Freight Traffic Fell in September for 8th Straight Month

Another month has ended and with it came another month of the falling rail traffic.

The Association of American Railroads said that during September U.S. railroads originated 992,542 carloads, a decline of 7 percent, or 74,172 carloads, from September 2018.

U.S. railroads also originated 1,061,483 containers and trailers in September 2019, down 5.9 percent, or 65,989 units, from the September 2018.

Combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations were 2,054,025, down 6.4 percent, or 140,161 carloads and intermodal units compared with September 2018.

In a news release, AAR said it was the eighth consecutive month that rail freight traffic has fallen.

AAR officials said the key factors affecting rail freight traffic have included dwindling coal markets; domestic intermodal and chemical sector growth; and disruptions to manufacturing, agricultural and international intermodal markets.

“In 2019, railroads are facing multi-pronged challenges,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “Fundamental long-term structural changes—including the continued erosion of coal markets; growth in the domestic intermodal and chemical sectors; and the current disruptions to manufacturing, agricultural and international intermodal markets stemming from trade uncertainty and the evolution of consumer purchasing practices—have all required adaptation and renewed focus on basic railroad management and operational principles.

“That said, the industry’s ultimate goal will remain what it’s always been: providing safe, cost-effective transportation that meets the evolving demands of our customers’ markets, now and in the future.”

During this past September, six of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw carload gains compared with September 2018.

These included stone, clay & glass products, up 1,110 carloads or 3.4 percent; nonmetallic minerals, up 944 carloads or 5.9 percent; and primary forest products, up 429 carloads or 10.1 percent. Commodities that saw declines in

Posting declines were coal, down 30,361 carloads or 8.7 percent; grain, down 13,684 carloads or 15.8 percent; and crushed stone, sand & gravel, down 7,328 carloads or 7.5 percent.

Excluding coal, carloads were down 43,811 carloads, or 6.1 percent, in September 2019 from September 2018. Excluding coal and grain, carloads were down 30,127 carloads, or 4.8 percent.

Total U.S. carload traffic for the first nine months of 2019 was 9,864,246 carloads, down 3.8 percent, or 384,418 carloads, from the same period last year; and 10,389,926 intermodal units, down 4.1 percent, or 441,953 containers and trailers, from last year.

Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 39 weeks of 2019 was 20,254,172 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.9 percent compared to last year.

Tags: AAR freight statistics, Association of American Railroads, freight traffic, John Gray, railroad freight traffic, U.S. railroad freight traffic