
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 7, 1995                   TAG: 9506070099
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

RAIL FREIGHT SHOWS TROUBLING DECLINE

Declines in rail freight traffic during the last full week of May could indicate the slowing economy is in for a harder landing than some economists have predicted, an analyst for the Association of American Railroads said.

Carload freight on the nation's major railroads dropped 0.4 percent during the week ending May 27, with the largest declines in the East. A drop in coal loadings, indicating a drop in demand for coal by electric utilities, accounted for a large portion of the decline.

Intermodal freight, which moves in containers or trailers, dropped 4 percent.

by CNB