Carloads continued to slump for U.S., Canadian roads in week No. 23

In the week ending June 11, U.S. railroads logged 513,471 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.5 percent compared with total traffic volume from the same week last year, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
 
Carloads totaling 248,039 fell 8.7 percent, while intermodal volume totaling 265,432 containers and trailers dropped 6.3 percent.
 
Only four of the 10 carload commodity groups tracked by the AAR posted gains, including miscellaneous carloads, up 16.4 percent, farm products and food excluding grain, up 2 percent, and grain, up 0.6 percent. Commodity groups that posted declines included petroleum and petroleum products, down 23.5 percent, coal, down 18.3 percent, and metallic ores and metals, down 9.9 percent.

In the week ending June 11, BNSF Railway Co.'s carloads fell 10.5 percent year over year to 87,225 units. Photo: BNSF

Canadian rail traffic figures for the week ending June 11 show carloads fell 7.5 percent to 68,428 units and intermodal volume plunged 8.4 percent to 58,207 units compared with the same week in 2015. Mexican railroads reported 17,339 carloads, up 3.4 percent, and 11,656 intermodal units, up 1 percent.

Through 2016’s first 23 weeks, U.S. railroads registered 1,436,771 carloads and intermodal units, down 8 percent; Canadian railroads reported 2,937,706 total units, down 7.6 percent; and Mexican railroads logged 622,285 total units, a flat amount compared with the same 2015 period.