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.”
U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Dec. 23, 2023 (Week 51), came in at 486,787 carloads and intermodal units, rising 24.2% from the same week last year, based on 230,946 carloads—up 23.7% from 2022—and intermodal volume of 255,841 containers and trailers—up 24.7%, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Dec. 27.
Following five days of closures at Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Dec. 22 the reopening of these key international crossings, according to an Association of American Railroads (AAR) release.
For the week ending Dec. 16 (Week 50), total U.S. rail traffic was 502,583 carloads and intermodal units, rising 7.6% from the prior-year period, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Dec. 20.
The North Carolina Technology Association (NC TECH) recently presented TransmetriQ, a Railinc® brand that provides rail management software, with an award “for advancing technology in the supply chain.”
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) on Dec. 18 reported that structural failure of a bathtub gondola car led to the 2019 derailment of a CN train proceeding through the CN Paul M. Tellier Tunnel en route from Sarnia, Ontario, to Port Huron, Mich. At the time of the accident, “there was no industry or regulatory requirement to periodically conduct a full inspection of the car to ensure it maintained its structural integrity,” the TSB reported. “As a result, its structural integrity deteriorated and this was not identified. …”