AAR: U.S. intermodal counts climb, carloads fall in December's first week

For the week ending Dec. 7, U.S. railroads reported 279,213 carloads, down 4.4 percent, and 262,765 intermodal loads, up 9.4 percent compared with volumes from the same week last year, according to the Association of American Railroads.

Total combined U.S. traffic rose 1.8 percent to 541,978 units. Five of 10 carload commodity groups posted gains, led by petroleum and petroleum products (18.6 percent), and grain (10.4 percent). Coal traffic declined 13.3 percent.

Canadian railroads reported weekly carloads totaling 76,505, down 4 percent, and intermodal volume totaling 54,485 units, up 5 percent year over year. Mexican railroads' weekly carloads ratcheted down 0.2 percent to 15,280 units and their intermodal volume tumbled 7.7 percent to 10,387 units.

Through 2013's first 49 weeks, 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads handled 18,432,337 carloads, up 0.3 percent, and 15,277,229 containers and trailers, up 4.3 percent compared with the same 2012 period.