2019. Intermodal traffic provided the boost.
Weekly U.S. intermodal traffic continues upward, but Hurricane Laura could threaten that trend.
Weekly rail traffic moved higher week-to-week amid growing builder confidence and higher retail sales in May. But will the upward trend last?
Although rail traffic is still down significantly over 2019, that wide difference in volumes could be slowly starting to narrow.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is shrinking U.S. rail volumes as the housing construction and retail sectors struggle to stay afloat.
FreightWaves Market Expert Anthony Smith writes about the issues impacting the U.S. housing market. As important as these issues are, they have a ripple effect on other areas of the U.S. economy, including trucking.
