North American rail traffic slump continues

The decline in U.S. freight-rail traffic continued in Week 42, with railroads logging 507,381 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.6 percent compared with the same week last year, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

U.S. railroads reported total carloads for the week ending Oct. 19 were 245,002 units, down 7.8 percent, and 262,379 intermodal containers and trailers, down 9.3 percent.

Only two of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks on a weekly basis logged increases: Chemicals were up 954 carloads to 31,720; and petroleum and petroleum products were up 757 carloads to 12,718.

Commodity groups that posted decreases during the week included coal, down 10,991 carloads to 75,083; metallic ores and metals, down 3,640 carloads to 19,706; and motor vehicles and parts, down 2,456 carloads to 14,749.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 78,199 carloads for the week, down 10.5 percent, and 68,414 intermodal units, down 4.6 percent compared with the same week in 2018. Mexican railroads logged 19,759 carloads for the week, down 7.2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 19,044 intermodal units, down 2.5 percent.

For the first 42 weeks of 2019 versus the same period in 2018:
• U.S. railroads posted 21,787,434 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.2 percent;
• Canadian railroads logged 6,370,915 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.9 percent;
• Mexican railroads reported 1,586,192 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 2.8 percent; and
• North American railroads reported a combined 29,744,541 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.1 percent.