U.S. freight-rail traffic fell nearly 14% in Week 48

U.S. freight railroads hauled 439,362 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending Nov. 30, a 13.8% decrease compared with traffic levels in the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads data.

The railroads moved 189,746 carloads, down 19.9%, while intermodal volume totaled 249,616 containers and trailers, down 8.5%. The week included the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Only one of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks every week posted an increase: Miscellaneous carloads climbed 3.1% to 7,833 carloads. Included in the nine commodity groups that posted decreases were coal, down 23.7% to 52,126 carloads; nonmetallic minerals, down 29.2% to 20,496; and metallic ores and metals, down 26.7% to 15,991.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 88,468 carloads for the week, down 9.5%, and 69,976 intermodal units, down 1.4%. Mexican railroads logged 14,002 carloads for the week, up 3.3%, and 12,230 intermodal units, up 6.5%.

For the first 48 weeks of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023:
• U.S. railroads logged 23,217,914 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.2%;
• Canadian railroads reported 7,607,064 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.9%; and
• Mexican railroads posted 1,370,721 carloads, containers and trailers, up 3%.