U.S. Rail Traffic Remains Flat in Week 20, AAR

(BNSF Photograph)

For the week ending May 18, 2024 (Week 20), total U.S. rail traffic came in at 474,886 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.9%—virtually flat—vs. the same week last year, according to a May 22 Association of American Railroads (AAR) report. It is the fourth consecutive week that carloads and intermodal containers and trailers combined were comparable to the prior-year periods.

Total rail traffic for the week ending May 18, 2024, comprised 214,092 carloads, down 4.8% from the same week last year, and 260,794 intermodal units, up 6.2% from 2023, according to the AAR.

Rail traffic results for three previous weeks were similar:

1. 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%—virtually flat—compared with the same week in 2023. This comprises 209,319 carloads, down 7.0% from last year, and 259,429 containers and trailers, up 7.7% compared with last year.
2. For the week ending May 4, 2024, U.S. Class I’s hauled a total of 463,106 carloads and intermodal units—flat (0.0%) with the prior-year period. This comprises 213,410 carloads, down 5.1% from 2023, and 249,696 containers and trailers, up 4.9% from 2023.
3. For the week ending April 27, 2024, total U.S. rail traffic was 476,302 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.7%—virtually flat—compared with the same week last year; carloads came in at 214,414, down 6.4%, and containers and trailers came in at 261,888, up 7.5%.

According to the AAR, five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase for the week ending May 18, 2024, compared with the same week last year. They included grain, up 2,004 carloads, to 19,917; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,007 carloads, to 10,330; and chemicals, up 714 carloads, to 32,294. Commodity groups that posted declines included coal, down 12,113 carloads, to 50,520; metallic ores and metals, down 1,872 carloads, to 20,570; and nonmetallic minerals, down 1,137 carloads, to 31,798.

For the first 20 weeks of this year, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 4,259,530 carloads, decreasing 4.9% from the same point in 2023; and 5,057,135 intermodal units, rising 8.5% from 2023. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 20 weeks of this year was 9,316,665 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.0% gain over 2023.

North American rail volume for the week ending May 18, 2024, on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 323,396 carloads, dipping 1.4% from the prior-year period, and 346,036 intermodal units, increasing 4.5% percent from the same point last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 669,432 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.6%. North American rail volume for the first 20 weeks of this year came in at 13,150,619 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 2.1% over 2023.

Canadian railroads reported 92,669 carloads for the week ending May 18, 2024, a 5.7% increase, and 72,537 intermodal units, a 2.6% fall-off compared with the same week last year. For the first 20 weeks of 2024, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 3,229,985 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.9%—or virtually flat with the prior-year period.

For the week ending May 18, 2024, Mexican railroads reported 16,635 carloads, a 7.9% bump-up from the same week last year, and 12,705 intermodal units, a 15.8% jump. Their cumulative volume for the first 20 weeks of 2024 was 603,969 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, rising 10.9% from the same point last year.