U.S. freight-rail traffic rose 25.6% in Week 47

U.S. freight-rail traffic climbed 25.6% to 520,798 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending Nov. 23 compared with traffic results in the same week in 2023, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Railroads hauled 230,036 carloads during the week, a 17.6% increase, and 290,762 containers and trailers, a 32.8% jump from the same week in 2023.

Nine of the 10 carload commodities that AAR tracks every week logged an increase during the week. Gainers included nonmetallic minerals, up 39% to 29,904 carloads; chemicals, up 22.6% to 33,785; and grain, up 31.8% to 23,647. Coal was the commodity group that posted a decrease: Coal traffic fell 4.8% to 58,189 carloads in the week.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 94,750 carloads for the week, up 3.7%, and 69,364 intermodal units, up 0.2%. Mexican railroads reported 14,177 carloads, a 13.5% increase, and 12,801 intermodal units, a 28.8% gain.

For the first 47 weeks of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023:
• U.S. railroads reported 22,778,552 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.6%;
• Canadian railroads posted 7,448,620 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.7%; and
• Mexican railroads logged 1,344,489 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.9%.