U.S. rail traffic slide continued in Week 25

U.S. rail traffic fell 5.8 percent to 525,116 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending June 22 compared with the same week in 2018, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.

Railroads posted 257,836 carloads for the week, down 4 percent, and 267,280 intermodal containers and trailers, down 7.5 percent. Petroleum and petroleum products was the only commodity group that logged a traffic increase, rising by 2,644 carloads to 14,062 units total.

Commodity groups that recorded decreases compared with the same week last year included coal, down 4,590 carloads to 78,543; nonmetallic minerals, down 2,085 carloads to 36,309; and metallic ores and metals, down 2,071 carloads to 22,662.

Meanwhile, Canadian railroads reported slight traffic increases for the week, with carloads up 1.1. percent to 84,518 units and intermodal volume up 0.4 percent to 70,046 units.

Mexican railroad traffic was mixed for the week: Carload volume fell 0.8 percent to 21,443 units, but intermodal volume jumped 7.1 percent to 18,770 containers and trailers.

Through 2019’s first 25 weeks compared with the same 2018 period:
• U.S. railroads reported combined traffic of 12,943,315 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.9 percent;
• Canadian railroads reported 3,761,633 total units, up 2.1 percent; and
• Mexican railroads reported 923,008 total units, down 3.9 percent.