AAR: U.S. Rail Traffic Still Down

Written by Andrew Corselli
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The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ended August 10, 2019, and it’s still trending in the wrong direction—though the U.S.'s neighbor to the north saw a slight uptick.

For this week—and as we’ve recently seen—total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 533,190 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.3% compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ended August 10 were 261,194 carloads, down 3.9% compared with the same week in 2018, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 271,996 containers and trailers, down 4.6% compared to 2018.

Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2018. They were nonmetallic minerals, up 3,624 carloads, to 41,976; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,543 carloads, to 13,424; and miscellaneous carloads, up 754 carloads, to 10,195. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2018 included commodities such as coal, down 13,332 carloads, to 77,300; metallic ores and metals, down 1,483 carloads, to 22,347; and forest products, down 577 carloads, to 10,020.

For the first 32 weeks of 2019, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 8,077,512 carloads, down 3.2% from the same point last year; and 8,510,590 intermodal units, down 3.7% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 32 weeks of 2019 was 16,588,102 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.5% compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ended August 10, 2019, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 362,326 carloads, down 2.5% compared with the same week last year, and 362,549 intermodal units, down 2.9% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 724,875 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.7%. North American rail volume for the first 32 weeks of 2019 was 22,621,227 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.3% compared with 2018.

Canadian railroads reported 81,027 carloads for the week, up 1.5%, and 71,476 intermodal units, up 3.6% compared with the same week in 2018. For the first 32 weeks of 2019, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 4,836,907 carloads, containers and trailers, up 2%.

Mexican railroads reported 20,105 carloads for the week, up 1.6% compared with the same week last year, and 19,077 intermodal units, down 1.2%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 32 weeks of 2019 was 1,196,218 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 3.3% from the same point last year.

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