U.S. freight-rail intermodal volume inches up for second straight week

(Source: Progressive Railroading 08/20/2020)

For a second consecutive week, U.S. railroads reported an increase in intermodal volume — a small bright spot in the nation’s still-declining freight-rail traffic compared with year-ago figures, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

The railroads posted 278,210 containers and trailers for the week ending Aug. 15, a 1.9 percent increase compared with the same week in 2019, AAR reported in a press release.

Carloads for the week totaled 222,353 units, down 15.9 percent. Combined, carload and intermodal volume fell 6.9 percent to 500,563 units.

Only one of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase: Grain was up 2,791 carloads to 22,582. 

Commodity groups that logged decreases included coal, down 26,473 carloads to 58,871; nonmetallic minerals, down 7,396 to 30,437; and metallic ores and metals, down 4,653 to 18,998.

Individual Class Is reported the following carload volume for the week compared with year-ago levels: BNSF Railway Co., 83,308 carloads, down from 102,368; CN, 56,601, down from 62,561; Canadian Pacific, 30,327, down from 34,745; CSX, 61,869, down from 70,694; Kansas City Southern, 14,433, down from 14,804; Norfolk Southern Railway, 52,928, down from 64,930; and Union Pacific Railroad, 80,523, down from 96,501.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 73,488 carloads for the week, down 9.6 percent, and 69,963 intermodal units, down 8.2 percent. Mexican railroads posted 19,505 carloads for the week, down 7.7 percent, and 16,457 intermodal units, down 14.1 percent.

For the first 33 weeks of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019:
• U.S. railroads reported 15,035,513 carloads and intermodal units, down 12.2 percent;
• Canadian railroads posted 4,572,449 carloads, containers and trailers, down 8.5 percent; and
• Mexican railroads logged 1,121,334 carloads and intermodal units, down 10.8 percent.