U.S., Canadian railroads post traffic gain in Week 21

U.S. railroads moved 548,103 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending May 27, a 6.7 percent increase compared with the same week in 2016, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

The railroads logged 266,564 carloads, up 8 percent, and 281,539 intermodal containers and trailers, up 5.4 percent, compared with the same week a year ago.

Four of 10 carload commodity groups posted increases during the week compared with last year's results. They included grain, up 26.9 percent to 24,740 carloads; coal, up 25.3 percent to 82,481 carloads; and nonmetallic minerals, up 11.4 percent to 39,421 carloads.

Commodity groups reporting decreases compared with the same week in 2016 included petroleum and petroleum products, down 19.7 percent to 9,857 carloads; miscellaneous carloads, down 6.7 percent to 10,365 carloads; and motor vehicles and parts, down 6.2 percent to 17,720 carloads.

Canadian railroads also were busier in Week 21, posting 75,985 carloads for the week, up 16.1 percent, and 63,564 intermodal units, up 12.5 percent compared with the same week in 2016.

Mexican railroads logged mixed results for the week ending May 27. Carload volume declined 2.8 percent to 17,592 units, but intermodal volume rose 5.2 percent to 11,737 units compared with year-ago figures.

For the first 21 weeks of 2017 compared with the year-ago period, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 10,912,383 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.2 percent; Canadian railroads posted cumulative volume of 2,983,034 carloads, containers and trailers, up 10.9 percent; and Mexican railroads logged 556,039 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 2.1 percent.