North American Rail Traffic Fell 11.4% on Week on Coronavirus, Oil Drop
April 01 2020 - 2:22PM
Dow Jones News
By Colin Kellaher
North American rail traffic tumbled 11.4% last week as the
coronavirus pandemic and a collapse in oil prices take their toll
on volume, data from the Association of American Railroads
showed.
Carload volume for the week ended March 28 on 12 reporting U.S.,
Canadian and Mexican railroads fell 8.3%, while intermodal traffic
slid 14.4%, the trade group said Wednesday.
The AAR said the suspension of manufacturing operations by most
automakers and reduced consumer spending sparked a 66.8% plunge in
rail carloads of autos and auto parts, while falling oil prices
weighed on rail shipments of petroleum products, frac sand and
steel products.
In the week ended March 21, North American rail traffic was down
7.7%. For the first 13 weeks of the year, North American traffic
declined 6%, compared with a year-to-date drop of 5.5% reported a
week earlier.
The AAR said U.S. rail traffic fell 11.8% last week, with the
volume of intermodal containers and trailers tumbling 14.2% and
carloads down 9.1%. U.S. rail traffic is down 7.5% for the year to
date, the AAR said, compared with a year-to-date decline of 7.2%
reported a week earlier.
Canadian rail traffic fell 10.4% last week amid a 15.6% drop in
intermodal units and a 5.9% decline in carloads. Canadian rail
traffic is down 2.7% for the first 13 weeks of the year.
Mexican rail traffic slid 10.6% for the week, with carloads down
9.1% and intermodal units down 12.7%. Mexican rail traffic is up
2.3% for the year to date, the AAR said.
Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 01, 2020 14:07 ET (18:07 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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