WASHINGTON — Perhaps reflecting the prospects of a Canadian labor stoppage, weekly U.S. rail traffic experienced a significant boost in the seven days ending Aug. 17, 2024.
U.S. volume for the week, as reported by the Association of American Railroads, included 516,819 carloads and intermodal units, an 8% gain over the same week in 2023. That included 231,081 carloads, up 1%, and 285,738 containers and trailers, up 14.3%. International import and export traffic has been diverted from Canadian to U.S. ports in anticipation of work stoppages in Canada at Canadian National and CPKC that were scheduled to start today (Aug. 22).
Canadian traffic, incidentally, reported 86,349 carloads, down 4.6% from the same week a year ago, and 69,111 intermodal units, down 2.6%.
Year-to-date U.S. volume, through 33 weeks of 2024, shows carload traffic down 3.9% from the same period a year ago, while intermodal units are up 8.9%. The combined volume of 15,618,821 carloads and intermodal units is up 2.7% from the same period in 2023.
North American volume, from 10 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, includes 333,194 carloads, down 0.2% from the corresponding week in 2023, and 367,264 intermodal units, up 11.6%. The combined total of 700,458 carloads and intermodal units represents a 5.6% increase.
Canada’s year-to-date volume is up 1.2% over the first 33 weeks of 2023. Mexican railroads reported 15,764 carloads, up 7.4% from the same week a year ago, and 12,415 intermodal units, up 49.1%. The year-to-date volume in Mexico is up 3.7%.
