UNP Union Pacific Corp

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic fell 5.1% last week, an improvement from a week earlier, as U.S. intermodal volume remained positive, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume fell 12.5% for the week ended Aug. 22 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, while intermodal traffic rose 2.4%, the trade group said Wednesday.

In the week ended Aug. 15, North American rail traffic fell 7.5%. For the first 34 weeks of the year, North American traffic is now down 11.2%, compared with a year-to-date decline of 11.3% reported a week earlier.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic fell 3.3% last week, with a 12% drop in carloads nearly offset by a 5% rise in the volume of intermodal containers and trailers.

Analysts at Citigroup noted that U.S. intermodal volume has shown year-over-year growth for four straight weeks. The analysts said they remain positive on railroad stocks, adding that with revenue rebounding substantially in the third quarter and costs remaining controlled, they think the group's fundamentals "are quite attractive."

U.S. rail traffic is now down 11.9% for the year to date, the AAR said, compared with a decline of 12.2% reported a week ago.

Canadian rail traffic fell 10.3% last week, with carloads sliding 14.2% and intermodal units down 5.8%. Canadian rail traffic is down 8.6% for the first 34 weeks of the year.

Mexican rail traffic was down 8% for the week amid a 12% drop in carloads fell and a 2.9% decline in intermodal units. Mexican rail traffic is down 10.7% for the year, the AAR said.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 26, 2020 13:38 ET (17:38 GMT)

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