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7/1/2021
Rail News: Rail Industry Trends
North American railroads report higher carload, intermodal volumes for Week 25

U.S. railroads logged 516,167 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending June 26, a 12.4% increase compared with the same week a year ago, according to Association of American Railroads (AAR) data.
Carloads for the week totaled 237,117 units, up 17.7%, while intermodal volume reached 279,050 containers and trailers, up 8.2%.
For some rail traffic categories, year-over-year percentage changes for the current week are inflated because of the widespread shutdowns — and subsequent large reduction in rail volumes — that impacted many economic sectors last year at this time.
Nine of the 10 carload commodity groups tracked by the AAR posted an increase compared with the same week in 2020. They included coal, up 15,472 carloads to 66,595; metallic ores and metals, up 8,814 carloads to 23,869; and nonmetallic minerals, up 3,756 carloads to 33,067.
The only commodity group that posted a decrease was motor vehicles and parts, which declined by 717 carloads to 12,662.
Canadian and Mexican railroads also posted traffic increases for the week. Canadian railroads reported 77,699 carloads, up 8.3%, and 71,867 intermodal units, up 11.8%. Mexican railroads reported 20,949 carloads, up 2.9%, and 16,644 intermodal units, up 6.9%.
For the first 25 weeks of 2021 compared with the same period in 2020:
• U.S. railroads reported 12,821,673 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 13.6%;
• Canadian railroads reported 3,784,949 carloads, containers and trailers, up 9%; and
• Mexican railroads reported 902,124 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 4.3%.
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