“In January, severe winter weather significantly disrupted railroad and rail customer operations in much of the country,” said Association of American Railroads (AAR) economist Dan Keen. “Moreover, uncertainty remains in the economy, especially in sectors that are important to railroads, like manufacturing. Because of these factors, January is not necessarily a harbinger of what’s to come for rail traffic in the months ahead.”
U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Jan. 27, 2024 (Week 4) was virtually flat with the prior-year period, as carload losses offset intermodal gains, according to the Association of American Railroads’ latest report.
Last year, the Railway Supply Institute (RSI) and the rail community experienced its fair share of challenges and successes. Notable among the highs were strides made by RSI committees to educate the public and advocate for greater industry safety.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) on Jan. 30 announced that Dr. Rand Ghayad has been appointed as Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Policy and Economics. He succeeds John Gray, who is retiring after almost 16 years of dedicated service at AAR.
Since the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment, America’s freight railroads acted quickly and decisively to pursue voluntary actions to help prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future. Over the past 12
Through the first three weeks of 2024 (ending Jan. 20), total North American carload and intermodal traffic dipped 5.6% from the same point last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Jan. 24. The U.S. and Canada experienced declines, while Mexico saw a gain.
Four witnesses on Jan. 18 discussed improving safety at highway-rail grade crossings at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Through the first two weeks of 2024 (ending Jan. 13), total North American carload and intermodal traffic dipped 1.5% from the same point last year, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Jan. 17. The U.S. and Canada experienced declines, while Mexico saw a gain.
For the week ending Jan. 6, 2024 (Week 1), total U.S. rail traffic was 417,257 carloads and intermodal units, rising 2.3% from the prior-year period, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Jan. 10.
The fourth quarter was “the best quarter of 2023 for U.S. rail volumes on a year-over-year basis,” AAR Senior Vice President John T. Gray reported Jan. 2. “It appears that intense rail efforts to improve service quality are paying off. Railroads are hopeful that gains in the fourth quarter will carry over into the first quarter of 2024 and beyond.”
