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In July, U.S. railroads originated 1,103,733 carloads, down 0.7 percent, and 946,071 containers and trailers, up 5.6 percent compared with July 2011 volumes, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Last month’s weekly intermodal average of 236,518 units was the highest-ever July average and intermodal volume remains on track to set a record in 2012, AAR officials said in a traffic report.

U.S. railroads continue to note solid domestic intermodal growth as a result of truckload conversions, said Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. analysts in their weekly “Rail Flash” report.

In addition, Asian outbound ocean freight bookings through July were consistent with expectations, "which support the outlook for a seasonal domestic freight build in the second half,” they said.
 
Eight of 20 commodity categories registered carload gains in July, led by petroleum and petroleum products (47.2 percent), motor vehicles and parts (23.3 percent), and food products (9.9 percent). Metallic ore carloads tumbled 16.2 percent, grain volume fell 10 percent and coal traffic dipped 1.7 percent. Excluding coal and grain, July carloads increased 1.4 percent.
 
“Carloads of some of the more economically sensitive commodities, such as lumber and wood, steel, and autos, gave us a mixed message in July. While lumber related to home construction remained very positive, other manufactured goods either grew more slowly than they have been or actually fell in July,” said AAR Senior Vice President John Gray.  “It remains to be seen if this is just a blip or something more serious.”
 
For the week ending July 28, U.S. railroads originated 288,167 carloads, down 1.5 percent, and 250,319 containers and trailers, up 4.1 percent year over year. Canadian railroads reported 77,093 weekly carloads, down 1.4 percent, and 55,775 intermodal loads, up 8.2 percent, while Mexican railroads’ carloads increased 1.7 percent to 15,983 units and intermodal volume jumped 20.8 percent to 11,213 units.
 
Through 2012’s first 30 weeks, 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads originated 11,152,574 carloads, down 1.4 percent, and 8,798,253 containers and trailers, up 4.6 percent compared with volumes from the same 2011 period.