AAR: Rail traffic down in U.S., Canada and Mexico in Week 12

Total U.S. rail traffic continued its downward trend for the week ending March 26, as railroads logged 470,271 carloads and intermodal units, down 16.5 percent compared with the same week last year, according to the Association of American Railroads.

Total carloads for the week decreased 18.5 percent, compared with the same week in 2015, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume fell 14.5 percent.

Two of the 10 carload commodity groups that showed increases during the week were miscellaneous carloads, up 18.5 percent; and motor vehicles and parts, up 0.1 percent. Commodity groups that posted decreases for the week included coal, down down 37.8 percent; petroleum and petroleum products, down 22.1 percent; and grain, down 16.1 percent.

Canadian and Mexican railroads also posted declines in carloads and intermodal units for the week. Canadian railroads reported 70,891 carloads, down 13.8 percent, and 51,488 intermodal units, down 18.7 percent compared with the same week in 2015. Mexican railroads reported 13,204 carloads, down 25.1 percent compared with the same week last year, and 6,973 intermodal units, down 34.8 percent.

For the first 12 weeks of 2016, U.S. railroads logged cumulative volume of 2,905,113 carloads, down 13.7 percent from the same point last year; and 3,085,831 intermodal units, up 2.2 percent from last year. Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 1,540,562 carloads, containers and trailers, down 5.3 percent for the period.

Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 12 weeks of 2016 was 316,610 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 1.6 percent from the same point last year.