Double-digit gains for intermodal, carloads
Written by Railway Age Staff
The Association of American Railroads reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Dec. 23 was 551,566 carloads and intermodal units, up 11% compared with the same week in 2016.
Total volume was 270,356 carloads, up 10.8% while weekly intermodal volume was 281,210 containers and trailers, up 11.3%.
Nine of 10 tracked carload commodity groups posted an increase, some staggeringly so, compared with the same week in 2016. They included nonmetallic minerals, 40.6%; metallic ores and metals, 27.9%, and petroleum and related products, 14.1%. Coal was up by 6.4%. Grain was the lone commodity weaker on-year, down 0.8%.
For the first 51 weeks of 2017, U.S. railroads reported a cumulative volume of 13,283,446 carloads, up 3.1%, and 13,809,482 intermodal units, up 4.0 percent from a year ago. Total combined traffic was 27,092,928 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.6%.
North American rail volume on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 371,882 carloads, up 10.8%, and 360,676 intermodal units, up 13.2%. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 732,558 carloads and intermodal units, up 12%. North American rail volume for the first 51 weeks of 2017 was 35,960,443 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.9% percent compared with 2016.
Canadian railroads reported 83,911 carloads for the week, up 9.7%, and 68,925 intermodal units, up 23.3%. For the first 51 weeks of 2017, Canadian railroads reported cumulative volume of 7,460,974 carloads, containers and trailers, up 10.9%.
Mexican railroads reported 17,615 carloads for the week, up 16.9%, and 10,541 intermodal units, up 6.4%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 51 weeks of 2017 was 1,406,541 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 1.9% from the same point a year ago.
