U.S. rail traffic gains keep coming
Written by Douglas John Bowen
U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Nov. 15, 2014 continued to show strength, the Association of American Railroads reported Thursday, Nov. 20.
U.S. freight carload traffic gained a relatively modest 0.3% for the week measured against the comparable period in 2013. U.S. intermodal volume did better on percentage terms, up 2.6%. Total combined U.S. weekly rail traffic was up 1.4% measured against the comparable week of one year ago.
Just four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2013, led by nonmetallic minerals, up 9.6%. Leading the declining commodity groups was grain, down 3.9%, AAR noted.
Canadian freight carload traffic for the week ending Nov. 15 rose 0.2%, while Canadian intermodal volume failed to keep pace, down 0.6%. Mexican freight carload traffic for the week soared 68.4%, while Mexican intermodal volume tried to match that percentage, up 56.9%.
Combined North American freight carload traffic for the first 46 weeks of 2014 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads was up 3.1% measured against the comparable period in 2013. Combined North American intermodal volume was up 5.5% compared to last year.
