WASHINGTON — For the week ending Sept. 7, 2024, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 479,179 carloads and intermodal units, up 7.3% compared with the same week last year, according to the Association of American Railroads.
Total carloads for the week were 222,201, up 2.2% compared with the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 256,978 containers and trailers, up 12.1% compared to 2023.
Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included grain, up 4,920 carloads, to 19,552; chemicals, up 3,269 carloads, to 32,669; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,033 carloads, to 10,778. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 included coal, down 4,024 carloads, to 63,754; motor vehicles and parts, down 1,248 carloads, to 13,663; and forest products, down 338 carloads, to 7,511.
For the first 36 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 7,780,022 carloads, down 3.4% from the same point last year; and 9,351,417 intermodal units, up 9.4% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 36 weeks of 2024 was 17,131,439 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.2% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Sept. 7, 2024, on 9 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 323,723 carloads, down 0.1% compared with the same week last year, and 334,792 intermodal units, up 9.2% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 658,515 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.4%. North American rail volume for the first 36 weeks of 2024 was 23,874,410 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.5% compared with 2023.
Canadian railroads reported 87,045 carloads for the week, down 2.9%, and 65,938 intermodal units, up 1.7% compared with the same week in 2023. For the first 36 weeks of 2024, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,691,447 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.3%.
Mexican railroads reported 14,477 carloads for the week, down 13.8% compared with the same week last year, and 11,876 intermodal units, down 6%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 36 weeks of 2024 was 1,051,524 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 5.1% from the same point last year.
