Rail Traffic Continues Ongoing Weekly Gains

U.S. rail traffic continues to show consistent weekly gains, and the most recent week was no exception, here's from today's report from the American Association of Railroads:

March 17, 2011 – "The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported rail traffic gains for the week ending March 12, 2011, with U.S. railroads originating 292,164 carloads, up 1.3 percent compared with the same week last year. Intermodal volume for the week was also up, totaling 216,828 trailers and containers, up 6.5 percent compared with the same week in 2010."

MP: The chart above shows the consistent upward trend in both carloads and intermodal units over the last two years. The ongoing increases in shipping reflect the increasing demand for raw materials, inputs, supplies, grains, metals, chemicals, paper, lumber, iron, etc., which will contribute to future increases in final manufactured goods, real output growth, and job gains.