- The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported 3.2% drop in US rail traffic for the month of June 2022 when compared with same month last year.
- That includes 1,157,555 carloads (-1.5%) and intermodal volumes of 1,323,119 containers and trailers (-4.6%).
- “As conjecture grows about the direction of the U.S. economy, June rail traffic doesn’t offer definitive answers on whether a recession is looming or not,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “Like many other economic indicators today, rail traffic is a mix of red, yellow, and green with some traffic lines, such as automotive, providing generally positive indicators while others, such as chemicals, being a bit more subdued than they were earlier in the year.”
- 8 of the 20 carload commodity categories saw carload gains during the month, including crushed stone, sand & gravel, up 7.3%; grain, up 4.5%; and motor vehicles & parts, up 6.2%.
- Commodities that saw declines in June 2022 included: coal, down 3.1%; all other carloads, down 23.1%; and primary metal products, down 11.6%.
- For the month's last week ending July 2, 2022, US railroads recorded 2.5% decline in carloads and intermodal units while the combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 681,442 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.9% Y/Y.
- Quick look through major carloads commodities: Chemicals, 34,008 (-2.5%); Coal, 64,375 (-3%); Grain, 22,904 (+15.3%); Metallic Ores and Metals, 22,159 (-4.8%); and Motor Vehicle and Parts, 13,032 (-1.5%).
- Canadian railroads reported 76,963 carloads for the week, up 5.7% and 69,631 intermodal units, up 8.8%; Mexican railroads reported 19,095 carloads, down 13.1%, and intermodal units 15,468, down 4% Y/Y.
- Rising macroeconomic risks and cost concerns caused Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Bascome Majors to dim his outlook on rail stocks, including a downgrade for Union Pacific Corporation ( UNP ).
- Related tickers: Berkshire Hathaway ( NYSE: BRK.A , BRK.B ), Canadian Pacific Railway ( NYSE: CP ), CSX ( NASDAQ: CSX ), Norfolk Southern ( NYSE: NSC ), Brookfield Infrastructure Partners ( BIP , BIPC ), and Canadian National Railway ( CNI ).
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US June rail traffic drops 3.2% in mixed reaction to looming recession fears