North American Rail Traffic Rose 6.2% in Week Ended Feb. 1

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic rose 6.2% last week amid nascent signs of improvement for the industry, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume for the week ended Feb. 1 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads rose 2.6%, while intermodal traffic jumped 10%, the trade group said Wednesday.

North American rail traffic was down 3.6% in the week ended Jan. 25. For the first five weeks of the year, North American traffic is down 3.9%, the AAR reported.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic rose 2.4% last week, as a 5.2% rise in the volume of intermodal containers and trailers more than offset a 0.6% decline in carloads.

For the month of January, U.S. rail traffic fell 5.6% amid continued softness in manufacturing and global economic weakness that was exacerbated by trade uncertainties, the AAR said.

However, the trade group said it saw glimmers of hope last month, as nearly half of the carload categories it tracks showed year-over-year gains and several other commodities posted smaller declines than in recent months.

"It's too early to say if the worst is behind us, but railroads are hopeful that 2020 will see an improved business climate and rising volumes across much of their traffic base," said John Gray, AAR senior vice president.

Canadian rail traffic rose 13.9% last week, with carloads up 10.6% and intermodal units jumping 18%. Canadian rail traffic is down 1.4% for the first five weeks of the year.

Mexican rail traffic surged 34.7% for the week following a 30.5% rise a week earlier, as intermodal units soared 70.1% and carloads rose 11.4%. Mexican rail traffic is up 12.5% for the first five weeks of the year.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2020 13:00 ET (18:00 GMT)

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