AAR: Total Carload, Intermodal Volume Flat for Week 16

(Union Pacific Photograph)

U.S. rail traffic for the week ending April 20, 2024 (Week 16), came in at 474,544 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.8%—virtually flat—compared with the same week last year, based on 216,945 carloads—down 6.7% from 2023—and intermodal volume of 257,599 containers and trailers—up 8.2%, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported April 24.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase for the week ending April 20, 2024, compared with prior-year period, according to AAR. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 2,236 carloads, to 16,877; petroleum and petroleum products, up 2,119 carloads, to 10,754; and forest products, up 686 carloads, to 8,427. Commodity groups that posted declines were coal, down 20,796 carloads, to 47,472; nonmetallic minerals, down 854 carloads, to 31,781; and metallic ores and metals, down 704 carloads, to 21,100.

For the first 16 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 3,408,295 carloads, down 4.6% from the same period last year; and 4,025,328 intermodal units, up 9.1% from 2023. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 16 weeks of this year was 7,433,623 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.3% rise over 2023.

North American rail volume for the week ending April 20, 2024, on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 330,830 carloads, dipping 4.1% from the year-earlier period, and 346,266 intermodal units, increasing 7.1% from last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 677,096 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.3%. North American rail volume for the first 16 weeks of this year came in at 10,466,666 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.1% from 2023.

For the week ending April 20, 2024, Canadian railroads reported 96,737 carloads, a 3.8% gain, and 75,954 intermodal units, a 6.0% gain over the the same week last year. For the first 16 weeks of 2024, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 2,556,647 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.3% from 2023.

Mexican railroads reported 17,148 carloads for the week ending April 20, 2024, a 11.2% fall-off compared with the same week last year, and 12,713 intermodal units, a 6.8% drop. Their cumulative volume for the first 16 weeks of this year came in at 476,396 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 9.0% from the same point in 2023.