AAR: Carloads Down, Intermodal Up in Week 23
Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
Photograph Courtesy of CN, via Twitter
U.S. rail traffic for the week ending June 8, 2024 (Week 23) was up 4.1% from the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported June 12.
U.S. Class I railroads hauled 489,916 carloads and intermodal units, comprising 218,234 carloads, down 4.4%, and 271,682 containers and trailers, up 12.2%, according to AAR.
For the week ending June 8, six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included grain, up 2,350 carloads, to 18,912; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,836 carloads, to 11,102; and farm products excl. grain, and food, up 1,556 carloads, to 17,436. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 included coal, down 10,298 carloads, to 54,797; nonmetallic minerals, down 3,999 carloads, to 30,879; and metallic ores and metals, down 1,903 carloads, to 19,224.
For the first 23 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 4,901,744 carloads, down 5.0% from the same point last year; and 5,840,146 intermodal units, up 8.8% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 23 weeks of 2024 was 10,741,890 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 2.0% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending June 8, 2024, on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 325,376 carloads, down 2.6% compared with the same week last year, and 354,865 intermodal units, up 8.3% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 680,241 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.8%. North American rail volume for the first 23 weeks of 2024 was 15,127,364 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.0% compared with 2023.
Canadian railroads reported 89,664 carloads for the week, up 3.7%, and 70,833 intermodal units, down 2.2% compared with the same week in 2023. For the first 23 weeks of 2024, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 3,705,477 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.7%.
Mexican railroads reported 17,478 carloads for the week, down 10.0% compared with the same week last year, and 12,350 intermodal units, down 4.7%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 23 weeks of 2024 was 679,997 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 8.6% from the same point last year.
