Rail traffic slows in June

Rail traffic slows in June    Carload and intermodal traffic dipped in June, according to the American Association of Railroads, providing further evidence the U.S. economic recovery is stagnating.
   Rail traffic was down 1.4 percent in June on a month-over-month basis, with carloads off 1.3 percent and intermodal traffic down 1.1 percent from May.
   Compared to June 2009, carloads increased 10.6 percent but are still down 10.2 percent compared with June 2008, prior to the recession becoming full blown. Intermodal traffic increased 19.2 compared with the same month in 2009.
   Many economists are beginning to predict slow growth for the second half of 2010 as economic data during the past couple of weeks showed declines in manufacturing activity, pending home sales, construction, auto sales and consumer confidence from April and May.