North American Rail Traffic Fell 6.2% in Week Ended Sep 7

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic fell 6.2% last week, as U.S. volumes continued to slow and Mexican railroads posted double-digit declines, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume for the week ended Sept. 7 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads fell 6%, while intermodal traffic slid 6.3%, the trade group said Wednesday.

North American rail traffic was 3.3% lower in the week ended Aug. 31. For the first 36 weeks of the year, North American volume is now down 2.6%, compared with a year-to-date decline of 2.5% reported a week earlier.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic dropped 6.6% last week after falling 4.5% a week earlier. U.S. carloads fell 5.6% amid declines in seven of the 10 commodity groups tracked, while the volume of U.S. intermodal containers and trailers tumbled 7.5% for the week.

U.S. rail traffic is now down 3.7% for the year to date, the AAR said, compared with a year-to-date decline of 3.6% reported last week.

The AAR said rail traffic fell 2.7% in Canada last week, as a 6% drop in carloads more than offset a 1.4% rise in intermodal units.

Rail traffic plunged 14.1% in Mexico last week, the AAR said, with intermodal units down 17.8% and carloads off 10.6%.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 11, 2019 12:39 ET (16:39 GMT)

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