U.S. freight-rail traffic down 15.6 percent in Week 23

U.S. railroads logged a 15.6 percent decrease in carload and intermodal volumes during the week ending June 6 compared with the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Railroads posted 192,494 carloads for the week, down 22 percent, and 240,677 intermodal containers and trailers, down 9.6 percent. Combined, traffic totaled 433,171 carloads and intermodal units for the week.

AAR also reported the number of carloads handled by Class Is during the week compared with 2019: BNSF Railway Co., 75,648 versus 92,233; CN, 50,773 versus 66,588; Canadian Pacific, 29,416 versus 33,368; CSX, 51,479 versus 70,058; Kansas City Southern, 11,910 versus 14,113; Norfolk Southern Railway, 42,352 versus 65,415; and Union Pacific Railroad, 67,175 versus 87,990.

None of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks weekly posted an increase during the week. Decreases included coal, down 22,981 carloads to 48,689; metallic ores and metals, down 9,054 to 13,3939; and motor vehicles and parts, down 6,386 to 9,365.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads logged 68,464 carloads for the week, down 18.7 percent, and 63,886 intermodal units, down 8.4 percent. Mexican railroads reported 18,066 carloads, down 18.6 percent, and 14,714 intermodal units, down 18.3 percent.

For the first 23 weeks of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019:

• U.S. railroads logged 10,333,558 carloads and intermodal units, down 13.1 percent;
• Canadian railroads reported 3,192,067 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.6 percent; and
• Mexican railroads posted 770,890 carloads and intermodal units, down 9.8 percent.