U.S. freight-rail traffic rose 8% in Week 33

U.S. freight-rail traffic climbed 8% to 516,819 carloads and intermodal units in the week ending Aug. 17 compared with the same week in 2023, according to Association of American Railroads data.

The railroads hauled 231,081 carloads in the week, a 1% increase, and 285,738 containers and trailers, a whopping 14.3% increase. Eight of the 10 carload commodities that AAR tracks every week logged an increase.

The gainers included grain, up 37.1% to 21,651; chemicals, up 6.4% to 33,599; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 19.6% to 11,267. The two commodities that posted decreases were coal, down 10.6% to 62,194 carloads; and nonmetallic minerals, down 6.2% to 31,897.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 86,349 carloads for the week, down 4.6%; and 69,111 intermodal units, down 2.6%. Mexican railroads reported 15,764 carloads, a 7.4% increase; and 12,415 intermodal units, a 49.1% increase.

For the first 33 weeks of 2024 compared to 2023:

• U.S. railroads reported 15,618,821 carloads and intermodal units,a 2.7% increase;
• Canadian railroads posted 5,270,427 carloads, containers and trailers, up 1.2%; and
• Mexican railroads logged 954,231 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.7%.