AAR: North American Rail Volume Flat Through Week 7
Written by Carolina Worrell, Senior Editor
Through the first seven weeks of 2024 (ending Feb. 17), total North American carload and intermodal traffic was down 0.2%—virtually flat—compared with the same point last year, according to the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) Feb. 21 report. While Mexico saw a gain, Canada experienced a decline and U.S. traffic was virtually flat.
North American rail volume for the first six weeks of this year on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads came in at 4,443,897 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers. Cumulative volume in the U.S. was 3,190,248 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.7% from 2023; in Canada, 1,069,472 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.0%; and in Mexico, 184,177 carloads and intermodal units, up 6.7%.
For the week ending Feb. 17, 2024, U.S. Class I railroads hauled a total of 474,226 carloads and intermodal units, rising 3.7% from the prior-year period, according to AAR. This comprises 220,529 carloads, down 6.0% from 2023, and 253,697 containers and trailers, up 7.9% compared with last year.
Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included miscellaneous carloads, up 1,983 carloads, to 9,616; chemicals, up 1,543 carloads, to 33,899; and motor vehicles and parts, up 1,187 carloads, to 14,849. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 were coal, down 7,122 carloads, to 59,534; nonmetallic minerals, down 652 carloads, to 27,126; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 122 carloads, to 9,467.
U.S. railroads for the first seven weeks of this year reported cumulative volume of 1,466,059 carloads, decreasing 5.6% from the same point in 2023; and 1,724,189 intermodal units, increasing 6.7% from 2023.
North American rail volume for the week ending February 17, 2024, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 331,196 carloads, down 1.0% compared with the same week last year, and 337,305 intermodal units, up 7.6% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 668,501 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.2%.
Canadian railroads reported 92,737 carloads for the week ending Feb. 17, 2024, down 3.0%, and 70,767 intermodal units, up 5.0% compared with the same week in 2023.
Mexican railroads reported 17,930 carloads for the week ending Feb. 17, 2024, up 5.0% compared with the same week last year, and 12,841 intermodal units, up 19.2%.
