Freight traffic down nearly 12%

Railway Age reports:

Total carloads for the week ending April 23 were 230,599 carloads, down 17.1% compared with the same week in 2015, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 261,347 containers and trailers, down 6.3% compared to 2015.

Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2015. They were miscellaneous carloads, up 23.3% to 9,515 carloads; chemicals, up 1.6% to 30,858 carloads; and motor vehicles and parts, up 1.3% to 19,138 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2015 included coal, down 40.1% to 58,837 carloads; petroleum and petroleum products, down 24.9% to 11,348 carloads; and grain, down 7.9% to 18,340 carloads.

For the first 16 weeks of 2016, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 3,844,016 carloads, down 14.3% from the same point last year; and 4,109,691 intermodal units, down 0.2% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 16 weeks of 2016 was 7,953,707 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 7.6% compared to last year.

Just a reminder.