Econintersect: Week 15 of 2013 ending April 13 shows same week total rail traffic above 2012 levels according to data released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR):
- Four week rolling average is improving (normal for this time of year);
- 13 week rolling average is declining (NOT normal for this time of year);
- 52 week rolling average is improving (normal for this time of year);
A summary of the data:
“Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2012, including petroleum and petroleum products, up 51.2 percent, and motor vehicles and parts, up 10.9 percent. Commodities showing a decrease included metallic ores, down 13.8 percent, and grain, down 12.1 percent.
For the first 15 weeks of 2013, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 4,127,296 carloads, down 2.4 percent from the same point last year, and 3,558,668 intermodal units, up 4.9 percent from last year. Total U.S. traffic for the first 15 weeks of 2013 was 7,685,964 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.8 percent from last year.”
USA coal production is down 2.0% same week year-over-year, and coal over the last few months is becoming a neutral dynamic on rail.
| This Week | Carloads | Intermodal | Total |
| This week Year-over-Year | -6.0% | 3.3% | 1.2% |
| Ignoring coal and grain | 2.1% | ||
| Year Cumulative to Date | -2.4% | 4.9% | 0.8% |
[click on graph below to enlarge]
Current Rail Chart
/images/z rail1.pn
From EIA.gov:
For the week ended April 13, 2013:
Source: AAR
