U.S. rail traffic up almost 4% in Week 7

U.S rail traffic climbed 3.7% to 474,226 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Feb. 17 compared with the same week last year, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Carloads totaled 220,529 units, down 0.6%, while intermodal volume totaled 253,697 containers and trailers, up 7.9%.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks every week posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included miscellaneous carloads, up 26% to 9,616; chemicals, up 4.8% to 33,899; and motor vehicles and parts, up 8.7% to 14,849.

Commodity groups that posted decreases were coal, down 10.7% to 59,534; nonmetallic minerals, down 2.3% to 27,126; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 1.3% to 9,467.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads posted 92,737 carloads for the week, down 3%, and 70,767 intermodal units, up 5%. Mexican railroads logged 17,930 carloads in the week, up 5%. and 12,841 intermodal units, up 19.2%.

For the first seven weeks of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023:

• U.S. railroads reported 3,190,248 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.7%;
• Canadian railroads posted 1,069,472 carloads, containers and trailers, down 4%; and
• Mexican railroads reported 184,177 carloads, containers and trailers, up 6.7%.