U.S. freight carload traffic edged down 0.9% measured against the comparable week in 2012, while U.S. intermodal volume continued its robust activity, up 4% compared with the same week. AAR noted total U.S. traffic rose 1.3% for the week.

Four of the 10 reconfigured carload commodity groups AAR measures weekly posted increases compared 2012, perhaps not surprisingly led by petroleum products, up 46.5%. Commodities showing a decrease were led by grain, down 16.5%.

Canadian freight carload volume fared better than its U.S. counterpart, up 4.8% for the week ending March 9 measured against the comparable week in 2012. Canadian intermodal volume also rose, up 7.2%. Mexican freight carload volume also did well, up 13% for the week compared with 2012, while Mexican intermodal did even better in percentage terms, up 24.5%.

Combined North American freight carload volume for the 10 weeks of 2013 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, largely burdened by the U.S. sector's performance, was down 2% compared with the same point last year. Combined North American intermodal volume, by contrast, was up 7% for the period.