Rail and intermodal volumes are mixed in August

Rail carload and intermodal volumes were mixed in August, according to data issued by the Association of American Railroads

United States Class I carloads were down 56,104 carloads–or 4.6 percent annually–at 1,115,957 in August, and intermodal containers and trailers were up 3.6 percent—or 38,617 units- at 1,114,370.

Of the 20 commodity categories tracked by the AAR, six saw annual gains in August. Miscellaneous was up 28 percent or 5,870 carloads, and motor vehicles and parts were up 5.1 percent or 3,460 carloads. Coal was down 7.3 percent or 33,624 carloads, and petroleum and petroleum products were down 13.9 percent or 9,078 carloads.

“August had essentially the same rail traffic pattern as the previous few months: a healthy increase for intermodal, a big decline for coal, continued weakness in a variety of energy-related commodities, and strength in some other carload segments,” said AAR Senior Vice President Policy and Economics John T. Gray in a statement. “Railroads are a derived-demand industry, meaning that demand for rail service is a function of demand downstream for the products railroads haul. We’re optimistic that the economy will continue to grow. Demand for rail service should continue to grow with it.”

Through the first eight months of the year, U.S. carload traffic is down 4.3 percent annually at 9,462,936, and intermodal was up 2.7 percent at 8,936,032 containers and trailers.

For the week ending August 29, U.S. carloads were down 5 percent annually at 290,792, and intermodal was up 4 percent at 284,531 trailers and containers, which marks the highest weekly tally ever recorded for intermodal.