'Mad Money' Spotlight: Cramer Rides the Rails

"May marked the second straight month in which U.S. rail coal carloadings had double-digit declines, a consequence of lower electricity demand and higher coal stockpiles," AAR Senior Vice President John Gray said in a release at the time. "Industrial production is still down sharply across the board. That means lower demand for rail service for everything from chemicals and scrap metal to cement and ores. Basically, railroads are in a waiting game -- waiting for the economy to turn."

Most recently, the AAR reported last week that total volume for the week ending June 13th improved slightly compared to the prior week, but was still off 19% from levels reached at the same time last year. Of all the commodities tracked by the AAR, only farm products saw a slight uptick for the week, rising 4.8%. The business of transporting metals, on the other hand, fell hard by 61.4% compared to the year-ago period.

Whether or not the bottom has been reached is anyone's guess.

Shares of Union Pacific were down 4.4%, while Norfolk Southern joined Union Pacific in the red as well, down 4.8% by early afternoon. But both both companies are on a larger upswing for the past three months, with Union Pacific up nearly 30%, while Norfolk Southern has gained 21%.