U.S. railroads log carload, intermodal gains in Week 50

U.S. railroads reported a 3.9 percent increase in carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Dec. 15 compared with traffic levels reported for same week in 2017, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

U.S. railroads transported 267,534 carloads, up 1.4 percent, and 301,407 intermodal containers and trailers, up 6.2 percent year over year.

Five of the 10 carload commodity groups that AAR tracks on a weekly basis posted increases. They included coal, up 3,262 carloads to 91,218; petroleum and petroleum products, up 2,897 carloads to 13,551; and metallic ores and metals, up 820 carloads to 23,929.

Commodity groups that posted decreases included nonmetallic minerals, down 2,078 carloads to 30,549; grain, down 1,030 carloads to 22,550; and motor vehicles and parts, down 340 carloads to 17,304.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported 84,550 carloads for the week, up 3.4 percent, and 72,894 intermodal units, up 5.2 percent compared with the same week in 2017. Mexican railroads logged 21,201 carloads for the week, down 2.3 percent, and 19,297 intermodal units, up 10.5 percent.

For the first 50 weeks of 2018:
• U.S. railroads reported 27,134,562 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.6 percent;
• Canadian railroads reported cumulative volume of 7,579,290 carloads, containers and trailers, up 3.8 percent; and
• Mexican railroads reported 1,941,477 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers.