Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase for the week ending April 20, 2024, compared with prior-year period, according to AAR. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 2,236 carloads, to 16,877; petroleum and petroleum products, up 2,119 carloads, to 10,754; and forest products, up 686 carloads, to 8,427. Commodity groups that posted declines were coal, down 20,796 carloads, to 47,472; nonmetallic minerals, down 854 carloads, to 31,781; and metallic ores and metals, down 704 carloads, to 21,100.
For the first 16 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 3,408,295 carloads, down 4.6% from the same period last year; and 4,025,328 intermodal units, up 9.1% from 2023. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 16 weeks of this year was 7,433,623 carloads and intermodal units, a 2.3% rise over 2023.
North American rail volume for the week ending April 20, 2024, on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 330,830 carloads, dipping 4.1% from the year-earlier period, and 346,266 intermodal units, increasing 7.1% from last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 677,096 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.3%. North American rail volume for the first 16 weeks of this year came in at 10,466,666 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.1% from 2023.
For the week ending April 20, 2024, Canadian railroads reported 96,737 carloads, a 3.8% gain, and 75,954 intermodal units, a 6.0% gain over the the same week last year. For the first 16 weeks of 2024, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 2,556,647 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.3% from 2023.
Mexican railroads reported 17,148 carloads for the week ending April 20, 2024, a 11.2% fall-off compared with the same week last year, and 12,713 intermodal units, a 6.8% drop. Their cumulative volume for the first 16 weeks of this year came in at 476,396 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 9.0% from the same point in 2023.
