Rail traffic eased a bit last week as the weak recovery and winter storms slowed rail traffic to a halt. The AAR reports that carloads declined 8.1% year over year and were down 19.2% versus 2008. Intermodal traffic was a bit stronger and saw a 0.5% rise year over year. Intermodal was down 12.5% versus 2008. Breadth was a bit weaker when compared with last week as just 10 of the 19 carloads were up year over year. The AAR has the details:
“Ten of the 19 carload freight commodity groups were up in comparison with the same week last year, led by a 24.9 percent jump in loadings of metals and products. Other commodities registering double digit gains were motor vehicles and equipment, up 15.0 percent, and primary forest products, up 13.8 percent. Commodities showing sharp declines included coal, down 16.3 percent; crushed stone, sand and gravel, down 18.9 percent; and pulp, paper and allied products, down 13.2 percent.”
Source: AAR
Mr. Roche is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Discipline Funds.Discipline Funds is a low fee financial advisory firm with a focus on helping people be more disciplined with their finances.
He is also the author of Pragmatic Capitalism: What Every Investor Needs to Understand About Money and Finance, Understanding the Modern Monetary System and Understanding Modern Portfolio Construction.