North American railroad volume slips a tad so far in 2015

North American rail volume for the first 32 weeks of 2015 was barely steady, declining 0.5 percent compared with the same period last year, according to data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Thirteen U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads reported a combined rail traffic volume of 22,655,831 carloads and intermodal units for the year through Aug. 15. For the week, the railroads posted 378,436 carloads, down 5.8 percent compared with the same week in 2014, and 352,114 intermodal units, up 2.3 percent.

For the 32-week period this year, U.S. railroads posted total combined traffic of 17,370,957 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.1 percent compared with the traffic volume during the same period a year ago.

U.S. railroads logged weekly traffic of 288,059 carloads, a 5.2 percent decrease compared with the same week last year. However, U.S. weekly intermodal volume was up 2.3 percent to 276,443 containers and trailers. Total U.S. traffic for the week was 564,502 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.7 percent compared with the year-ago period.

Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 4,418,991 carloads, containers and trailers, up 1.2 percent for the first 32 weeks of this year compared with the same period a year ago. For the week ending Aug. 15, Canadian railroads reported 73,297 carloads, down 10.2 percent, and 64,361 intermodal units, up 3.6 percent compared with the same week in 2014.

Mexican railroads logged cumulative volume of 865,883 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers for the first 32 weeks of the year, a 2.2 percent increase from the same point last year. For the week ending Aug. 15, Mexican railroads reported 17,080 carloads, down 5.6 percent, and 11,310 intermodal units, down 3.3 percent compared with the same week last year.