Economy
Rail Freight Shipments Increase in November
Written by Sandy Williams
December 11, 2014
Railroad traffic increased in November for both carload and intermodal volume. Class 1 freight railroads carried 1,161,820 carloads in November, up 1.4 percent year-over-year, according the American Association of Railroads.
Intermodal traffic in increased by 2.7 percent with a weekly average volume of 258,765 containers and trailers for the month, the highest level in history for a November.
Coal shipments were flat in November despite recent calls by utility companies for government intervention to force BNSF railway to increase capacity for coal shipments. Approximately two thirds of the coal for power plants is shipped by rail. Recent congestion due to high grain and oil shipments has left utility companies short on coal inventory to cover the winter months.
Crude oil shipments in the third quarter were 10.6 percent higher than second quarter 2014. Oil has been getting the major share of blame for rail capacity shortage and congestion. The chart below from AAR shows the dramatic increase in petroleum shipments since 2011.
AAR reports November metallic ore shipments were up 5,241 carloads or 19.8 percent year-over-year. Crushed stone, sand and gravel was up 16.8 percent, petroleum products 7.6 percent, and coke 5 percent.
“It’s not always easy to tell from available indicators how the economy is performing and that is true for rail traffic in November when some traffic categories showed solid growth, others not so much,” said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. “A healthy and efficient freight rail network is vital to delivering America’s changing economy. Today, railroads are moving more traffic than at any time since 2007.”
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Economy
New York state manufacturing activity ramps up to multi-year high
New York state’s manufacturing sector saw substantial recovery in November, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
CRU: Dollar and bond yields rise, metal prices fall as Trump wins election
Donald Trump has won the US presidential election. The Republican party has re-taken control of the Senate. Votes are still being counted in many tight congressional races. But based on results so far, the Republicans seem likely to maintain control of the House of Representatives. If confirmed, this will give Trump considerable scope to pass legislation pursuing his agenda. What this means for US policy is not immediately obvious. Trump will not be inaugurated until Jan. 20. In the coming weeks and months, he will begin to assemble his cabinet, which may give a clearer signal on his policy priorities and approaches. Based on statements he made during the presidential campaign, we have set out the likely direction of his economic policy here and green policy here.
ISM: Manufacturing index fell in Oct to lowest point of ’24
Domestic manufacturing contracted for the seventh straight month in October, according to the latest report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). This marks the 23rd time in the last 24 months that it has been in contraction.
Chicago Business Barometer slips in October
The Chicago Business Barometer fell to a five-month low in October and continues to indicate deteriorating business conditions, according to Market News International (MNI) and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
Final Thoughts
We all know the American news cycle moves pretty fast. Viral today, cached tomorrow. So it is with the US presidential election on Tuesday, Nov. 5. People have election fatigue. They've moved on to other things like planning holiday parties, debating Super Bowl hopefuls, or even starting to look forward to our Tampa Steel Conference in February.