Econintersect: Week 4 of 2012 ending 28 January 2012 shows rail traffic dipping below 2011 levels according to data released by the American Association of Railroads (AAR).
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported that total U.S. rail carloads originated in January 2012 totaled 1,144,800, an average of 286,200 per week and up 0.1 percent over January 2011. Intermodal volume in January 2012 was 877,637 containers and trailers, up 1.7 percent over January 2011. January’s average of 219,409 intermodal units per week was the third highest ever for a January for U.S. railroads.
According to the AAR:
“Total rail carload traffic in January was flat compared with last year, due largely to sharp declines in coal and grain traffic,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “However, a number of other commodity categories — including many that have historically been much more highly correlated with GDP growth than coal and grain—saw large increases in January. That’s a sign that the underlying economy is probably stronger than you would think if you just looked at the rail traffic totals.”
| Week 4 2012 | Carloads | Intermodal | Total |
| This week Year-over-Year | -2.8% | 5.5% | -1.8% |
| Year Cumulative to Date | 0.1% | 1.7% | 1.0% |
[click on above table to enlarge at AAR website]
source: AAR
