Compromised coal loadings lead week 51 carload crash

The Association of American Railroads, in reporting rail traffic for the week ending Dec. 26, 2015 (week 51), noted that total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 391,107 carloads and intermodal units, down 9.8% compared with the same week in 2014. Total carloads for the week, pushed by a near-32% drop in coal, nosedived 17.9% to 206,903, compared with the same week in 2014, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 184,204 containers and trailers, up 1.6%—not nearly enough to stop the bleeding.

AAR: Rail traffic continues to drop

For the week ending Dec. 19, 2015, total U.S. rail traffic was 525, 555 carloads and intermodal units, down 9.5% compared with the same week in 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Dec. 23. U.S. carloads fell nearly 15%; Canadian carloads dropped nearly 14%; North American (U.S., Canada, Mexico combined) intermodal down 4.3%.

Top rail execs to provide industry insights at MARS Winter Meeting

Top executives from three Class I railroads will be speaking at the 246th meeting of the Midwest Association of Rail Shippers (MARS) on Jan. 13–14, 2016, which will be held at Westin Lombard Yorktown Center in Lombard, Ill.

Carload traffic, intermodal on steady decline

For the week ending Dec. 12, 2015, total U.S. rail traffic was 544, 975 carloads and intermodal units, down 8% compared with the same week in 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Dec. 16. U.S. carloads fell 13%; Canadian carloads dropped 10%; North American (U.S., Canada, Mexico combined) intermodal units dropped 7.6%.

House passes S. 808; next stop: the President

The U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 10, 2015 passed S. 808, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) Reauthorization Act of 2015, which among other provisions, will increase the number of STB members from three to five, improving STB’s structure and decision-making processes by allowing, with proper disclosure, board members to speak with one another about cases on which the STB is ruling.

Rail traffic no better in first week of December

For the week ending Dec. 5, 2015, total U.S. rail traffic was 542,050 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.6% compared with the same week in 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Dec. 9. U.S. carloads fell nearly 13%; Canadian carloads dropped nearly 10%; intermodal remains flat.

Freight traffic, intermodal down throughout November

For the month of November 2015, total U.S. carload traffic was 1,041,605, down 10.4% or 120,259 carloads from November 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Dec. 2, 2015.

FAST Act on the fast track to approval

Congressional conferees on Dec. 1, 2015 reached an agreement on the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, a five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill and the first long-term bill of its kind in a decade. It comes after years of predeccesor-bill extensions and partisan bickering. Of  interest to freight railroads are key provisions on safety enhancements for tank cars moving flammable liquids in the U.S. and electronically-controlled pneumatic (ECP) train braking.

Rail traffic takes a dive

For the week ending Nov. 21, 2015, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 532,532 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.7% compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads reported on Nov. 25. U.S. carloads fell nearly 10%; Canadian carloads dropped nearly 13%. Intermodal for some sectors saw modest gains.

AAR: Rail traffic stays on the decline

For the week ending Nov. 14, 2015, total U.S. rail traffic was 543,681 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.7% compared with the same week in 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Nov. 18, 2015.

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