The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Wednesday that carload traffic in September totaled 1,417,750 carloads, down 4.9 percent or 72,597 carloads from September 2014. US railroads also originated 1,365,980 containers and trailers in September 2015, up 1.2 percent or 16,272 units from the same month last year. For September 2015, combined US carload and intermodal originations were 2,783,730, down 2 percent or 56,325 carloads and intermodal units from September 2014.
In September 2015, six of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month saw carload gains compared with September 2014. This included: grain, up 14.4 percent or 13,447 carloads; miscellaneous carloads, up 33.1 percent or 8,057 carloads; and motor vehicles and parts, up 4.9 percent or 4,239 carloads. Commodities that saw declines in September 2015 from September 2014 included: coal, down 8.2 percent or 46,085 carloads; petroleum and petroleum products, down 15.6 percent or 12,692 carloads; and primary metal products, down 18.9 percent or 10,617 carloads.
Excluding coal, carloads were down 2.9 percent or 26,512 carloads in September 2015 from September 2014.
“Once again, US rail traffic in September was down mainly because of declines in carloads related to energy and steel,” said AAR Senior Vice President Policy and Economics John T. Gray. “Intermodal continues to do well while results vary for other commodity categories. As we head into the fall shipping season, railroads are confident they will be able to handle reliably and safely the traffic their customers send their way. Now, we just need a bit more cooperation from the economy.”