Rail traffic was down for inter-modal and carload volume in August compared to the same time last year, according to numbers from the Association of American Railroads.
U.S. railroads originated 1,055,386 carloads in August and 1,089,849 intermodal containers, which are down 4.6% and 5.4% respectively from the same period of time in 2018
"Total U.S. freight carloads have fallen on a year-over-year basis for seven straight months, and that’s true even after excluding coal and grain, the major rail commodities least sensitive to overall economic health".
Domestic inter-modal volume is expected to be impacted by truck competition in the second half of 2019, which may limit opportunities for over-the-road truck conversions.
