rail traffic

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derek7422

Does anyone know where one would look to find information regarding rail traffic? I have looked at the websites of BNI, NSX, and UNP but can't seem to find this, although I have found press releases discussing it that go further back, like into 2006. I am assuming it would be quarterly information, if not monthly, but I don't know how late it would be delayed. Is it available industrywide, or just from each company separately?
 
I think you have to look through individual quarterly or annual reports. The parsed information is probably proprietary research reports.......
However it would be interesting to know why IYT is so heavily short.
 
Thanks for all of the good info. Aar.org provides a good report on pretty exactly what I am looking for:

http://aar.org/Index.asp?NCID=4030

Looks like it is published weekly and the info. is only delayed 7 days, not that bad considering what probably goes into compiling the reports, etc.

I guess an alternate way would be to rent a motel on old Route 66 and start counting...1...2...3...was that 4, or part of 3?

I did find a source though here for intermodal units from BNI, which gives an idea of some commodity movements, as well as automobiles.

http://www.bnsf.com/investors/archives/weeklyunits_archive.html

http://www.bnsf.com/markets/intermodal/index.html
 
You could mount your own videocamera(s) underneath the track signal lights at the west entrance of the Burlington freight yard in Cicero and count the types of railcars that pass by as a means of getting "real-time" data.
 
You know, when I went to Old Dominion, which is right beside the NSX railyards, all night you would hear BOOM, then BOOM again in a couple of minutes as the coal was being dropped into the rail cars. Then after a series of booms, you hear WHOOOOOSH, as all of the links tighten and the train prepares to make its journey across the US. I guess I could move back there and develop a leading indicator based on that info., just counting the booms, and how many booms you hear per hour, how many booms per whoosh, etc.! I could compare it to how many cargo ships were in line in the harbor to determine efficiency! :D
 
Quote from derek7422:

Does anyone know where one would look to find information regarding rail traffic? I have looked at the websites of BNI, NSX, and UNP but can't seem to find this, although I have found press releases discussing it that go further back, like into 2006. I am assuming it would be quarterly information, if not monthly, but I don't know how late it would be delayed. Is it available industrywide, or just from each company separately?
More...

First url below says 2004 is latest year of data industry wide, probably referring to federal govt compilation. Second url covers the subject from labor's vantage point and is valuable in a number of ways, depending on your need, and includes latest press articles.

www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/4

www.utu.org/
 
Thank you. I am sure that the viability of rail traffic as a leading indicator will fade over time due to many factors, including alternative transportation, alternate fuel sources, etc. but it is nevertheless still a factor currently, in my opinion.

Correction: I typed NSX above but meant NSC, referring to Norfolk Southern.

I'm now left pondering the Dow Transports concern. Hmmm. Well, I see it is down from the prior month, is it normally a lot lower? Possible squeeze above 93.85, through to 95.93, 96.00?

http://shortsqueeze.com/index.php?symbol=iyt
 
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