Top Railroads Trim US Jobs in July

Major freight railroads trimmed 424 jobs from mid-June to mid-July, the second overall cutback in the Class I workforce this year.

Combined mid-July payroll at the seven Class I railroads’ U.S. operations declined 0.3 percent to 158,916 workers. Four railroads added workers in the period, but declines from the other three were enough to take down industry-wide employment.

That reflected a period when freight shipments weakened some from early June before picking up again in late July. The slight July downturn in rail jobs also followed a period from mid-May to mid-June when the Class I carriers added 1,818 workers, the most in any month so far this year.

By the Numbers: U.S. Rail Cargo

The figures are reported by carriers to the Surface Transportation Board as of the first payroll of the month. Before the July numbers, the last time Class I employment contracted was for a seasonal decline in January.

Those cutting workers from mid-June to mid-July were BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation and the U.S. operations of Canadian National Railway.

Those adding were Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern Railway, along with the U.S. operations of Kansas City Southern and Canadian Pacific Railway.

-- Contact John D. Boyd at jboyd@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/jboydjoc