North American rail traffic down 4.6% for the week ending April 29

The Association of American Railroads, AAR, reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending April 29. "Intermodal continues to suffer because of significantly lower trade activity at ports, weaker consumer demand, and continued excess retail inventories from the pandemic era," said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. "These headwinds won’t last forever. When they dissipate, railroads will be prepared to meet their customers’ needs safely and reliably." Total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 481,960 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.9% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending April 29 were 236,318 carloads, up 1.4% compared with the same week in 2022, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 245,642 containers and trailers, down 10.3% 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 1,702 carloads, to 15,529; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,349 carloads, to 10,177; and nonmetallic minerals, up 1,171 carloads, to 33,863. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2022 included miscellaneous carloads, down 849 carloads, to 8,780; chemicals, down 670 carloads, to 33,864; and forest products, down 549 carloads, to 9,616. North American rail volume for the week ending April 29, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 343,589 carloads, up 2.8% compared with the same week last year, and 326,666 intermodal units, down 11.4% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 670,255 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.6%. 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), Trinity Industries (TRN), Greenbrier (GBX), FreightCar America (RAIL) and Wabtec (WAB). Reference Link