Weekly Railfax Report

Summary of Rail Freight Traffic
Rail traffic data provided by the
Association of American Railroads (AAR.ORG)

A Weekly Report of North American Rail Freight Traffic
by Major Railroad and Commodity
SAMPLE REPORT


Railfax Data Presented using Tableau Software

Use the Slider Controls to vary the chart time period.
Rail Traffic Data provided by the Association of American Railroads

Total US Rail Traffic
Major Commodity Groups Total Grain Chemicals Food Forest Metals Coal Autos Intermodal
Current Week
Vs. 2017 2.0% (6.4%) 3.1% 1.4% (1.6%) (2.0%) (3.3%) 0.2% 4.5%
Vs. 2016 8.6% (4.2%) 5.3% 5.5% (4.8%) 2.2% 14.8% (10.2%) 10.7%
4 Week Rolling Avg.
Vs. 2017 1.7% (4.4%) 3.6% (1.2%) 3.1% 0.9% (2.8%) (7.3%) 3.7%
Vs. 2016 6.5% (2.2%) 1.3% (0.1%) (1.7%) 7.1% 15.6% (10.2%) 7.1%
Quarter to Date
Vs. 2017 (0.3%) (5.6%) 2.5% (2.6%) 2.3% (2.6%) (5.2%) (8.7%) 1.8%
Vs. 2016 2.1% (1.8%) (2.8%) (3.8%) (4.3%) 4.9% 9.7% (11.0%) 2.3%
Year to Date
Vs. 2017 (0.3%) (5.6%) 2.5% (2.6%) 2.3% (2.6%) (5.2%) (8.7%) 1.8%
Vs. 2016 2.1% (1.8%) (2.8%) (3.8%) (4.3%) 4.9% 9.7% (11.0%) 2.3%
Traffic By Railroad
Carriers CSX NSC BNSF KSU UNP CNI CP KCSM FXE
Current Week
Vs. 2017 (4.4%) 4.3% 2.9% (0.9%) 2.8% (4.3%) 1.9% (1.1%) (9.1%)
Vs. 2016 2.5% 13.2% 11.8% 6.1% 8.5% 4.6% 8.9% (0.8%) 16.0%
4 Week Rolling Avg.
Vs. 2017 (3.0%) 3.0% 4.0% 3.1% 0.4% 0.3% 2.3% (4.1%) (7.8%)
Vs. 2016 1.1% 10.1% 11.5% 4.5% 3.0% 7.3% 5.4% (2.2%) 15.9%
Quarter to Date
Vs. 2017 (5.7%) 0.6% 3.4% 2.8% (0.6%) (0.3%) 3.0% (1.9%) (8.8%)
Vs. 2016 (4.0%) 5.8% 8.0% (5.2%) (1.0%) 5.9% 2.2% (2.8%) 13.0%
Year to Date
Vs. 2017 (5.7%) 0.6% 3.4% 2.8% (0.6%) (0.3%) 3.0% (1.9%) (8.8%)
Vs. 2016 (4.0%) 5.8% 8.0% 2.5% (1.0%) 5.9% 2.2% (2.8%) 13.0%
Market Share
2018 16.7% 20.7% 28.9% 3.3% 23.4% 15.3% 7.1% 2.8% 5.1%
2017 17.6% 20.5% 27.9% 3.3% 23.4% 15.3% 6.9% 2.8% 5.6%
Total North American Rail Traffic
Combined US, Canadian and Mexican Traffic
North American Major Commodity Groups Total Grain Chemicals Food Forest Metals Coal Autos Intermodal
Current Week
Vs. 2017 0.8% (14.3%) 0.9% 2.8% (7.4%) (4.6%) (3.4%) (2.0%) 4.3%
Vs. 2016 9.1% (4.4%) 6.6% 6.5% (13.1%) 12.6% 12.9% (7.8%) 11.6%
4 Week Rolling Avg.
Vs. 2017 1.2% (8.6%) 2.0% (0.3%) (1.9%) (0.6%) (3.0%) (6.5%) 3.7%
Vs. 2016 7.4% (1.9%) 3.3% 1.2% (7.5%) 18.9% 14.0% (7.7%) 7.8%
Quarter to Date
Vs. 2017 (0.3%) (8.6%) 1.2% (2.1%) (2.1%) (3.0%) (4.9%) (8.0%) 2.2%
Vs. 2016 3.5% (0.8%) 0.4% (1.5%) (8.9%) 15.6% 8.6% (10.8%) 3.5%
Year to Date
Vs. 2017 (0.3%) (8.6%) 1.2% (2.1%) (2.1%) (3.0%) (4.9%) (8.0%) 2.2%
Vs. 2016 3.5% (0.8%) 0.4% (1.5%) (8.9%) 15.6% 8.6% (10.8%) 3.5%


Total Industry Charts (US, Canada and Mexico)

Year over Year Percent Change
13 Week Rolling Averages
Total Traffic Intermodal Traffic
Baseline Traffic Cyclical Traffic

Weekly Loaded Units
4 Week Rolling Averages
Total Rail Traffic Intermodal Traffic
Baseline Traffic Cyclical Traffic

Individual Carrier Charts

Total Carrier Traffic Trends
4 Week Rolling Averages
CSX Norfolk Southern
BNSF Union Pacific
Kansas City Southern
Canadian National Canadian Pacific
Kansas City Southern de Mexico

Commodity Watch

Railfax commodity charts will highlight various sectors of the economy on a rotating basis.
Use Railfax to track these key indicators on a weekly basis. As with all Railshare data,
these charts track shipments through the week ending on the preceding Saturday.

Total North American Carloads

4 Week Rolling Average
(Includes Canadian and Mexican traffic)
Coal Motor Vehicles
Crushed Stone Chemicals

What is Railshare

Railshare is a comprehensive database of North American rail traffic. The data are provided each Wednesday by the Association of American Railroads and the individual railroads.

Atlantic Systems Inc. processes this information and redistributes the data in an easy to use format. Each week's report covers the seven day period ending the preceding Saturday.

Rail traffic is disaggregated between carload (traffic moving in traditional freight cars such as box cars, tank cars and hoppers) and intermodal traffic (containers and piggyback service). Railshare provides commodity breakdowns for carload traffic; commodity detail for intermodal traffic is unavailable.

Railroads originate and also move traffic jointly with other originating carriers. The carrier totals shown in Railshare aggregate all traffic handled by individual carriers. Market shares are calculated as total handlings by carrier divided by total U.S. originated rail traffic.

Railshare graphs show four major breakdowns of rail traffic. Total traffic includes all carload and intermodal traffic; carload traffic is further divided between economically sensitive commodities (cyclical) and those that are less affected by the business cycle (baseline).



For further information please contact

Atlantic Systems Inc.
PO Box 1984
New York, New York 10163

Last Updated on 02/21/18

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