AAR: U.S. rail traffic falls 4.7 percent in Week No. 45

Total U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Nov. 14 continued a familiar pattern, with both carload and intermodal numbers down compared with the same week a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

U.S. carloads for the week declined 8.7 percent to 270,793, while U.S. intermodal volume slipped 0.3 percent to 272,888 containers and trailers compared with the same week in 2014. Combined, U.S. rail traffic fell 4.7 percent to 543,681 carloads and intermodal units.

Carload commodity groups that recorded a decrease in the week compared with a year ago included metallic ores and metals, down 22.9; petroleum and petroleum products, down 16.8 percent; and coal, down 14.5 percent. Three of 10 carload commodity groups posted increases: miscellaneous carloads, up 19.8 percent; motor vehicles and parts, up 3.3 percent; and chemicals, up 0.1 percent.

Canadian railroads reported 74,583 carloads for the week, down 10.1 percent, and 59,639 intermodal units, up 6.1 percent compared with the same week in 2014. Mexican railroads logged 14,841 carloads for the week, down 1.8 percent compared with the same week last year, and 11,341 intermodal units, up 4.1 percent.

For the first 45 weeks of the year, U.S. railroads posted cumulative volume of 12,548,012 carloads, down 4.8 percent from the same point last year. But on the up side, intermodal traffic for the period rose 1.9 percent to 12,046,567 units so far this year.

Canadian railroads' cumulative rail traffic volume for the first 45 weeks was 6,196,320 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.8 percent; Mexican railroads' cumulative volume for the period was 1,226,319 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 1.4 percent from the same point last year.

North American rail volume for the first 45 weeks of 2015 was 32,017,218 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.3 percent compared with 2014.