AAR reports rail traffic decline for week ending August 24, 2019

(Source: Association of American Railroads press release, August 28, 2019) 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending August 24, 2019.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 532,483 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.9 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending August 24 were 261,031 carloads, down 5.3 percent compared with the same week in 2018, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 271,452 containers and trailers, down 6.5 percent compared to 2018.

Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2018. They included miscellaneous carloads, up 961 carloads, to 10,973; petroleum and petroleum products, up 888 carloads, to 12,212; and motor vehicles and parts, up 609 carloads, to 17,422. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2018 included coal, down 10,166 carloads, to 81,319; metallic ores and metals, down 4,003 carloads, to 21,435; and forest products, down 1,093 carloads, to 9,743.

For the first 34 weeks of 2019, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 8,603,107 carloads, down 3.4 percent from the same point last year; and 9,055,095 intermodal units, down 3.8 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 34 weeks of 2019 was 17,658,202 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.6 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending August 24, 2019, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 365,385 carloads, down 4.2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 361,888 intermodal units, down 5.4 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 727,273 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.8 percent. North American rail volume for the first 34 weeks of 2019 was 24,082,771 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.5 percent compared with 2018.

Canadian railroads reported 83,339 carloads for the week, down 2.1 percent, and 73,322 intermodal units, up 0.9 percent compared with the same week in 2018. For the first 34 weeks of 2019, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,150,995 carloads, containers and trailers, up 1.9 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 21,015 carloads for the week, up 1.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 17,114 intermodal units, down 13.2 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 34 weeks of 2019 was 1,273,574 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 3.4 percent from the same point last year.

Friday, August 30, 2019