For the first 25 weeks of 2016, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 6,031,201 carloads, down 13% from the same point last year.

Railway Age reports:

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Jun. 25, 2016, with fewer declines than previous weeks as we head into summer.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 526,161 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9% compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending Jun. 25 were 257,965 carloads, down 5.2% compared with the same week in 2015, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 268,196 containers and trailers, down 2.7% 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 20.7% to 10,559 carloads; grain, up 16.5% to 22,182 carloads; and motor vehicles and parts, up 2.7% to 19,339 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2015 included petroleum and petroleum products, down 15.3% to 11,657 carloads; coal, down 14.3% to 77,514 carloads; and forest products, down 7.1% to 10,623 carloads.

For the first 25 weeks of 2016, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 6,031,201 carloads, down 13% from the same point last year; and 6,447,827 intermodal units, down 2.4% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 25 weeks of 2016 was 12,479,028 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 7.8% compared to last year.

Slowdown.