Intermodal Registers Double-Digit Gain: AAR

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-in-Chief
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For the week ending Nov. 14, 2020, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 527,462 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.2% compared with the same week last year, based on a double-digit intermodal gain, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Nov. 18. Total carloads were 232,146, down 3.1% compared with the same week in 2019, but U.S. weekly intermodal volume, at 295,316 containers and trailers, rose 12.9% compared to 2019.

Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2019. They included grain, up 6,783 carloads, to 29,123; farm products excluding grain, and food, up 1,046 carloads, to 16,384; and metallic ores and metals, up 587 carloads, to 19,581. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included coal, down 12,148 carloads, to 60,414; petroleum and petroleum products, down 3,211 carloads, to 10,744; and nonmetallic minerals, down 1,125 carloads, to 29,067.

For the first 46 weeks of 2020, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 9,941,003 carloads, down 14.1% from the same point last year; and 11,793,296 intermodal units, down 3.7% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 46 weeks of 2020 was 21,734,299 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 8.8% compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending November 14, 2020, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 331,165 carloads, down 3.5% compared with the same week last year, and 387,035 intermodal units, up 12.2% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 718,200 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.4%. North American rail volume for the first 46 weeks of 2020 was 29,906,034 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.2% compared with 2019.

Canadian railroads reported 79,874 carloads for the week, down 3.9%, and 77,390 intermodal units, up 18.9% compared with the same week in 2019. For the first 46 weeks of 2020, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,580,548 carloads, containers and trailers, down 5.7%.

Mexican railroads reported 19,145 carloads for the week, down 7% compared with the same week last year, and 14,329 intermodal units, down 21.4%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 46 weeks of 2020 was 1,591,187 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 10.3% from the same point last year. 

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