AAR reports annual declines for U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes

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

Rail carloads, at 1,041,544, decreased 0.9%, or 9,130 carloads, annually. And six of the 20 carload commodity groups tracked by the AAR saw annual gains, including: petroleum & petroleum products, up 11,758 carloads or 29.5%; coal, up 5,732 carloads or 1.8%; and metallic ores, up 1,161 carloads or 5%. Commodities that saw declines in April 2019 from April 2018 included: crushed stone, sand & gravel, down 10,750 carloads or 10.1%; grain, down 4,605 carloads or 4.7%; and motor vehicles & parts, down 3,875 carloads or 5.4%. When excluding coal, AAR said carloads were down 14,862 carloads, or 2% annually and when excluding coal and grain, carloads were down 10,257 carloads, or 1.6%.

Intermodal containers and trailers, at 1,056,146, fell 2.1%, or 51,962 units, annually.

“Rail traffic in April was significantly improved compared with March, in part because railroads affected by severe flooding in the Midwest were able to return their operations more toward normal,” said AAR Senior Vice President of Policy and Economics, John T. Gray in a statement.  “It appears that some of the economic uncertainty that was prevalent earlier in the first quarter has dissipated, although concerns about trade issues may still be having an impact on rail volumes.  However, as long as the economy continues to show life, it’s reasonable to think that rail traffic volumes will continue to improve in the coming months.”

U.S. rail carloads for the week ending April 27, at 267,316, slipped 0.4% annually, and intermodal units, at 265,874, were off 6.7%.