U.S. Class I railroads hauled 2,393,009 carloads and intermodal units in July 2024, rising 3.4% (79,196 carloads plus containers and trailers) from July 2023, the AAR reported Aug. 7. Total carloads came in at 1,073,191, dipping 2.1% (23,353 carloads), while intermodal volume was 1,319,818 containers and trailers, increasing 8.4% (102,549 units) from the same month last year.
In July 2024, 12 of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month saw carload gains compared with July 2023. These included grain, up 19,690 carloads or 26.5%; chemicals, up 4,797 carloads or 3.1%; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 4,048 carloads or 8.5%. Commodities that saw declines included coal, down 35,167 carloads or 11.0%; crushed stone, sand and gravel, down 11,563 carloads or 10.6%; and motor vehicles and parts, down 6,436 carloads or 9.1%.
Excluding coal, carloads were up by 11,814 or 1.5% in July 2024 from July 2023. Excluding coal and grain, they were down by 7,876 or 1.1%.
In comparison, U.S. rail traffic for June 2024 came in at 1,960,510 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 3.8% (70,877 carloads and intermodal units) from June 2023; for May 2024 came in at 2,342,049 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 1% (23,599 carloads and intermodal units) from May 2023; and for April 2024 came in at 1,867,451 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 1.2% (21,720 carloads and intermodal units) from April 2023.
Total U.S. carload traffic for the first seven months of this year was 6,642,565 carloads, falling 4.1% (286,356 carloads) from the year-ago period; and 7,962,928 intermodal units, gaining 8.6% (631,898 containers and trailers) over last year.
Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 31 weeks of 2024 reached 14,605,493 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.4% increase over last year.
Week Ending Aug. 3, 2024
Total U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Aug. 3, 2024, was 498,807 carloads and intermodal units, rising 5.7% from the same point last year. Total carloads came in at 219,568, a 1.2% fall-off from the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 279,239 containers and trailers, a 11.8% increase from last year.
For the week ending Aug. 3, 2024, six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included chemicals, up 2,971 carloads, to 33,218; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,629 carloads, to 11,016; and grain, up 1,368 carloads, to 17,022. Commodity groups that posted decreases included coal, down 5,528 carloads, to 58,978; nonmetallic minerals, down 2,052 carloads, to 31,312; and metallic ores and metals, down 1,357 carloads, to 20,721.
North American rail volume for the week ending Aug. 3, 2024, on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 322,520 carloads, a 1.2% dip from the same week last year, and 351,513 intermodal units, a 6.1% rise over last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 674,033 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.5%. North American rail volume for the first 31 weeks of this year came in at 20,471,828 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.3% from 2023.
Canadian railroads reported 90,465 carloads for the week ending Aug. 3, 2024, a 1.6% increase, and 64,067 intermodal units, a 10.6% decrease compared with the same week in 2023. For the first 31 weeks of 2024, their cumulative rail traffic volume was 4,958,371 carloads, containers and trailers, up 1.5%.
For the week ending Aug. 3, 2024, Mexican railroads reported 12,487 carloads, dropping 17.3% from the same point last year, and 8,207 intermodal units, falling 15.8%. Their cumulative volume for the first 31 weeks of this year was 907,964 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 4.2% from the prior-year period.
