North American rail traffic down 3% for the week ending August 5

The Association of American Railroads, AAR, reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending August 5. Total carloads for the week ending August 5 were 222,199 carloads, down 1% compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 249,739 containers and trailers, down 5.2% compared to 2022…Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 1,740 carloads, to 14,991; metallic ores and metals, up 1,131 carloads, to 22,050; and miscellaneous carloads, up 817 carloads, to 8,308. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 included grain, down 3,658 carloads, to 15,623; coal, down 1,245 carloads, to 64,574; and chemicals, down 799 carloads, to 30,264. North American rail volume for the week ending August 5 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 328,156 carloads, up 0.7% compared with the same week last year, and 331,701 intermodal units, down 6.4% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 659,857 carloads and intermodal units, down 3%. Publicly traded companies in the space include CSX (CSX), Canadian National (CNI), Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Norfolk Southern (NSC), Union Pacific (UNP), Greenbrier (GBX),Trinity Industries (TRN), FreightCar America (RAIL), Wabtec (WAB) and Rail Vision (RVSN).