U.S. rail traffic starts out slow in 2020

U.S. freight railroads started out the new year the same way they ended the old one — with a dip in weekly traffic volume.

U.S. rail traffic declined 5.1 percent to 414,014 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Jan. 4, compared with the same period last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Total carloads for the week fell 2.8 percent to 215,564 units, while intermodal volume dropped 7.4 percent to 198,450 containers and trailers.

Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2019. They were chemicals, up 1,093 carloads to 31,006; petroleum and petroleum products, up 997 carloads to 13,063; and miscellaneous carloads, up 282 carloads to 7,543.

Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included nonmetallic minerals, down 2,836 carloads to 22,803; motor vehicles and parts, down 2,210 carloads to 7,004; and coal, down 1,103 carloads, to 69,757.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads posted a slight increase in traffic for the week, with 132,348 carloads, containers and trailers, up 1 percent. However, traffic on Mexican railroads fell 18.2 percent to 23,311 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers.

Combined, North American rail volume for the week fell 4.4 percent to 569,673 carloads and intermodal units.