The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Thursday that carload traffic in June totaled 1,087,066 carloads, down 7.7 percent or 91,016 carloads from June 2014. US railroads also originated 1,117,149 containers and trailers in June 2015, up 3.7 percent or 39,797 units from the same month last year. For June 2015, combined US carload and intermodal originations were 2,204,215, down 2.3 percent or 51,219 carloads and intermodal units from June 2014.
In June 2015, six of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month saw carload gains compared with June 2014. This included motor vehicles and parts, up 4.7 percent or 3,379 carloads; grain, up 3 percent or 2,208 carloads; and coke, up 7.1 percent or 1,089 carloads. Commodities that saw declines in June 2015 from June 2014 included coal, down 17.4 percent or 76,752 carloads; primary metal products, down 13.9 percent or 6,160 carloads; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 7.3 percent or 4,373 carloads.
Excluding coal, carloads were down 1.9 percent or 14,264 carloads in June 2015 from June 2014.
Total US carload traffic for the first six months of 2015 was 6,930,568 carloads, down 3.8 percent or 271,831 carloads, while intermodal containers and trailers were 6,605,029 units, up 2.3 percent or 149,442 containers and trailers when compared to the same period in 2014. For the first six months of 2015, total rail traffic volume in the United States was 13,535,597 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.9 percent or 122,389 carloads and intermodal units from the same point last year.
"Recent declines in rail carload traffic, especially coal, shouldn't detract from the tremendous improvements we've been seeing in intermodal," said AAR Senior Vice President Policy and Economics John T. Gray. "The growth in rail intermodal is one of America's best transportation-related success stories. June 2015 was the highest-volume rail intermodal month in history for US railroads, and 2015 will almost certainly set another annual record, breaking the record set last year."