By Julie Sneider, Senior Editor
Earlier this month, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) launched a new monthly publication that offers insights into what rail traffic data says about what's going on in the U.S. economy.
Each week, the AAR Policy and Economics Department collects data detailing carloadings and intermodal volumes across North America. Leading economists, including those at the Federal Reserve, rely on the data to gauge economic health, AAR officials say.
To take that reporting to the next level, the AAR created its new Rail Industry Overview (RIO), which will feature a Freight Rail Index (FRI) that tracks movements across the most economically sensitive rail traffic commodities. The FRI includes intermodal units and carloads but excludes coal and grain, whose volumes are driven by weather, transitions in energy markets or other factors that are less directly linked to macroeconomic activity.
RailPrime Senior Editor Julie Sneider recently interviewed AAR Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Policy and Economics Rand Ghayad on the story behind the new publication, and how freight-rail traffic can be used to track U.S. economic trends.
Ghayad, who joined AAR in January, has has more than a decade of experience in consulting and public policy. Previously, he was head of economics at LinkedIn, where he researched the dynamics of labor markets.
He’s also served at the International Monetary Fund, where he advised member countries on a wide spectrum of international economic policy and stabilization issues. His work involved research on macroeconomics and finance, analyzing economic issues and delivering policy recommendations to both fragile and emerging market countries.
