Intermodal up, carloads down in latest week

For the week ending Feb. 6, 2016, North American freight rail traffic experienced a 10% gain in intermodal, and a corresponding drop in carloads, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Feb. 10, 2016.

North American rail volume for the week on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 327,122 carloads, down 10% compared with the same 2015 week, and 334,377 intermodal units, up 10% compared with last year. Total combined weekly North America rail traffic was 661,499 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.9%.

Total U.S. carloads for the week were 241,680, down 11.7% compared with the same week in 2015, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 262,830 containers and trailers, up 10.5%. Total U.S. rail volume for the week was 504, 510 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.4% compared with the same week in 2015. Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2015. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 24.6% to 19,216; miscellaneous, up 20.4% to 8,904; and grain, up 5% to 22,257. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2015 included coal, down 30.3% to 73,298; petroleum and petroleum products, down 16.8% to 11,980; and metallic ores and metals, down 8.7% to 18,737.

Canadian railroads reported 70,220 carloads for the week, down 7.3%, and 61,758 intermodal units, up 10%, compared with the same week in 2015. Mexican railroads reported 15,222 carloads, up 7.2%, and 9,789 intermodal units, down 2.1%.

Cumulative North American rail volume for the first five weeks of 2016 was 3,292,279 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.7% compared with 2015. U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 1,209,722 carloads, down 15.7%; and 1,302,451 intermodal units, up 4.8%. Cumulative U.S. traffic for the first five weeks of 2016 was 2,512,173 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 6.2%. Canadian railroads reported cumulative volume of 645,694 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.3%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first five weeks of 2016 was 134,412 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.7%.