(The Associated Press circulated the following article on February 20.)
WASHINGTON — Shipments carried by U.S. railroads fell 12.2 percent last week compared with the same week a year earlier, continuing steep declines that accelerated late last year, a major industry trade group reported Thursday.
The Association of American Railroads said freight carried on the tracks for the week ending Feb. 14 amounted to 281,533 carloads.
Volume sank 9.3 percent in the West, where cargo is primarily carried by Union Pacific Corp. and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. Volumes plunged 16.3 percent in the East, where freight is mostly hauled by CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp.
Intermodal volume slipped 12.9 percent from a year ago. Intermodal involves moving freight from one method of transportation to another, such as from truck to rail.
By commodity, only coal and miscellaneous shipments categorized as “other” rose from a year earlier.
So far this year, shipments on U.S. rails are down 16.1 percent compared with the same period in 2007.
In a note to clients Thursday, Stifel Nicolaus analyst John Larkin said he doesn’t expect the steep declines to continue for much longer. He predicted demand will improve once plants with extended holiday shutdowns ramp up productions and dwindling inventory reserves are restocked.