US weekly rail traffic declines 4.4% as lower coal volumes weigh heavy

• The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported US rail traffic down 4.4% Y/Y to 493,374 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending June 25, 2022.
• Total carloads for the week were 229,857, down 3.1% while intermodal volume was 263,517 containers and trailers, down 5.5% Y/Y.
• Overall, North America rail traffic declined 4.6% Y/Y to 673,389 carloads and intermodal units, taking into account the combined volumes of U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads.
• 4 of the 10 US carload commodity groups posting increase include chemicals, up 3.5% Y/Y to 32,742; farm products excl. grain, and food, up 4.2% to 16,396; motor vehicles and parts up 2%; and nonmetallic minerals, up 1.5% carloads, to 33,631.
• Commodity groups that posted decline included coal, down 6.8%; metallic ores and metals, -8.4%; and miscellaneous carloads, -17.4% Y/Y.
• Canadian railroads reported 75,447 carloads for the week, down 3.3% and 70,496 intermodal units, down 1.8%; Mexican railroads reported 19,659 carloads, down 12.9%, and intermodal units 14,413, down 17.9% Y/Y.
• Earlier this week, Credit Suisse started off coverage on the transportation and logistics sector with a broadly positive view. Union Pacific (UNP), and CSX (CSX) secured Outperform rating among 11 transportation stocks pick.
• Related tickers: Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A, BRK.B), Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE:CP), Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC), Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP,BIPC), and Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI).
• On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said there's a risk that the central bank will overtighten, but there's a bigger risk in failing to restore price stability.