North American rail volume dips a bit in Week 2

U.S. railroads hauled 457,453 carloads, containers and trailers in the week ending Jan. 13, a 4.1% decrease compared with the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads data.

Freight railroads in the United States moved 213,277 carloads, down 10.2%, for the week. However, the number of containers and trailers originated rose 1.9% to 244,176.

Three of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks every week posted increases. They were chemicals, up 8.5% to 33,076 carloads; petroleum and petroleum products, up 3.9% to 10,374; and forest products, up 1% to 8,193.

Commodity groups that posted decreases for the week included coal, down 15.7% to 58,478; grain, down -29.9% to 18,776; and nonmetallic minerals, down 15.1%, to 25,446.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 86,253 carloads for the week, a 10.8% decrease, and 64,295 intermodal units, an 8.3% decrease. Mexican railroads logged 17,345 carloads, a 19% increase, and 11,516 intermodal units, a 25.8% increase.

For the first two weeks of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023:
• U.S. railroads reported 874,710 carloads, containers and trailers, down 1.1%;
• Canadian railroads reported 295,353 carloads, containers and trailers, down 4.9%;
• Mexican railroads reported 52,645 carloads, containers and trailers, up 16.3%; and
• Rail volume for all three countries combined was 1,222,708 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.5%.