AAR: Traffic decline continued in Week 28

U.S. freight-rail traffic declined 14.9 percent to 449,092 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending July 11 compared with the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroad (AAR) data.

Total carloads fell 22.7 percent to 201,703, while intermodal volume slipped 7.4 percent to 247,389 containers and trailers.

None of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks on a weekly basis posted an increase. Among the largest decreases were metallic ores and metals, down 41.6 percent to 13,884 carloads; coal, down 36.1 percent to 51,684 carloads; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 23 percent to 10,085 carloads.

Individual Class Is posted the following carload volume for the week: BNSF Railway Co., 71,295 carloads, down from 100,575 in 2019; CN, 51,990 carloads, down from 63,084; Canadian Pacific, 28,269 carloads, down from 33,624; CSX, 57,727 carloads, down from 64,847; Kansas City Southern, 12,590 carloads, down from 14,610; Norfolk Southern Railway, 49,618 carloads, down from 64,143; and Union Pacific Railroad, 77,073 carloads, down from 96,556.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads logged 68,300 carloads for the week, down 16.5 percent, and 65,797 intermodal units, down 8 percent. Mexican railroads posted 19,805 carloads, down 7.2 percent, and 16,005 containers and trailers, down 13.3 percent.

For the first 28 weeks of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019:
• U.S. railroads logged 12,586,657 carloads and intermodal units, down 12.9 percent;
• Canadian railroads reported 3,865,702 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.5 percent; and
• Mexican railroads posted 942,696 carloads and intermodal units, down 10.8 percent.