American Trucking Grinding to a Halt

[kats]

I think railroads carry more coal than anything else. Anyway, rail freight is down a lot.

http://www.aar.org/NewsAndEvents/PressReleases/2009/06_WTR/060409_Traffic.aspx

Rail Traffic Down Sharply in May

Lower electricity demand and higher coal stockpiles result in double-digit declines in rail traffic

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2009 — Freight railroad traffic was down sharply in May in comparison with the same month last year, the Association of American Railroads reported today.

U.S. rail carload traffic in May 2009 fell 24.7 percent (325,267 carloads) compared to May 2008 to 989,306 carloads. U.S. rail intermodal traffic (which is not included in carloads) fell 19.7 percent (177,482 trailers and containers) to 723,898 units in May 2009.

Canadian rail carload traffic (which includes both the Canadian and U.S. operations of CN and Canadian Pacific, the two largest Canadian railroads) fell 32.8 percent (104,003 carloads) in May 2009 to 213,517 carloads, while Canadian intermodal traffic fell 34,844 units (18.1 percent) to 157,446 trailers and containers.

U.S.U.S. rail carloadings fell in May 2009 in all 19 major commodity groups tracked by the AAR, including coal (down 89,134 carloads, or 15.8 percent); motor vehicles and equipment (down 35,674 carloads, or 52.3 percent); and metals and metal products (down 33,987 carloads, or 62.7 percent). Carloads of chemicals were down 23,147 carloads (18.3 percent) and carloads of grain were down 21,910 carloads (24.5 percent).

[forager]

This quote from a UK Telegraph article by Ambrose Pritchard

"US freight data is getting worse, not better. The Association of American Railroads said traffic was down 22pc in the third week of May from a year earlier. "

That's consistent with my own observations of the freight trains passing through my area.

And yes, if any actual recovery was underway, I'd certainly expect to see an improvement in both trucking and rail.  The auto sales cliff-dive must be hurting the railroads. I need to look for some numbers that show how much their traffic has declined since two or three years ago.

Totally anecdotally, I live within a block of a main rail line running north/south, and close enough to the east west line to hear it, and there really is less rail traffic than a year or so ago.  Substantially less, to the point that I know it's not just my being accustomed to it.  I'd love if someone comes up with any data either way on this, I have only so much time to screw around at work!

There are several rail lines that run through the town I live in just south of Detroit. Traffic is way down. Used to see new cars on the rails daily. It's been months since I've seen any. Far fewer Chinese shipping containers on the rails too. What trains there are seem short and atypical in loads.

At least the coal trains are still delivering. What happens when the unemployed can't fund the electric complex? Government rail, or blackouts??

[Erin]

My Dad works in coal here in Central PA.  Pennsylvania has rekindled it's love affair with coal, and they're busy as ever.  Tri-axles full of coal everywhere.

[Jeromie]

Interesting question forager.   A government that cannot issue it's own currency is no longer a government. It does not exist.  In fact, that might be the ultimate indicia of a dead government.

 Clearly, when we get down to cessation of even electric power, the state will have long since comandeered  power and other resources to keep them working.  Having that ability, they can issue currency by fiat or they are powerless to commandeer anything  including organizing people into directed labor and specialty services.

Failing the forgoing, the state will have ceased to function until civil war puts a new state or states in place.   

[HotRocks]

More rail data, it ain't pretty either: Rail Data Still Depressed.

"Intermodal rail freight was off 20.1% for the week first week of June.  Carloadings were at their highest level in 9 weeks, but still off 19.8% from last year.  If you’re looking for a sign of how slow this recovery might be (if we can actually call this a recovery) you need look no further than the rail data."

The top line of this chart is 0%, or no change, so we've been negative since October of last year, that last peak about halfway through there, but bouncing around a lot:



(Does that look almost exactly like the path a bouncy ball would make if you rolled it off a table to anyone else?)

