The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending May 25, 2019.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 527,966 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.7 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending May 25 were 259,953 carloads, down 5 percent compared with the same week in 2018, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 268,013 containers and trailers, down 8.3 percent compared to 2018.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2018. They were petroleum and petroleum products, up 2,567 carloads, to 13,275; miscellaneous carloads, up 688 carloads, to 10,241; and motor vehicles and parts, up 145 carloads, to 17,042. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2018 included coal, down 7,770 carloads, to 76,971; grain, down 3,299 carloads, to 22,495; and metallic ores and metals, down 2,527 carloads, to 23,533.
For the first 21 weeks of 2019, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 5,291,312 carloads, down 2.3 percent from the same point last year; and 5,607,120 intermodal units, down 2.2 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 21 weeks of 2019 was 10,898,432 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.3 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending May 25, 2019, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 365,314 carloads, down 3.6 percent compared with the same week last year, and 351,625 intermodal units, down 6.7 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 716,939 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.1 percent. North American rail volume for the first 21 weeks of 2019 was 14,811,216 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.5 percent compared with 2018
Canadian railroads reported 84,297 carloads for the week, up 1.1 percent, and 65,767 intermodal units, down 0.5 percent compared with the same week in 2018. For the first 21 weeks of 2019, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 3,147,525 carloads, containers and trailers, up 2.2 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 21,064 carloads for the week, down 3.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 17,845 intermodal units, down 4.4 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 21 weeks of 2019 was 765,259 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 4.6 percent from the same point last year.
