US June rail traffic drops 3.2% in mixed reaction to looming recession fears
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported 3.2% drop in US rail traffic for the month of June 2022 when compared with same month last year.
That includes 1,157,555 carloads (-1.5%) and intermodal volumes of 1,323,119 containers and trailers (-4.6%).
âAs conjecture grows about the direction of the U.S. economy, June rail traffic doesnât offer definitive answers on whether a recession is looming or not,â said AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray. âLike many other economic indicators today, rail traffic is a mix of red, yellow, and green with some traffic lines, such as automotive, providing generally positive indicators while others, such as chemicals, being a bit more subdued than they were earlier in the year.â
8 of the 20 carload commodity categories saw carload gains during the month, including crushed stone, sand & gravel, up 7.3%; grain, up 4.5%; and motor vehicles & parts, up 6.2%.
 Commodities that saw declines in June 2022 included: coal, down 3.1%; all other carloads, down 23.1%; and primary metal products, down 11.6%.
For the month's last week ending July 2, 2022, US railroads recorded 2.5% decline in carloads and intermodal units while the combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 681,442 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.9% Y/Y.

Quick look through major carloads commodities: Chemicals, 34,008 (-2.5%); Coal, 64,375 (-3%); Grain, 22,904 (+15.3%); Metallic Ores and Metals, 22,159 (-4.8%); and Motor Vehicle and Parts, 13,032 (-1.5%). 

Canadian railroads reported 76,963 carloads for the week, up 5.7% and 69,631 intermodal units, up 8.8%; Mexican railroads reported 19,095 carloads, down 13.1%, and intermodal units 15,468, down 4% Y/Y.
Rising macroeconomic risks and cost concerns caused Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Bascome Majors to dim his outlook on rail stocks, including a downgrade for Union Pacific Corporation (UNP). 

Related tickers: Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A, BRK.B), Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE:CP), CSX (NASDAQ:CSX), Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC), Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP,BIPC), and Canadian National Railway (CNI).