US intermodal rail traffic is up 19pc in June

INTERMODAL rail traffic rose 19.2 per cent in June year on year, marking the biggest monthly gain in 20 years, according to the Association of American Railroads.

June rail carloads were up 10.6 per cent from 2009, however, carloads were down 1.3 per cent when compared with May, while intermodal traffic slipped 1.1 per cent from May, reports Trucking Info.

"While June traffic shows signs of an economy that is in better shape than it was a year ago, we still have a long way to go to see rail traffic levels associated with a full recovery," AAR vice president John Gray. "For example, both the purchasing managers index and consumer confidence fell in June."

According to London's Containerisation International, US intermodal traffic for the third week of June reached 231,000 units, a rise of 4,000 from the previous week and a jump of 37 per cent from the same week in 2009. This brought year-to-date liftings to 5.4 million units, 13 per cent up on last year.

Combined North American traffic, including US, Canada and Mexico, for the first 26 weeks of the year is up 14 per cent at 6.8 million units.

Average weekly container volume in June 2010 was the ninth highest since 1990, reflecting a year-long trend of domestic freight converting from truck trailers to containers on rail, the report released by the AAR added.
(Source:www.schednet.com)