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Five months into 2009, North American railroads continued to post high double-digit traffic decreases. In May, U.S. railroads originated 989,306 carloads, down 24.7 percent, and 723,898 intermodal loads, down 19.7 percent compared with May 2008 levels, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

“May marked the second straight month in which U.S. rail coal carloadings had double-digit declines, a consequence of lower electricity demand and higher coal stockpiles,” said AAR Senior Vice President John Gray in a prepared statement. “Industrial production is still down sharply across the board, [which] means lower demand for rail service for everything from chemicals and scrap metal to cement and ores.”

In May, Canadian railroads’ carloads plummeted 32.8 percent to 213,517 units, while their intermodal volume plunged 18.1 percent to 157,446 units. Mexican railroads registered an 18.5 percent drop in carloads and 21.7 percent decline in intermodal originations.

Through 2009’s first five months, U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads’ carloads decreased 19.6 percent, 23.8 percent and 14.2 percent, respectively, compared with totals from the same 2008 period. Their intermodal volume dropped 16.9 percent, 14.8 percent and 20.5 percent, respectively.

For more information on North American railroads' traffic through 2009's first 21 weeks and for the week ending May 30, follow this link.