AAR news release, 7/1:
AAR Reports Traffic for June and for Week Ending June 27, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 1, 2015 – The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported weekly U.S. rail traffic, as well as volumes for June 2015 and the first six months of 2015.
Carload traffic in June totaled 1,087,066 carloads, down 7.7 percent or 91,016 carloads from June 2014. U.S. railroads also originated 1,117,149 containers and trailers in June 2015, up 3.7 percent or 39,797 units from the same month last year. For June 2015, combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations were 2,204,215, down 2.3 percent or 51,219 carloads and intermodal units from June 2014.
In June 2015, six of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month saw carload gains compared with June 2014. This included motor vehicles and parts, up 4.7 percent or 3,379 carloads; grain, up 3 percent or 2,208 carloads; and coke, up 7.1 percent or 1,089 carloads.
Commodities that saw declines in June 2015 from June 2014 included coal, down 17.4 percent or 76,752 carloads; primary metal products, down 13.9 percent or 6,160 carloads; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 7.3 percent or 4,373 carloads.
Excluding coal, carloads were down 1.9 percent or 14,264 carloads in June 2015 from June 2014.
Total U.S. carload traffic for the first six months of 2015 was 6,930,568 carloads, down 3.8 percent or 271,831 carloads, while intermodal containers and trailers were 6,605,029 units, up 2.3 percent or 149,442 containers and trailers when compared to the same period in 2014. For the first six months of 2015, total rail traffic volume in the United States was 13,535,597 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.9 percent or 122,389 carloads and intermodal units from the same point last year.
"Recent declines in rail carload traffic, especially coal, shouldn't detract from the tremendous improvements we've been seeing in intermodal," said AAR Senior Vice President Policy and Economics John T. Gray. "The growth in rail intermodal is one of America's best transportation-related success stories. June 2015 was the highest-volume rail intermodal month in history for U.S. railroads, and 2015 will almost certainly set another annual record, breaking the record set last year."
Week Ending June 27, 2015
Total U.S. weekly rail traffic for the week ending June 27, 2015 was 547,969 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.8 percent compared with the same week last year. For the week there were 272,405 carloads, down 8.9 percent compared with the same week in 2014, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 275,564 containers and trailers, up 4.1 percent compared to 2014.
Two of the 10 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2014. They are: grain, up 5.9 percent to 19,046 carloads and motor vehicles and parts, up 2.9 percent to 18,828. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2014 included: coal, down 19.2 percent to 90,654 carloads; petroleum and petroleum products, down 13.4 percent to 13,759 carloads; and metallic ores and metals, down 7.5 percent to 26,296 carloads.
North American rail volume for the week ending June 27, 2015 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 370,251 carloads, down 7.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 346,709 intermodal units, up 3.9 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America, was 716,960 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.2 percent. North American rail volume for the first 25 weeks of 2015 was 17,667,389 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.1 percent compared with 2014.
Canadian railroads reported 80,388 carloads for the week, down 3.8 percent, and 60,009 intermodal units, up 2.2 percent compared with the same week in 2014. For the first 25 weeks of 2015, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 3,459,551 carloads, containers and trailers, up 2.5 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 17,458 carloads for the week, up 3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 11,136 intermodal units, up 9.6 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 25 weeks of 2015 was 672,241 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.9 percent from the same point last year.
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