AAR: U.S. rail traffic down 6.9% through September

Combined United States carload and intermodal cargo volumes continued their decline in September 2016, falling another 4.8 percent compared with the same 2015 period, according to data from the Association of American Railroads.    United States-based freight railroads have seen shipment volumes drop 6.9 percent through the first three quarters of 2016 compared with the same 2015 period, according to data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
   Total carload traffic through September has fallen 10.5 percent year-over-year to 9.74 million carloads, while intermodal volumes slid 3.2 percent to 10.08 million containers and trailers.
   For the month of September, U.S. railway volumes dipped 4.8 percent from the previous year as carload traffic fell 5.4 percent to 1.07 million carloads and intermodal shipments fell 4.2 percent to 1.04 million containers and trailers.
   Nine of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR reported year-over-year growth in September, including grain, up 11.2 percent; waste and nonferrous scrap, up 28.8 percent; and nonmetallic minerals, up 7.5 percent. Commodities that posted declines for the month included coal, down 13.1 percent; petroleum and petroleum products, down 21.6 percent; and primary metal products, down 9.5 percent.
   The association noted that excluding coal, volumes of which have plummeted in the past year amid stricter EPA regulations and low prices for alternatives like natural gas, total carload volumes were down just 1.1 percent (7,559 carloads) from September 2015.
   “Rail traffic in September was more of what we have come to expect this year: big declines in energy related products, continued weakness in intermodal and most other export markets, but with some strength in grain,” AAR Senior Vice President of Policy and Economics John T. Gray said in a statement. “The fact is, in many of their markets, railroads are facing significant market uncertainties.
   “It isn’t helping that rail regulators are seeking to put additional costly regulatory burdens on railroads too,” he added. “The inefficiencies and unnecessary costs railroads would incur if regulators succeed would make it that much harder for railroads to meet the needs of their customers and to allow the capital investment necessary to adapt their networks to a changing marketplace.”