Bulk commodity and equipment cargoes carried in large-capacity railcars fell 8.4 percent from a year earlier for major U.S. carriers in the week that ended Nov. 8, said the Association of American Railroads.
That is only one week, but it follows a 5.4 percent year-on-year drop the week before and 4.7 percent before that. The carload decline has only escalated since the September financial crisis began rippling through the overall economy.
Bulk cargoes almost always move by rail. That has been the traditional rail cargo.
Railroads also carry trucks, or containers. That is called intermodal. This too has slipped.
A similar trend is at work on the intermodal side, where rail lines handle the long haul for highway trailers or containers that trucks carry from rail terminal to final destination.
The AAR said those U.S. rail lines saw intermodal loadings shrink 6.3 percent in the latest week, 4.9 percent as of Nov. 1 and 4.1 percent for the week ended Oct. 25.
There is no mention if truck traffic dipped during the same period. With the price of gas going down, it's possible some of this business switched back to over the road.
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