Rail Week Ending December 22, 2012: Traffic Is Up Year-over-Year

Econintersect: Week 51 of 2012 ending December 22 shows same week total rail traffic was slightly above 2011 levels according to data released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). The carload portion of rail traffic showed same week traffic grew 0.9% (versus last week's -3.9%). Excluding coal and grain (which are not an economic indicator), rail carloads expanded at 13.6% (last week +6.4%) same week year-over-year. Intermodal same week traffic expanded 10.2% (versus last week's +8.0%) Total same week traffic rail traffic expanded 3.0% (versus last week's -3.0%) USA coal production is down 11.7% same week year-over-year (see below - data was not updated on government website from last week), and the cumulative effect on rail carloads continues to drag traffic down. Read more »