The number of carloads moved on short line and regional railroad in August 2020 was down compared to August 2019. Carloads originated decreased 10.6 percent, from 364,890 in August 2019 to 326,271 in August 2020.
Grain led gains with a 15.2 percent increase. Stone, Clay and Glass Products was up 6.8 percent, and Chemicals and Pulp, Paper and Allied Products increased 2.2 and 0.1 percent respectively. Nonmetallic Minerals led declines, down 41.4 percent. Motor Vehicles and Equipment, Food and Kindred Products, Metals and Products, Grain Mill Products, Crushed Stone, Sand and Gravel, Lumber and Wood Products, Metallic Ores, Trailer or Container, Petroleum Products, Waste and Scrap Materials, Coal and All Other Carloads were also down in August.
Click here to download the Carloads by Commodity table as an Excel file.
Carloads originated for 2020 were at 2,561,224 through August 31, down about 252,000 carloads, or 9.0 percent from 2019.
Railinc publishes this information as a service to the rail industry. The Railinc Short Line and Regional Traffic Index can also be found monthly in Railway Age magazine. For questions or comments, please contact the Railinc Corporate Communications department.
