AAR: U.S. freight rail traffic slide continues in May

Combined United States carload and intermodal cargo volumes fell 6.8 percent in May compared with May 2015 and 7.6 percent for the first five months of 2016, according to data from the Association of American Railroads.    United States-based freight railroads in May saw their volumes drop 6.8 percent compared to May 2015, according to data from the Association of American Railroads.
   Carload traffic fell 10.3 percent year-over-year for the month to 962,571 carloads, while intermodal volumes slipped 3.3 percent to 1,049,631 containers and trailers.
   Ten of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR reported growth in May, including miscellaneous carloads, up 30.8 percent; crushed stone, gravel and sand, up 5.3 percent; and chemicals, up 3.8 percent. Commodities that posted year-over-year declines for the month included coal, down 29.6 percent; petroleum and petroleum products, down 20.3 percent; and metallic ores.
   The association noted that excluding coal, volumes of which have plummeted in the past year amid stricter EPA regulations and cheap natural gas, total carload volumes were down 29.6 percent from May 2015.
   Total U.S. rail traffic volume for the first five months of 2016 has fallen 7.6 percent year-over-year to 10,467,954 carloads and intermodal units. Carload traffic has fallen 13.6 percent to 5,050,191 carloads, and intermodal containers and trailers are down 1.3 percent to 5,417,763 units compared with the same 2015 period.
   “Most economists think the economy has picked up in the second quarter from the dismal 0.8 percent growth in the first quarter, but so far railroads aren’t seeing much of it,” AAR Senior Vice President of Policy and Economics John T. Gray said in a statement.
   “A variety of environmental and market forces continue to punish coal, and high business inventory levels and excess truck capacity, among other things, are pressuring rail intermodal volumes,” he added. “Railroads are focusing on what they can control — providing safe, reliable service — while looking forward to the forces they can’t control turning their way.”