[Will Nailor]

Oh boy.  Just had one of my local freight company reps drop in.  Says business is off by half from last year.  He's been spending the day driving the warehouse district out here, and observed that "half" the warehouses in this whole area are closed up.  He also mentioned knowing of 2 major freight carriers that are going bust by 4th quarter this year.  Didn't say which ones, but came off as if it is common knowledge in his industry.  We both got a good chuckle out of looking back to last fall, and the predictions of things turning back to normal by this time this year.  Got us a good long ways to go down yet.

[S E Pearson]

I used be a truck driver, man that's a shit job.

Fortunately an economic collapse sorted that out for me and life's a lot more fun these days.

[Madnsassy]

Part of a short-line railroad in Oregon's ruggedly beautiful Wallowa County has become a 30-mile-long parking lot for about 700 idled railcars, some blighted with graffiti.

Many residents aren't happy.

David Stein, for one, said mustard-yellow centerbeam lumber cars along tracks owned by the Wallowa Union Railroad have spoiled his view of mountains, meadows and pine forests from his home outside Enterprise.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/locals_rail_against_wilderness.html

New Castle, Ind., is divided by a freight train that's two miles long. It hasn't moved in months. The company that owns the empty rail cars used to transport new automobiles. When auto sales plummeted the rail cars stopped because there wasn't anything to transport.  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102036402



Arkansas River:  Rafters pass a 3.4-mile stretch along the river that holds some of the thousands of rail cars in storage nationwide. River guides and guests have noticed the impediment to the canyon’s scenery.http://www.chieftain.com/articles/2009/06/17/news/local/doc4a38817a8ae0d679431550.txt

[Six Gun Jim]

Great link Mad! Good god that is as telling as anything I've seen yet. I work on trucks and equipment for a living and I can tell you first hand that if I worked for anybody specializing in on highway transport I would be at the unemployment office right now. Things are bad for the trucker's, bad for mechanics and bad for the freight handlers. Many I know are out and almost all are curtailed heavily except for the food and beer drivers. -James

[Citizen J]

On a road trip this past weekend, along NY Rte 17/I-86 (Southern Tier Expressway), the rail line ran within a quarter mile of the highway for a long way and we passed 2-3 miles of empty rail cars just sitting.  We passed them as we were westbound and they were still there 4 days later when we returned east.  We wondered what in the world would be shipped in the ones with the beam in the center and many thanks, Mad, according to your link it seems about a quarter of them were "center beam lumber cars." 

[mtlouie]

Mad- Good stuff, there!

There are empty rail cars all over Montana for miles and miles and miles.  Went through Idaho across highway 12 last month and there were miles and miles there, too.

[zenobia]

I've been thinking about this as we have been driving across the country over the past two weeks.

I haven't seen nearly as many trucks as we did when we drove the same route west two years ago.  I remember coming through Indianapolis and just seeing truck after truck after truck on the highway.  A little ominous.

[perdition79]

Many I know are out and almost all are curtailed heavily except for the food and beer drivers.

I used to think about the day when truck traffic would slow to a crawl.  Now I think about the day when food trucks won't be able to safely deliver their goods to the consignee.  The most vulnerable component of American infrastructure is the 18-wheeler, and I'm glad I don't drive one any longer.

[mtlouie]

I've been thinking about this as we have been driving across the country over the past two weeks.

I haven't seen nearly as many trucks as we did when we drove the same route west two years ago.  I remember coming through Indianapolis and just seeing truck after truck after truck on the highway.  A little ominous.

Zenobia- I think it's one of those quandaries.  I feel bad about people losing their jobs, but less trucks mean less plastic, worthless crap is being sold.  Less pollution, less oil being used, less water being used, etc.

What "they" set up was bad.  It was bad for us, for the environment, and, eventually, it was going to end bad because unlimited growth is impossible.

[culinarius]

I live in a midwest rural community and, although I buy only from farmers, most folks get their food trucked to the local grocer.  Does anyone have any insight, or thoughts about the likelihood of supply disruptions (or not) to the grocer at any point?