WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. freight rail traffic remains down, but for a second straight week, the degree of decline seems to be a bit more moderate.
Traffic for the week ending June 24 was 469,453 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.2% drop from the same week in 2022, according to the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads. The week before, the decline was 3%; those are the two smallest drops since the week of Feb. 4, when traffic was down 1.9% compared to the same week a year earlier.
The latest figures include 2222,431 carloads, down 0.4% compared to the corresponding week in 2022, and 247,022 containers and trailers, down 5.5%.
Year-to-date figures, through 25 weeks of 2023, have carload volume up 0.7% and intermodal traffic down 10.5% for a total decline of 5.4%.
North American volume for the week includes 328,426 carloads, up 1%, and 327,887 intermodal units, down 5.8%. The total volume of 656,313 carloads and intermodal units is down 2.6% compared to the same week in 2022. Through 25 weeks, North American volume is down 4% compared to the same period a year ago.
