U.S. rail traffic declined through September

U.S. freight-rail traffic fell 6.4 percent to 2,054,025 carloads and intermodal units compared with levels during the same month a year ago, according to Association of American Railroad (AAR) data.

U.S. railroads last month originated 992,542 carloads, down 7 percent, and 1,061,483 intermodal containers and trailers, down 5.9 percent, versus September 2018's levels, AAR officials said in a press release.

Six of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month logged carload gains last month. They included stone, clay and glass products, up 1,110 carloads or 3.4 percent; nonmetallic minerals, up 944 carloads or 5.9 percent; and primary forest products, up 429 carloads or 10.1 percent.

Commodities that posted decreases in September included coal, down 30,361 carloads or 8.7 percent; grain, down 13,684 carloads or 15.8 percent; and crushed stone, sand & gravel, down 7,328 carloads or 7.5 percent.

"In 2019, railroads are facing multi-pronged challenges,” said AAR Senior Vice President John Gray.

Those challenges — including the continued erosion of coal markets; growth in the domestic intermodal and chemical sectors; and the current disruptions to manufacturing, agricultural, and international intermodal markets stemming from trade uncertainty and the evolution of consumer purchasing practices — have required railroads to adapt and focus on basic railroad management and operational principles, Gray said.

“That said, the industry's ultimate goal will remain what it’s always been: providing safe, cost-effective transportation that meets the evolving demands of our customers’ markets, now and in the future," he added.

Total U.S. carload traffic for the first nine months of this year was 9,864,246 carloads, down 3.8 percent, and 10,389,926 intermodal units, down 4.1 percent, compared with the same period a year ago.

Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 39 weeks of 2019 was 20,254,172 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9 percent.