U.S. Class I railroads hauled 520,894 carloads and intermodal units for the week ending Dec. 7, 2024, the AAR reported Dec. 11. Total carloads came in at 224,899, dipping 1.8%, while intermodal volume was 295,995 containers and trailers, rising 9.7% from the same week in 2023.
Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included chemicals, up 2,614 carloads, to 33,599; grain, up 2,436 carloads, to 23,143; and miscellaneous carloads, up 1,302 carloads, to 9,318. Commodity groups that posted declines included coal, down 8,665 carloads, to 57,764; motor vehicles and parts, down 2,436 carloads, to 15,046; and nonmetallic minerals, down 892 carloads, to 28,164.
For the first 49 weeks of this year, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 10,693,127 carloads, a 3.1% fall-off from the same point in 2023; and 13,045,681 intermodal units, a 9.1% gain over 2023. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 49 weeks of 2024 was 23,738,808 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.3% from last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Dec. 7, 2024, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 331,101 carloads, a drop-off of 2.6% compared with the same week last year, and 379,058 intermodal units, a gain of 6.8% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America came in at 710,159 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.2%. North American rail volume for the first 49 weeks of 2024 was 32,915,088 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.3% from last year.
Canadian railroads reported 91,717 carloads for the week ending Dec. 7, 2024, down 2.1%, and 69,376 intermodal units, down 1.7% from the prior-year period. For the first 49 weeks of this year, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 7,768,157 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.9%.
For the week ending Dec. 7, 2024, Mexican railroads reported 14,485 carloads, dropping 15.3% from the same week last year, and 13,687 intermodal units, decreasing 6.8%. Their cumulative volume for the first 49 weeks of 2024 was 1,408,123 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, rising 3.3% from the same point last year.
