![“Thanks to Secretary Pete [Buttigieg], USDOT, the Federal Railroad Administration and all our partners for making the S-Line passenger rail a reality!!” NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins said in a July 1 LinkedIn post. “Thanks to the hard work of our NCDOT team we broke ground on the first construction project in the Raleigh to Wake Forest segment, a $19M project to grade separate Durant Road 7 months after the grant announcement!!” (Photograph Courtesy of Joey Hopkins)](https://www.railwayage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/slinelead-315x168.png)
AAR: North American Rail Volume Up Through Week 19
Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
(CSX photo)
Through the first 19 weeks of 2024 (ending May 11), total North American carload and intermodal traffic rose 2.0% from the same point last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported May 8. The U.S., Canada and Mexico all experienced gains.
North American rail volume for the first 19 weeks of this year on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads came in at 12,481,187 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers. Cumulative volume in the U.S. was 8,841,779 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.0% from 2023; in Canada, 3,064,779 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.9%; and in Mexico, 574,629 carloads and intermodal units, up 10.9%.
For the week ending May 11, 2024, U.S. Class I railroads moved a total of 468,748 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.6% compared with the same week last year, according to the AAR. This comprises 209,319 carloads, down 7.0% from 2023, and 259,429 containers and trailers, up 7.7% compared to 2023.
Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included chemicals, up 1,668 carloads, to 33,045; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,505 carloads, to 10,996; and miscellaneous carloads, up 1,132 carloads, to 8,639. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 included coal, down 16,549 carloads, to 46,715; nonmetallic minerals, down 2,291 carloads, to 31,457; and grain, down 1,610 carloads, to 17,226.
For the first 19 weeks of this year, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 4,045,438 carloads, down 4.9% from the same point last year; and 4,796,341 intermodal units, up 8.7% from last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending May 11, 2024, on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 321,482 carloads, down 2.6% compared with the year-ago period, and 345,901 intermodal units, up 7.4% from last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 667,383 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.3%.
For the week ending May 11, 2024, Canadian railroads reported 94,624 carloads, up 5.1%, and 73,591 intermodal units, up 4.1% compared with the same week in 2023.
Mexican railroads reported 17,539 carloads for the week ending May 11, 2024, up 15.8% compared with the same week last year, and 12,881 intermodal units, up 21.4%.
