AAR: Carload, Intermodal Upticks for Week 8

(Photograph Courtesy of Norfolk Southern)

U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Feb. 24, 2024 (Week 8), came in at 483,656 carloads and intermodal units, rising 7.7% from the same week last year, based on 224,251 carloads—up 2.6% from 2023—and intermodal volume of 259,405 containers and trailers—up 12.6%, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Feb. 28.

The last time both carloads and intermodal units saw upticks was the week ending Feb. 3, 2024 (Week 5), when U.S. Class I railroads hauled 222,213 carloads—a 6.3% increase from the prior-year period—and 269,484 containers and trailers—a 16.5% gain. The previous two weeks (Week 6 and Week 7) each saw carloads decline and intermodal rise over the 2023 periods.

According to the AAR, seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase for the week ending Feb. 24, 2024, compared with the same week in 2023. They included chemicals, up 2,776 carloads, to 33,454; grain, up 2,470 carloads, to 21,698; and motor vehicles and parts, up 2,196 carloads, to 15,931. Commodity groups that posted decreases were coal, down 2,561 carloads, to 61,556; nonmetallic minerals, down 1,968 carloads, to 27,533; and forest products, down 150 carloads, to 8,460.

For the first eight weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 1,690,310 carloads, falling 4.6% from the same point last year; and 1,983,594 intermodal units, increasing 7.4% from 2023. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first eight weeks of this year came in at 3,673,904 carloads and intermodal units, 1.5% higher than last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending Feb. 24, 2024, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 336,833 carloads, rising 3.5% from the same week last year, and 341,906 intermodal units, gaining 10.8% over last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 678,739 carloads and intermodal units, a 7.1% rise. North American rail volume for the first eight weeks of this year was 5,122,636 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.7% from 2023.

Canadian railroads reported 94,066 carloads for the week ending Feb. 24, 2024, a 5.8% increase, and 69,511 intermodal units, a 4.3% gain compared with the same week last year. For the first eight weeks of this year, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 1,233,049 carloads, containers and trailers, a 2.8% drop-off.

Mexican railroads reported 18,516 carloads for the week ending Feb. 24, 2024, a 3.2% boost over the same week last year, and 12,990 intermodal units, a 14.0% increase. Their cumulative volume for the first eight weeks of this year was 215,683 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 6.8% from the year-earlier period.