AAR: U.S. freight rail volume slide continues in July

Combined United States carload and intermodal cargo volumes fell 7.9 percent for the month compared with July 2015 and 7.4 percent for the first seven months of 2016, according to data from the Association of American Railroads.    United States-based freight railroads in July saw their volumes drop 7.9 percent compared to June 2015 as shipment levels remain weak in both carload and intermodal commodities, according to data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
   Carload traffic dropped 8.8 percent year-over-year for the month to 1.03 million carloads, while intermodal volumes slipped 6.9 percent to 1 million containers and trailers.
   Four of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR reported growth in July, including grain, up 15.3 percent; waste and nonferrous scrap, up 25.9 percent; and miscellaneous carloads, up 12.9 percent. Commodities that posted year-over-year declines for the month included coal, down 17.5 percent; petroleum and petroleum products, down 22 percent; and crushed stone, gravel and sand, down 11.6 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 4 percent from July 2015.
   Total U.S. rail traffic volumes for the first seven months of 2016 have fallen 7.4 percent year-over-year to 15.04 million carloads and intermodal units. Carload traffic fell 11.9 percent to 7.3 million carloads, and intermodal containers and trailers declined 2.8 percent to 7.7 million units compared with the same 2015 period.
   “Rail traffic continues to reflect the uncertainty rail customers face in a challenging economic environment,” AAR Senior Vice President of Policy and Economics John T. Gray said in a statement. Gray noted intermodal volumes remained off 2015’s record pace, while carloads showed a small improvement in coal and a bit of an improvement in grain.
   “For the present, railroads are focused on providing safe and efficient service to their customers, while watching to see if the increase in consumer spending in the second quarter will lead to additional Gross Domestic Product growth in the second half of the year,” he added.