Investopedia: Rails Seem To Point To A Respectable 2013

Many analysts and investors have worried about the outlook for growth in the United States in 2013, but railroad data continues to suggest an ongoing recovery/expansion in the economy. Although it's true that the rails have enjoyed an uncommonly long stretch of good performance relative to the markets, ongoing demand growth could continue to support the sector.

December's Data Looks Very Familiar
The Association of American Railroads reported that U.S. rail carload volume declined about 4% for the month of December relative to the prior year, while climbing more than 2% from November's level.

As has been the case for quite some time, coal and grain traffic declines were a major negative influence on the results. Coal volume declined by more than 13%, while export declines tied to this year's drought helped fuel a 14% decline in grain carload traffic. Excluding coal, carload traffic was up more than 3%, while traffic excluding coal and grain climbed 6%.

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