AAR: All 10 carload groups post YOY rail traffic increase

For the week ending May 15, total U.S. rail traffic was 533,872 carloads and intermodal units, up 28.3% compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Total carloads for the week were 242,806, up 31.6%, while U.S. intermodal volume was 291,066 containers and trailers, up 25.6%.

All 10 carload commodity groups tracked by AAR on a weekly basis posted a year-over-year (YOY) increase. They included coal, up 22,374 carloads, to 68,327; motor vehicles and parts, up 9,598 carloads, to 12,466; and metallic ores and metals, up 9,592 carloads, to 23,686. 

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 78,290 carloads for the week, up 21.6%, and 77,499 intermodal units, up 15.9%. Mexican railroads reported 20,431 carloads, up 28.4%, and 16,205 intermodal units, up 7.9%.

For the first 19 weeks of 2021 compared with the same week in 2020:
• U.S. rail traffic totaled 9,713,616 carloads and intermodal units, up 12.1;
• Canadian rail traffic totaled 2,883,730 carloads, containers and trailers, up 8%; and
• Mexican rail traffic totaled 693,512 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 5.8%.