The above chart is from Railfax and it shows that rail traffic increase in the third quarter. The reason this is important is simple: when an economy increases activity it has to ship more stuff from point A to point B. The increase in activity is a good overall sign, which explain why the above chart is so important.
The year over year chart shows a decline but a decline that is decreasing. Also note this is a great example of the shortcomings of year over year statistics at turning points. The first chart shows an increase in the 3rd quarter from 2nd quarter levels. This is a good indicator for the third quarter and adds yet another indicator that the economy is coming out of a recession.
