AAR: total U.S. weekly traffic down 5.3%

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reports for the week ending August 13, 2016, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 534,533 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.3% compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending August 13 were 267,589 carloads, down 7.1% compared with the same week in 2015, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 266,944 containers and trailers, down 3.4% compared to 2015.

Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2015. They were grain, up 27.6% to 25,232 carloads; chemicals, up 4.3% to 30,447 carloads; and miscellaneous carloads, up 0.5% to 9,999 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2015 included petroleum and petroleum products, down 25.2% to 10,484 carloads; coal, down 16.4% to 88,905 carloads; and forest products, down 7.5% to 10,281 carloads.

For the first 32 weeks of 2016, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 7,856,178 carloads, down 11.6% from the same point last year; and 8,245,937 intermodal units, down 2.8% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 32 weeks of 2016 was 16,102,115 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 7.3% compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending August 13, 2016, on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 352,145 carloads, down 6.9% compared with the same week last year, and 339,846 intermodal units, down 3.6% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 691,991 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.3%. North American rail volume for the first 32 weeks of 2016 was 21,059,166 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.1% compared with 2015.

Canadian railroads reported 69,369 carloads for the week, down 5.7%, and 61,971 intermodal units, down 3.6% compared with the same week in 2015. For the first 32 weeks of 2016, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 4,097,074 carloads, containers and trailers, down 7.3%.

Mexican railroads reported 15,187 carloads for the week, down 10.1% compared with the same week last year, and 10,931 intermodal units, down 7.3%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 32 weeks of 2016 was 859,977 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 1.8% from the same point last year.