Rail traffic is continuing to show positive signs here as we head deeper into 2013. Intermodal traffic was up 5.3% year over year which brings the 12 week moving average to a very healthy 4.84%. That’s up from 1.3% earlier this year.
Here’s the AAR with more details:
“AAR also reported mixed rail traffic for the week ending Feb.16, 2013, with total U.S. weekly carloads of 278,596 carloads, down 1.2 percent compared with the same week last year. Intermodal volume for the week totaled 251,078 units, up 13.6 percent compared with the same week last year. Total U.S. traffic for the week was 529,674 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.3 percent compared with the same week last year.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2012, with petroleum products, up 56.1 percent, and nonmetallic minerals and products, up 12.1 percent. Commodities showing a decrease were led by grain, down 14.3 percent.
For the first seven weeks of 2013, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 1,891,569 carloads, down 5 percent from the same point last year, and 1,664,387 intermodal units, up 6.8 percent from last year. Total U.S. traffic for the first seven weeks of 2013 was 3,555,956 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.2 percent from last year.”
Chart via Orcam Investment Research:
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.
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