Rail Traffic Stabilizes

Bulk railcar loadings slipped while intermodal traffic picked up in the latest week for major railroads operating in the United States.

Taken together, the numbers reflected combined freight loadings in a narrow range, suggesting static demand trends this fall from rail customers after a summer of fairly steady gains.

The big Class I carriers along with some regional lines that report to the Association of American Railroads originated 274,846 new carloads of bulk materials and large goods including finished vehicles or heavy equipment, for the week ending Nov. 7. That is down from 275,439 in the prior week that ended Oct. 31.

But those carriers picked up 206,890 intermodal containers and trailers, a gain from the 203,860 a week earlier.

Carloads benefited from a weekly rise in coal shipments – the largest rail cargo – but saw moderate declines among many other categories including chemicals, scrap, metallic ores and metal products.

Contact John D. Boyd at jboyd@joc.com.