Econintersect: Rail traffic YoY growth narrowed in week ten of 2011 ending 12 March according to Railfax.
The biggest post-recession growth in rail traffic occurred in the 1st quarter of 2010 – and year-over-year comparisons are increasingly compared to larger base data. 2011 performance to date has been very strong, in spite of the weakening growth rate.
Rail traffic in the current week is down slightly from 3.6% year-over-year last week over 2010 levels to 3.5% in this tenth week of the New Year. Year-to-date gains fell from 6.8% last week to 6.5% this week. The data details:
| Major Commodity Groups | Total | Grain | Chemicals | Food | Forest | Metals | Coal | Autos | Intermodal |
| Current Week | |||||||||
| Vs. 2010 | 3.5% | (6.2%) | 7.5% | (3.7%) | 9.9% | 10.1% | (2.4%) | 17.7% | 6.5% |
| Vs. 2009 | 11.8% | 13.4% | 24.8% | 1.9% | 11.6% | 46.4% | (6.9%) | 28.0% | 22.6% |
| 4 Week Rolling Avg. | |||||||||
| Vs. 2010 | 5.8% | (1.9%) | 6.9% | (6.7%) | 8.3% | 11.8% | 2.4% | 13.9% | 7.8% |
| Vs. 2009 | 14.2% | 16.5% | 20.8% | 2.6% | 11.2% | 44.8% | (4.7%) | 35.2% | 26.5% |
| Quarter to Date | |||||||||
| Vs. 2010 | 6.5% | 3.1% | 6.1% | (5.6%) | 6.7% | 13.8% | 4.9% | 9.7% | 7.8% |
| Vs. 2009 | 9.9% | 17.6% | 17.7% | 2.1% | 5.8% | 41.3% | (5.2%) | 45.3% | 16.6% |
| Year to Date | |||||||||
| Vs. 2010 | 6.5% | 3.1% | 6.1% | (5.6%) | 6.7% | 13.8% | 4.9% | 9.7% | 7.8% |
| Vs. 2009 | 9.9% | 17.6% | 17.7% | 2.1% | 5.8% | 41.3% | (5.2%) | 45.3% | 16.6% |
Source: Railfax
