North American Rail Traffic Fell 6.3% in Week Ended Oct. 5

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic fell 6.3% last week amid steep drops in carloads in the U.S. and Canada, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume for the week ended Oct. 5 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads slid 8.6%, while intermodal traffic fell 3.9%, the trade group said Wednesday.

North American rail traffic was 5.9% lower in the week ended Sept. 28. For the first 40 weeks of the year, North American volume is now down 2.9%, compared with a year-to-date decline of 2.8% reported a week ago.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic fell 7.1% last week on the heels of a 7.4% drop a week earlier. U.S. carloads fell 8.8%, paced by double-digit declines in shipments of coal, grain, metallic ores and metals, and motor vehicles and parts. The volume of U.S. intermodal containers and trailers fell 5.8% for the week.

U.S. rail traffic is now down 4% for the year to date, compared with a decline of 3.9% reported a week earlier, the AAR said.

The AAR said Canadian rail traffic fell 4.8% last week. Carloads slid 11.7%, as shipments of metallic ores and metals tumbled 33.3%. The decline in carloads more than offset a 3.6% rise in intermodal units.

Mexican rail traffic was flat last week, the AAR said, with intermodal units down 2.8% and carloads up 2.9%.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 09, 2019 13:12 ET (17:12 GMT)

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