The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Monday that monthly carloads in June rose 0.9 percent compared with June 2010, for a total of 1,428,580 carloads. For the first six month of 2011, total carloads were up 2.7 percent over the first six months of 2010. Metallic ores led the increase, climbing 19.2 percent in June over June 2010. Shipments of coal were down 3.2 percent in June.
AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray commented on Monday's release, "While rail carloads have been relatively weak for the past quarter, largely due to coal traffic being down, rail intermodal remains relatively strong. Just like America waits to see what will happen with overall economic recovery, railroads are waiting to see what's in store for the second half of the year."