The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Wednesday that carload traffic in May totaled 1,074,285 carloads, down 9.4 percent or 111,539 carloads from May 2014. US railroads also originated 1,085,968 containers and trailers in May 2015, up 3.8 percent or 40,057 units from the same month last year. This is the first month on record that container and trailer traffic exceeded carloads. For May 2015, combined US carload and intermodal originations were 2,160,253, down 3.2 percent or 71,482 carloads and intermodal units from May 2014.
In May 2015, five of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month saw carload gains compared with May 2014. This included motor vehicles and parts, up 4.5 percent or 3,207 carloads; waste and nonferrous scrap, up 3.8 percent or 519 carloads; and grain mill products, up 1.3 percent or 480 carloads. Commodities that saw declines in May 2015 from May 2014 included coal, down 17.4 percent or 77,992 carloads; primary metal products, down 17.9 percent or 8,058 carloads; and grain, down 6.2 percent or 5,027 carloads.
Excluding coal, carloads were down 4.5 percent or 33,547 carloads in May 2015 from May 2014 and when both coal and grain are excluded, US carloads were down 4.3 percent or 28,520 carloads last month.
Total US carload traffic for the first five months of 2015 was 5,844,411 carloads, down 3 percent or 179,906 carloads, while intermodal containers and trailers were 5,487,880 units, up 2 percent or 109,645 containers and trailers when compared to the same period in 2014. For the first five months of 2015, total rail traffic volume in the United States was 11,332,291 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.6 percent or 70,261 carloads and intermodal units from the same point last year.
"Mixed signals is a good term to use to describe the economy nowadays, and it applies to rail traffic too. Intermodal is on its way to another record-breaking year, but carload traffic is not doing well," said AAR Senior Vice President Policy and Economics John T. Gray. "The degree to which coal carloads have fallen has been a surprise, and the relative weakness in other carload categories is a sign that the economy is probably not yet in bounce-back mode after a dismal first quarter."