Mixed Message from North American Rail Carloads Stats for 2012

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported that U.S. rail carloads were down 0.7% in July 2012; however, eight of the 20 commodity categories tracked by AAR showed significant increases overall year-on-year (YoY).

Petroleum and petroleum products showed a rise of 47.2%, representing 13,368 carloads; motor vehicles and parts rose 23.3% YoY with 9,317 carloads. Food products were up 2,297 carloads, which was a 9.9% rise. Monthly carloads (excluding coal and grain) were up 8,108 or 1.4%.

Commodities bore the brunt of declines. Metallic ores were down in July 2012, with coal down 7,945 carloads with a 1.7% fall. Grain was down 7,860 carloads or 10%, and metallic ores were down 6,182 carloads with a 16.2% fall.

Overall, AAR reported that the July carload total was 1,103,733 with a 0.7 % YoY fall. But intermodal volume was 50,431 units, which was a 5.6% rise. The July 2012 intermodal weekly average of 236,518 trailers and container is the highest average ever recorded.

"Carloads of some of the more economically sensitive commodities, such as lumber and wood, steel and autos, gave us a mixed message in July. While lumber related to home construction remained very positive, other manufactured goods either grew more slowly than they have been or actually fell in July," said John T. Gray, AAR senior vice president. "It remains to be seen if this is just a blip or something more serious. More positively intermodal volume remains on track to see a record year in 2012."

The AAR reported that for the first 30 weeks of 2012, U.S. railroads saw a cumulative volume of 8,428,551 in carloads, representing a YoY decline of 2.6% and a 3.6% rise for the period in trailers and containers, which were 6,995,801 units.

For the same 30-week period, Canadian railroads were up 3.2% with 2,298,875 carloads. There were 1,520,597 trailer and containers for the same period, and this was a 7.2% increase from before.

Mexican cumulative volume for the first 30 weeks of 2012 was 425,148 carloads, showing a 1.2% decline YoY for the period; however, trailers and containers showed a rise of 18% with 281,855 units.

The combined North American rail volume for the first 30 weeks of 2012 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 11,152,574 carloads, representing a 1.4 % decline YoY for the period. Trailers and containers were up 4.6% for the region with 8,798,253 units. For related information, see July 25, 2012, article--Union Pacific Sees Shale Energy Products Trend Up, Coal Trend Down.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.