AAR: All U.S. rail commodities logged gains in Week 2

U.S. railroads’ traffic shot up 8.4 percent to 555,127 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending Jan. 12 compared with volumes reported for the same period a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Carload traffic jumped 10.3 percent to 266,240 units while intermodal volume climbed 6.8 percent to 288,887 units.

All 10 of the carload commodity groups the AAR follows on a weekly basis posted increases for the week, including coal, up 11,218 carloads to 87,228; metallic ores and metals, up 3,967 carloads to 24,490; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 2,920 carloads to 13,925.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 84,517 carloads in Week 2, up 13.3 percent, and 72,357 intermodal units, up 14.2 percent compared with the same 2018 period. Mexican railroads posted 9,718 carloads, down 5.6 percent, and 18,726 intermodal units, down 1 percent.

Through the first two weeks of 2019:
• U.S. railroads reported total combined traffic of 991,230 carloads and intermodal units, up 6.8 percent year over year;
• Canadian railroads reported cumulative traffic of 287,738 carloads, containers and trailers, up 11.8 percent; and
• Mexican railroads reported cumulative volume of 66,925 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.6 percent.