Weekly rail traffic volumes are up again over the prior-year period, according to the latest Association of American Railroads (AAR) report, but Week 35 (ending Aug. 31, 2024) was the third in a row to see gains in carloads and intermodal units.
Total U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Aug. 31, 2024, came in at 516,632 carloads and intermodal units, up 8.4% from the same week last year, AAR reported Sept. 4. That comprised 233,278 carloads, rising 1.0% from 2023, and 283,354 intermodal containers and trailers, increasing 15.3% from 2023. Before Week 33 (ending Aug. 17, 2024), it had been seven weeks since both carloads and intermodal units surpassed 2023 levels.
For the week ending Aug. 31, 2024, seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week last year. They included grain, up 5,492 carloads, to 20,494; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,365 carloads, to 11,412; and motor vehicles and parts, up 1,144 carloads, to 17,221. Commodity groups that posted declines were coal, down 5,495 carloads, to 62,624; metallic ores and metals, down 1,487 carloads, to 21,616; and nonmetallic minerals, down 166 carloads, to 32,156.
For the first 35 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 7,557,821 carloads, a 3.6% fall-off from the same point last year; and 9,094,439 intermodal units, a 9.3% gain over last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 35 weeks of this year was 16,652,260 carloads and intermodal units, rising 3.1% from last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Aug. 31, 2024, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 343,419 carloads, up 2.3% compared with the same week in 2023, and 354,117 intermodal units, up 8.1% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 697,536 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.2%. North American rail volume for the first 35 weeks of this year came in at 23,201,648 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.4% gain over 2023.
Canadian railroads reported 94,106 carloads for the week ending Aug. 31, 2024, an increase of 4.7%, and 58,491 intermodal units, a drop-off of 18.8% compared with the same week in 2023. For the first 35 weeks of this year, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,538,464 carloads, containers, and trailers, up 0.3%.
For the week ending Aug. 31, 2024, Mexican railroads reported 16,035 carloads, rising 8.9% from the same period last year, and 12,272 intermodal units, jumping up 24.8%. Their cumulative volume for the first 35 weeks of this year was 1,010,924 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 4.1% from the prior-year period.
