For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 499,732 carloads and intermodal units, down 8% compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending Jan. 18 were 237,394 carloads, down 8.4% compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 262,338 containers and trailers, down 7.7% compared to 2019.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2019. They were miscellaneous carloads, up 903 carloads, to 10,242; metallic ores and metals, up 827 carloads, to 21,616; and chemicals, up 649 carloads, to 32,478. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included coal, down 17,651 carloads, to 70,388; grain, down 3,631 carloads, to 19,373; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 978 carloads, to 12,730.
For the first three weeks of 2020, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 692,077 carloads, down 7.4% from the same point last year; and 723,293 intermodal units, down 8.1% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first three weeks of 2020 was 1,415,370 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 7.8% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Jan. 18, 2020, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 327,670 carloads, down 9.6% compared with the same week last year, and 342,771 intermodal units, down 8.1% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 670,441 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.8%. North American rail volume for the first three weeks of 2020 was 1,930,076 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.2% compared with 2019.
Canadian railroads reported 69,368 carloads for the week, down 18.3%, and 61,451 intermodal units, down 13.3% compared with the same week in 2019. For the first three weeks of 2020, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 412,161 carloads, containers and trailers, down 7.2%.
Mexican railroads reported 20,908 carloads for the week, up 12.7% compared with the same week last year, and 18,982 intermodal units, up 7.7%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first three weeks of 2020 was 102,545 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 0.4% from the same point last year.
— From an Association of American Railroads news release. Jan. 22, 2020.
