AAR said 13 of the 20 carload commodity groups it measures posted increases compared with the same week in 2010, including: Crushed stone, sand and gravel, up 20.5%; lumber and wood products, up 19.9%; and metal products, up 17.5%. Among declining groups, grain fell 16%, farm products excluding grain retreated 15.9k%, and metallic ores notched a 15.6% decline.

Canadian freight carload volume for the week was nearly identical to the U.S. advance in percentage terms, up 2.9% compared with the same week a year ago. Canadian intermodal volume advanced even more, up 7.5% compared to a year ago. Mexican freight carload volume advanced modestly, up 0.5%, compared with the same week last year, but Mexican intermodal volume rose a robust 27.5%.

Combined North American freight carload volume for the first 48 weeks of 2011 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads was up 2.1% measured against the comparable period in 2010. Combined intermodal volume from the three nations was up 4.9%.