The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending June 22, 2019.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 525,116 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.8 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending June 22 were 257,836 carloads, down 4 percent compared with the same week in 2018, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 267,280 containers and trailers, down 7.5 percent compared to 2018.
One of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2018. It was petroleum and petroleum products, up 2,655 carloads, to 14,062. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2018 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.
For the first 25 weeks of 2019, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 6,290,803 carloads, down 2.9 percent from the same point last year; and 6,652,512 intermodal units, down 3 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 25 weeks of 2019 was 12,943,315 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.9 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending June 22, 2019, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 363,797 carloads, down 2.7 percent compared with the same week last year, and 356,096 intermodal units, down 5.3 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 719,893 carloads and intermodal units, down 4 percent. North American rail volume for the first 25 weeks of 2019 was 17,627,956 carloads and intermodal units, down 2 percent compared with 2018.
Canadian railroads reported 84,518 carloads for the week, up 1.1 percent, and 70,046 intermodal units, up 0.4 percent compared with the same week in 2018. For the first 25 weeks of 2019, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 3,761,633 carloads, containers and trailers, up 2.1 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 21,443 carloads for the week, down 0.8 percent compared with the same week last year, and 18,770 intermodal units, up 7.1 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 25 weeks of 2019 was 923,008 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 3.9 percent from the same point last year.
