U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes see annual September gains, reports AAR

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes, for the month of September, saw annual gains, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads, at 921,716, saw a 2.3%, or 20,754 carloads, annual increase. AAR said that when excluding coal, carloads were up 24,766 carloads, or 4.0%, annually, and when excluding coal and grain, carloads were increased 31,417 carloads, or 5.7%.

AAR said that 13 of the 20 carload commodity categories it tracks saw annual gains, including: motor vehicles & parts, up 8,327 carloads or 15.2%; petroleum & petroleum products, up 5,547 carloads or 16.0%; and chemicals, up 5,530 carloads or 4.6%. Commodities posting annual declines included: grain, down 6,651 carloads or 9.0%; coal, down 4,012 carloads or 1.4%; and coke, down 1,062 carloads or 9.1%.

Intermodal containers and trailers, at 1,008,896 units, rose 0.7%, or 7,096 units, annually. And combined U.S. carloads and intermodal units, at 1,930,612, increased 1.5%, or 27,850 carloads and intermodal units, annually.

“Rail traffic, although improving, remains in uncertain territory along with the economy,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray in a statement. “Intermodal had the best volume month of the year in September, showing, after three years, that 'peak season' still exists although much more reserved and occurring somewhat later than past peaks. Grain shipments improved slightly from extremely low summer levels, while chemicals and petroleum products had reasonably solid months. However, a sustained boost across rail categories will require stronger overall industrial growth.”

For the week ending September 30, AAR reported that U.S. rail carloads, at 235,988, increased 3.7% annually, and intermodal units, at 264,166 units, headed up 2.0% annually.