Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase for the week ending Sept. 28 compared with the prior-year period, according to the AAR. They included grain, up 2,435 carloads, to 20,941; motor vehicles and parts, up 732 carloads, to 16,705; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 617 carloads, to 10,782. Commodity groups that posted declines included coal, down 6,955 carloads, to 60,885; nonmetallic minerals, down 3,168 carloads, to 30,583; and metallic ores and metals, down 1,863 carloads, to 21,213.
For the first 39 weeks of this year, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 8,472,040 carloads, dipping 3.3% from the same point in 2023; and 10,211,605 intermodal units, rising 9.5% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 39 weeks of 2024 was 18,683,645 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.3% boost over 2023.
North American rail volume for the week ending Sept. 28, 2024, on nine reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 338,087 carloads, a 3.6% drop-off from the same week last year, and 362,754 intermodal units, a 4.2% increase compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 700,841 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.3%. North American rail volume for the first 39 weeks of this year came in at 25,999,318 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.5% from 2023.
Canadian railroads reported 96,658 carloads for the week ending Sept. 28, 2024, down 1.6%, and 70,390 intermodal units, down 0.3% from the year-ago period. For the first 39 weeks of 2024, they reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,183,042 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.1%.
For the week ending Sept. 28, 2024, Mexican railroads reported 14,383 carloads, falling 17.0% from the same week last year, and 11,873 intermodal units, dropping 11.4%. Their cumulative volume for the first 39 weeks of this year was 1,132,631 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, a 3.9% gain over the same period last year.
