AAR: U.S. rail carload decline in April ‘worst’ on record

(Source: Progressive Railroading 05/07/20)

U.S. freight-rail traffic plunged 21.2 percent in April to 2,075,958 carloads and intermodal units compared with April 2019, a reflection of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the economy, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

U.S. railroads hauled 980,535 carloads last month, down 25.2 percent, and 1,095,423 intermodal containers and trailers, down 17.2 percent, from the same month last year.

“To no one’s surprise, the pandemic made April a challenging month for rail traffic,” said AAR Senior Vice President John Gray in a press release.

The drop in total carloads was the worst decline in any month since AAR began keeping records in 1989, and the decline in intermodal units was the worst since the summer of 2009, Gray said.

Only two of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by AAR each month posted gains last month compared with April 2019. They were “all other carloads,” which rose 9 percent, and farm products excluding grain, which rose 29 percent.

Commodities that logged decreases in April included coal, down 38 percent; motor vehicles and parts, down 86.3 percent; and chemicals, down 11.9 percent.

“Coal and autos were by far the worst-hit commodities in April, but declines spanned the industrial spectrum, hitting finished steel and steel scrap, chemicals, petroleum products, sand and stone and much else,” said Gray. “We don’t know exactly when it will happen, but our economy — and rail traffic — will rebound.”

Excluding coal, carloads fell 19.4 percent last month compared with April 2019. Excluding coal and grain, carloads were down 21.3 percent.

For the first four months of 2020, U.S. railroads logged 3,973,586 carloads, down 11.8 percent, and 4,273,708 intermodal units, down 10.9 percent, compared with the same period last year.

U.S. railroads’ combined traffic for the first four months of the year was 8,247,294 carloads and intermodal units, down 11.4 percent.