U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Nov. 30, 2024 (Week 48) came in at 439,362 carloads and intermodal units, down 13.8% from the same week last year, which did not include the Thanksgiving holiday, based on 189,746 carloads—down 19.9% from 2023—and intermodal volume of 249,616 containers and trailers—down 8.5% from 2023, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Dec. 4.
One of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. It was miscellaneous carloads, up 236 carloads, to 7,833. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 included coal, down 16,218 carloads, to 52,126; nonmetallic minerals, down 8,469 carloads, to 20,496; and metallic ores and metals, down 5,821 carloads, to 15,991.
For the first 48 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 10,468,228 carloads, a 3.1% fall-off from the same point last year; and 12,749,686 intermodal units, a 9.1% gain over last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 48 weeks of this year came in at 23,217,914 carloads and intermodal units, rising 3.2% from 2023.
North American rail volume for the week ending Nov. 30, 2024, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 292,216 carloads, down 16.1% compared with the same week last year, and 331,822 intermodal units, down 6.6% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 624,038 carloads and intermodal units, decreasing 11.3%. North American rail volume for the first 48 weeks of 2024 was 32,195,699 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.2% increase from 2023.
Canadian railroads reported 88,468 carloads for the week ending Nov. 30, 2024, down 9.5%, and 69,976 intermodal units, down 1.4% from the same point last year. For the first 48 weeks of 2024, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 7,607,064 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.9%.
Mexican railroads reported 14,002 carloads for the week ending Nov. 30, 2024, up 3.3% compared with the same week last year, and 12,230 intermodal units, up 6.5%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 48 weeks of 2024 was 1,370,721 carloads, containers and trailers, up 3.0% from the same point last year.
