North American rail traffic down 12% for the week ending April 8

The Association of American Railroads or AAR reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending April 8. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 451,336 carloads and intermodal units, down 11.2% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending April 8 were 225,669 carloads, down 4.6% compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 225,667 containers and trailers, down 17% compared to 2022. Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 977 carloads, to 14,331; petroleum and petroleum products, up 543 carloads, to 9,861; and metallic ores and metals, up 529 carloads, to 21,230. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 included grain, down 4,158 carloads, to 20,105; coal, down 3,655 carloads, to 62,070; and chemicals, down 3,615 carloads, to 31,525. North American rail volume for the week ending April 8, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 325,473 carloads, down 4% compared with the same week last year, and 293,300 intermodal units, down 19.4% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 618,773 carloads and intermodal units, down 12%. North American rail volume for the first 14 weeks of 2023 was 8,950,311 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9 percent compared with 2022. Publicly traded companies in the space include CSX (CSX), Canadian National (CNI), Canadian Pacific (CP), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Norfolk Southern (NSC),Union Pacific (UNP),Trinity Industries (TRN), Greenbrier (GBX). FreightCar America (RAIL) and Wabtec (WAB). Reference Link