US rail shipments fall 3.6 percent in June

The Association of American Railroads said freight carried on the tracks for the month totaled about 1.3 million carloads.

Intermodal volume fell 4 percent from a year ago. Intermodal involves moving freight from one method of transportation to another, such as from truck to rail.

Fourteen out of 19 commodity groups posted lower shipments than in June 2007. Shipments of coke, used to make steel, plunged 28.8 percent. Carloads of vehicles and equipment fell 19 percent, while coal shipments fell 3.2 percent.

"Rail volumes were already under pressure because of the continuing weakness in the economy, but the massive recent flooding in the Midwest made things much worse," AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray said in a statement.

Shipments of grain and chemicals, which includes ethanol, led gains for the month.

In the second quarter, total U.S. rail carloads were down 0.6 percent.

For the first six months of the year, total shipments rose 0.2 percent compared to the same period last year.