U.S. railroads’ intermodal volumes up 5.4% in September

U.S. railroads’ intermodal volumes up 5.4% in September    Including the three highest-volume intermodal weeks in the history of U.S. railroading, intermodal traffic on U.S. railroads rose 5.4 percent in September to 987,903 trailers and containers, reported the Association of American Railroads.
   Carload volume, which does not include intermodal traffic, increased 0.3 percent to 1.35 million cars. Eleven of the 19 major commodity categories tracked by the AAR saw U.S. carload increases in September including: coal (up 2.3 percent to 569,005 carloads), metals and products (up 10.2 percent to 57,675 carloads), and grain (up 5.2 percent 89,935 carloads).
   Commodities showing carload decreases in September included motor vehicles and equipment (down 12.4 percent to 82,144 carloads); nonmetallic minerals (down 16.3 percent to 26,046 carloads); and stone, clay, and glass products (down 8.9 percent to 38,607 carloads).
   “An economy as diverse as ours is naturally stronger in some areas than in others, and the fact that freight railroads serve virtually every major sector is reflected in rail traffic figures,” said AAR Vice President Craig F. Rockey. “The U.S. auto sector is not doing well right now, and that has depressed railcar loadings of automotive products. On the other hand, consumer spending still appears to be solid — a factor behind the record-setting intermodal traffic in September.”