U.S. freight-rail traffic rose 3.3% last week

U.S. freight railroads logged a 3.3% increase in traffic during the week ending July 6 compared with the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads data.

The railroads hauled 421,817 carloads, containers and trailers last week. However, carload volume declined 1.2% to 195,030 units, while intermodal volume rose 7.6% to 226,787 containers and trailers.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks every week posted increases during the week. They included grain, up 36.8% to 17,486; chemicals, up 7.1% to 30,552; and forest products, up 11.2% to 7,955.

Commodity groups that posted decreases included coal, -13.3% to 50,700; nonmetallic minerals, -11.1% to 26,710; and motor vehicles and parts, -2% to 10,646.

Also during the week, Canadian railroads reported carload volume rose 6.8% and intermodal traffic soared 71.5%. Mexican railroads reported carload activity fell 11.6%, while intermodal activity dipped 0.4%.

For the first 27 weeks of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023:
• U.S. railroads reported 12,634,301 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.3%;
• Canadian railroads reported 4,344,255 carloads, containers and trailers, up 1.6%; and
• Mexican railroads logged 802,575 carloads, containers and trailers, up 7%.