North American Rail Traffic Fell 3.9% in Week Ended July 13
July 17 2019 - 1:58PM
Dow Jones News
By Colin Kellaher
North American rail traffic fell 3.9% last week, data from the
Association of American Railroads showed, and declining U.S.
freight volumes are starting to weigh on the financial results of
railroad operators.
Carload volume for the week ended July 13 on a dozen reporting
U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads fell 3.2%, while intermodal
traffic fell 4.6%, the trade group said Wednesday.
North American rail traffic was 5.1% lower in the week ended
July 6. For the first 28 weeks of the year, North American volume
is down 2.2%, compared with a year-to-date decline of 2.1% reported
last week.
The AAR said U.S. rail traffic slid 5.6% last week after
tumbling 7.5% a week earlier. U.S. carloads fell 4% amid declines
in 8 of the 10 commodity groups tracked, while the volume of U.S.
intermodal containers and trailers fell 7.2% for the week.
U.S. rail traffic is now down 3.3% for the year to date,
compared with a cumulative decline of 3.2% at the end of the
previous week, the AAR said.
Florida-based freight railroad CSX Corp. (CSX) on Tuesday cut
its outlook for the year amid weaker-than-expected shipping volumes
for its industrial customers, and its chief executive said volumes
weren't showing signs of improving soon.
"Global and U.S. economic conditions have been unusual to say
the least," Jim Foote said. "The present economic backdrop is one
of the most puzzling I've experienced in my career."
CSX's report sent its shares down more than 10% in midday
trading Wednesday and weighed on other railroad stocks, with
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) down 6.5% and Union Pacific Corp.
(UNP) off 5.7%.
By contrast, the AAR said rail traffic rose 1.6% in Canada last
week, as a 5.1% increase in intermodal units more than offset a
1.3% decline in carloads.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP.T, CP) on Tuesday reported
better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the second quarter,
helped by shipments of grains, energy, chemical and plastics
products.
Canadian rail traffic is up 2.1% for the year to date.
Rail traffic slipped 0.3% in Mexico last week, the AAR said,
with carloads down 0.9% and intermodal units up 0.3%.
Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 17, 2019 13:43 ET (17:43 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024