UNP Union Pacific Corp

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic fell 5.9% last week, wrapping up an eighth straight month of declines for U.S. freight carriers, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume for the week ended Sept. 28 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads slid 6.8%, while intermodal traffic fell 4.8%, the trade group said Wednesday.

North American rail traffic was 5.5% lower in the week ended Sept. 21. For the first 39 weeks of the year, North American volume is now down 2.8%, compared with a year-to-date decline of 2.7% reported a week ago.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic dropped 7.4% last week after falling 6.8% a week earlier. U.S. carloads fell 7.9% amid double-digit declines in coal, grain, and metallic ores and metals. The volume of U.S. intermodal containers and trailers fell 6.9% for the week.

For the month of September, U.S. rail traffic fell 6.4%, marking the eighth straight month of declines for both carloads and intermodal units. U.S. rail traffic is now down 3.9% for the year to date, compared with a decline of 3.8% reported a week earlier, the AAR said.

The trade group said U.S. railroads are facing "multi-pronged challenges," including the continued erosion of coal markets, disruptions to manufacturing, agricultural, and international intermodal markets stemming from trade uncertainty, and shifting consumer buying habits.

The AAR said rail traffic fell 3.3% in Canada last week amid a 5.8% drop in carloads and a 0.3% decline in intermodal units.

Rail traffic rose 7.5% in Mexico last week, the AAR said, paced by a 11.6% jump in intermodal units and a 3.9% rise in carloads.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 02, 2019 12:55 ET (16:55 GMT)

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