U.S. railroads’ upward traffic trend continued in Week 23

(Source: Progressive Railroading 06/14/18)

U.S. rail traffic growth continued in the week ending June 9, with railroads logging 561,061 carloads and intermodal units, a 4.2 percent increase compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week rose 2.8 percent to 271,641 units, while intermodal volume climbed 5.6 percent to 289,420 containers and trailers compared with the same week in 2017.

The week’s intermodal volume was the second highest intermodal week in history, AAR officials said in a press release.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks on a weekly increase posted increases compared with the same week in 2017. They included metallic ores and metals, up 2,280 carloads to 24,350; nonmetallic minerals, up 2,270 carloads to 40,741; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,407 carloads to 11,008.

Commodity groups that logged decreases compared with a year ago were miscellaneous carloads, down 609 carloads to 10,089; forest products, down 255 carloads to 10,328; and coal, down 238 carloads to 85,160.

For the first 23 weeks of 2018, U.S. railroads moved 12,221,290 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.6 percent compared to last year.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 82,262 carloads for the week, up 6.2 percent, and 69,351 intermodal units, up 0.8 percent compared with the same week in 2017. For the first 23 weeks of 2018, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 3,379,007 carloads, containers and trailers, up 3.4 percent.

In Mexico, railroads moved 21,867 carloads for the week and 18,582 intermodal units during the week. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 23 weeks of 2018 was 873,349 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers. Mexican rail traffic data did not include 2017 comparisons.