AAR: U.S. intermodal traffic hits new high in August

There were 2.74 million combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations last month, up 2.6 percent from August 2016, according to recent data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR).    U.S. intermodal rail traffic set a record last month as the best such monthly volume in history, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
   Combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations last month stood at 2.74 million, up 2.6 percent, or 69,219 carloads and intermodal units, from August 2016, data shows.
   Of that amount, 1.4 million containers and trailers were originated by U.S. railroads, up 5.6 percent, or 73,790 units, from the same month last year. This helped to counter a 0.3 percent decrease in carloads originated by U.S. railroads in August. That number fell slightly to 1.34 million, or 4,571 carloads. 
   “Rail traffic in August was a mixed bag, with gains in coal and sand, among other commodities, offset by declines in grain, autos, and crude oil,” AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray explained in a statement. “These results reflect the fact that different rail customer segments are always facing different market dynamics, including, during the last week of August, Hurricane Harvey.”
   Seven of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month saw gains compared with August 2016, AAR said. The commodities included: coal, which was up 25,926 carloads or 5.8 percent; crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 14,506 carloads or 12.1 percent; and metallic ores, up 4,550 carloads or 16.1 percent.
   Commodities that declines in August from the same month last year included: grain, which fell 24,565 carloads or 20.4 percent; motor vehicles and parts, down 10,321 carloads or 11.2 percent; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 8,362 carloads or 15.8 percent.
   Excluding coal, carloads were down 30,497 carloads, or 3.4 percent, in August 2017 from August 2016. Excluding coal and grain, carloads were down 5,932 carloads, or 0.8 percent, AAR statistics show.
   For the first eight months of the calendar year, AAR said total U.S. carload traffic reached 9 million carloads, up 4.5 percent, or 393,428 carloads, from the same period last year; and 9,352,108 intermodal units, up 3.4 percent, or 309,302 containers and trailers, from last year.