Germany, Japan, rails

Deeper into contraction:

German Industrial Output Falls Unexpectedly

Industrial production in Germany dropped by 1.7% mom in October 2019, missing market expectations of a 0.1% growth and following a 0.6% fall in September. This marked the steepest monthly decrease in industrial output since April, as production fell for capital goods (-4.4%), including tools, vehicles and machinery. Year-on-year, industrial output slumped 5.3%, the most in a decade. Manufacturing alone went down 5.7%.

AAR: November Rail Carloads down 7.5% YoY, Intermodal Down 7.4% YoY

From the Association of American Railroads (AAR) Rail Time Indicators. Graphs and excerpts reprinted with permission.
Rail traffic continues to struggle because U.S. manufacturing is soft, trade disputes and the uncertainty they entail are ongoing, and economic growth abroad isn’t what it could be.

In November 2019, total U.S. rail carloads were down 7.5% and total intermodal originations were down 7.4% from November 2018 — making 10 straight monthly declines for both.