The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending October 24, 2020.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 522,653 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.9 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending October 24 were 227,543 carloads, down 6.5 percent compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 295,110 containers and trailers, up 9.4 percent compared to 2019.
Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2019. They included grain, up 4,901 carloads, to 26,044; chemicals, up 831 carloads, to 30,947; and motor vehicles and parts, up 602 carloads, to 15,462. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included coal, down 15,756 carloads, to 57,536; nonmetallic minerals, down 3,360 carloads, to 31,072; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 2,827 carloads, to 10,169.
For the first 43 weeks of 2020, U.S. railroads reported a cumulative volume of 9,253,138 carloads, down 14.7 percent from the same point last year; and 10,910,893 intermodal units, down 4.8 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 43 weeks of 2020 was 20,164,031 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 9.6 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending October 24, 2020, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 328,057 carloads, down 5.1 percent compared with the same week last year, and 389,380 intermodal units, up 8 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 717,437 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.6 percent. North American rail volume for the first 43 weeks of 2020 was 27,749,722 carloads and intermodal units, down 9 percent compared with 2019.
Canadian railroads reported 80,384 carloads for the week, down 2.1 percent, and 79,792 intermodal units, up 12.4 percent compared with the same week in 2019. For the first 43 weeks of 2020, Canadian railroads reported a cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,109,272 carloads, containers, and trailers, down 6.4 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 20,130 carloads for the week, up 0.1 percent compared with the same week last year, and 14,478 intermodal units, down 26.5 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 43 weeks of 2020 was 1,476,419 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 10.8 percent from the same point last year.
Click here for the charts of U.S. Rail traffic.
