AAR: North American Rail Volume Uptick Continues Through Week 37

For the 37-week period ending Sept. 14, 2024, North American rail volume on nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads came in at 24,587,434 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers. Cumulative volume in the U.S. was 17,653,996 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.3% from the same point in 2023; in Canada, 5,853,653 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.2%; and in Mexico, 1,079,785 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.8%.

U.S Class I railroads hauled a total of 522,557 carloads and intermodal units during the week ending Sept. 14, 2024, rising 6.8% from the same week last year, according to the AAR. This comprised 232,154 carloads, flat with 2023, and 290,403 containers and trailers, up 13.0% from 2023.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase for the week ending Sept. 14, 2024, compared with the same week in 2023. They included grain, up 3,048 carloads, to 19,372; miscellaneous carloads, up 1,837 carloads, to 10,781; and farm products excluding grain, and food, up 820 carloads, to 17,227. Commodity groups that posted declines were coal, down 5,797 carloads, to 63,017; nonmetallic minerals, down 1,853 carloads, to 32,020; and chemicals, down 310 carloads, to 32,444.

For the first 37 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 8,012,176 carloads, dipping 3.3% from the prior-year period; and 9,641,820 intermodal units, increasing 9.5% over last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending Sept. 14, 2024, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 338,817 carloads, down 0.8% from the same week last year, and 374,207 intermodal units, up 9.8% vs. last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America came in at 713,024 carloads and intermodal units, gaining 4.5%.

For the week ending Sept. 14, 2024, Canadian railroads reported 91,036 carloads, a 1.3% fall-off, and 71,170 intermodal units, a 0.3% decrease compared with the same week last year.

For the week ending Sept. 14, 2024, Mexican railroads reported 15,627 carloads, dropping 8.9% from the year-earlier period, and 12,634 intermodal units, increasing 2.1% from last year.

Further Reading:

• AAR: Carloads, Intermodal Up for Week 36
• AAR: Carloads, Intermodal Up for Week 35
• AAR: North American Rail Volume Up in Week 34
• AAR: Carloads, Intermodal Up for Week 33
• AAR: North American Rail Volume Up in Week 32
• AAR: Rail Traffic Upticks for July, Early August
• AAR: North American Rail Volume Continues Upward Trend in Week 30
• AAR: North American Rail Volume Up Through Week 29
• AAR: North American Rail Volume Up Through Week 28
• AAR: Carloads Down, Intermodal Up in Week 27
• AAR: Rail Traffic ‘Balanced’ Through June; New Report Launching July 8
• AAR: Carloads Down, Intermodal Up in Week 25
• AAR: North American Rail Volume Up Through Week 24
• AAR: Carloads Down, Intermodal Up in Week 23
• 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’