AAR releases latest weekly rail traffic update

Total carloads for the week ending 18 May were 214 092 carloads, down 4.8 % compared with the same week in 2023, while US weekly intermodal volume was 260 794 containers and trailers, up 6.2% compared to 2023.

Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included grain, up 2004 carloads, to 19 917; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1007 carloads, to 10 330; and chemicals, up 714 carloads, to 32 294. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 included coal, down 12 113 carloads, to 50 520; metallic ores and metals, down 1872 carloads, to 20 570; and nonmetallic minerals, down 1137 carloads, to 31 798.

For the first 20 weeks of 2024, US railroads reported cumulative volume of 4 259 530 carloads, down 4.9% from the same point in 2023; and 5 057 135 intermodal units, up 8.5% from 2023. Total combined US traffic for the first 20 weeks of 2024 was 9 316 665 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 2.0% compared to 2023.

North American rail volume for the week ending 18 May 2024, on 10 reporting US, Canadian and Mexican railroads totalled 323 396 carloads, down 1.4% compared with the same week in 2023, and 346 036 intermodal units, up 4.5% compared with 2023. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 669 432 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.6%. North American rail volume for the first 20 weeks of 2024 was 13 150 619 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.1% compared with 2023.

Canadian railroads reported 92 669 carloads for the week, up 5.7%, and 72 537 intermodal units, down 2.6% compared with the same week in 2023. For the first 20 weeks of 2024, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 3 229 985 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.9%.

Mexican railroads reported 16 635 carloads for the week, up 7.9% compared with the same week in 2023, and 12 705 intermodal units, up 15.8%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 20 weeks of 2024 was 603 969 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 10.9% from the same point in 2023.