For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 527,908 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.6% compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending July 13 were 260,762 carloads, down 4% compared with the same week in 2018, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 267,146 containers and trailers, down 7.2% compared to 2018.
Two of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2018. They were petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,140 carloads, to 13,098; and chemicals, up 105 carloads, to 32,859. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2018 included coal, down 3,858 carloads, to 80,874; non-metallic minerals, down 2,728 carloads, to 36,661; and motor vehicles and parts, down 2,005 carloads, to 13,080.
For the first 28 weeks of 2019, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 7,033,739 carloads, down 3.1% from the same point last year; and 7,419,107 intermodal units, down 3.5% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 28 weeks of 2019 was 14,452,846 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.3% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending July 13, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 363,010 carloads, down 3.2% compared with the same week last year, and 356,757 intermodal units, down 4.6% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 719,767 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9%. North American rail volume for the first 28 weeks of 2019 was 19,712,630 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.2% compared with 2018.
Canadian railroads reported 81,572 carloads for the week, down 1.3%, and 71,573 intermodal units, up 5.1% compared with the same week in 2018. For the first 28 weeks of 2019, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 4,219,161 carloads, containers and trailers, up 2.1%.
Mexican railroads reported 20,676 carloads for the week, down 0.9% compared with the same week last year, and 18,038 intermodal units, up 0.3%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 28 weeks of 2019 was 1,040,623 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 3.4% from the same point last year.
— An Association of American Railroads news release. July 17, 2019.
Doing what they do best…..finding new ways to run business off.
Until rail capacity is tightened, they are toast. The railroads will have to give back some lower pricing to compete with excess truck capacity.
How much are new ports in Canada hurting U.S. rail traffic? Canadian and Mexican rrs seem to be doing a lot better than ours are.
I’m surprised it took it took this long for Wall Street to take notice of the declining carload numbers. CSX stock was down 10% today. Other rail stocks were down too.
@Paul Bouzide… Not a good sign unless the combination of PSR and low volume is necessitating storage.
I’m starting to see strings of 53’ well cars stored on random sidings.