U.S. freight carload traffic slips

U.S. freight carload traffic fell 3.2% in the week ending July 9, measured against the comparable week in 2010, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday. U.S. intermodal volume also fell, though a more modest 0.2%, for the week.

AAR said 13 of the 20 carload commodity groups it tracks posted increases during the week compared with a year ago. Iron and steel scrap traffic rose 32.5%, metallic ores was up 22.9%, and the all other carloads category rose 14.6%. Declining commodities included waste and nonferrous scrap, down 16.1 %, coal, down 11.3%, and grain, down 10.5%.

Canadian freight carload volume for the week of July 9 rose 3.0% compared with a year ago, while Canadian intermodal retreated 5.4%. Mexican freight carload volume rose 14.6% for the week compared with last year, while Mexican intermodal volume soared 84.1%.

Combined North American freight carload volume for the first 27 weeks of 2011 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads was up 2.5% compared with the same point last year, while intermodal was up 6.9%.