U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes see annual declines in May, reports AAR

United States rail carload and intermodal container and trailer volumes saw annual declines in May, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads, at 1,291,671, were down 2.1%, or 28,065 carloads, annually. When excluding coal, U.S. carloads were down 26,417 carloads, or 2.9%, and when excluding coal and grain, U.S. carloads were down 19,587 carloads, or 2.4%.

AAR said that six of the 20 carloads commodities it tracks saw annual gains, including: petroleum & petroleum products, up 13,513 carloads or 25.9 percent; chemicals, up 2,630 carloads or 1.6 percent; and nonmetallic minerals, up 2,534 carloads or 12.4 percent. Commodities that saw declines in May 2019 from May 2018 included: crushed stone, sand & gravel, down 20,358 carloads or 14.6 percent; grain, down 6,830 carloads or 5.7 percent; and primary metal products, down 3,117 carloads or 6.4 percent.

“The current weakness in the rail traffic numbers is due to a combination of factors,” said AAR Senior Vice President of Policy and Economics, John T. Gray in a statement. “These include flooding in the Midwest that’s been hindering the operations of railroads and many of their customers. More important is heightened economic uncertainty that’s being made worse by increased trade-related tensions; higher tariffs leading to reductions or disruptions of international trade, and lower industrial output.  In addition, some rail markets are undergoing rapid change.  For example, locally sourced frac sand in Texas is displacing sand that used to be shipped in by rail.  Just by themselves, these reduced sand movements are having a material negative impact on total rail carloads.”  

Intermodal containers and trailers, at 1,315,684, were down 5.9%, or 82,521 units, in May. 

On a year-to-date basis through May, U.S. rail carloads, at 5,528,824, were down 2.4%, or 137,995 carloads, and intermodal units, at 5,848,287, were down 2.4%, or 145,245 units, annually. 

For the week ending June 1, U.S. rail carloads, at 237,512, are down 5.8%, and intermodal units, at 241,167, fell 6.4%.