U.S. freight carload, intermodal volume rise

Modest gains occurred in U.S. freight carload traffic and intermodal volume for the week ending Aug. 20, the Association of American Railroads reported. U.S. freight carload traffic rose 1.1% measured against the comparable week in 2010, while U.S. intermodal volume rose a similar 1.0%.

AAR said 14 of the 20 carload commodity groups posted increases from the comparable week in 2010, including: metallic ores, up 24.7%; iron and steel scrap, up 15.8%; and petroleum products, up 15.0%. Declining commodity groups included grain, down 21.3%, and farm products excluding grain, down 14.5%.

Canadian freight carload traffic rose a robust 9.6% compared with the same week last year, while Canadian intermodal also rose, up 1.4%. Mexican freight carload traffic rose 4.0% compared with one year ago, while intermodal advanced 33.0%.

Combined North American freight carload traffic for the first 33 weeks of 2011 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads was up 2.3% compared with the first 33 weeks of 2010, while intermodal was up 6.0%.