Total U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Aug. 17, 2024, was 516,819 carloads and intermodal units, up 8.0% from the same week last year, AAR reported Aug. 21. That comprised 231,081 carloads, rising 1.0% from 2023, and 285,738 intermodal containers and trailers, increasing 14.3% from 2023. It has been seven weeks since carloads and intermodal units surpassed 2023 levels.
For the week ending Aug. 17, 2024, eight of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included grain, up 5,861 carloads, to 21,651; chemicals, up 2,008 carloads, to 33,599; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,849 carloads, to 11,267. Commodity groups that posted declines were coal, down 7,409 carloads, to 62,194; and nonmetallic minerals, down 2,110 carloads, to 31,897.
U.S. railroads for the first 33 weeks of this year reported cumulative volume of 7,095,685 carloads, a 3.9% fall-off from the same point in 2023; and 8,523,136 intermodal units, an 8.9% increase over 2023. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 33 weeks of 2024 was 15,618,821 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.7% from last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Aug. 17, 2024, on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 333,194 carloads, down 0.2%, and 367,264 intermodal units, up 11.6% from last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America came in at 700,458 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 5.6%. North American rail volume for the first 33 weeks of this year was 21,843,479 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.4% compared with 2023.
Canadian railroads reported 86,349 carloads for the week ending Aug. 17, 2024, dipping 4.6%, and 69,111 intermodal units, decreasing 2.6% vs. the same point last year. For the first 33 weeks of 2024, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,270,427 carloads, containers and trailers, up 1.2%.
For the week ending Aug. 17, 2024, Mexican railroads reported 15,764 carloads, gaining 7.4%, and 12,415 intermodal units, gaining 49.1% over 2023. Their cumulative volume for the first 33 weeks of 2024 was 954,231 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, a 3.7% increase over the prior-year period.
Further Reading:
- AAR: Rail Traffic Upticks for July, Early August
- AAR: Rail Traffic ‘Balanced’ Through June; New Report Launching July 8
- Will Intermodal, Petroleum Carry the Day for Railroads?
- AAR: Decreased Coal Shipments Cause U.S. Rail Declines in April
- Intermodal: March’s ‘Bright Spot,’ AAR Reports
- AAR: February Data Shows Elements That ‘Inspire Optimism, Call for Caution’
- AAR: ‘January Not Necessarily a Harbinger of What’s to Come’
