The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending January 13, 2018.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 511,937 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.5 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending January 13 were 241,351 carloads, down 4.1 percent compared with the same week in 2017, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 270,586 containers and trailers, up 5 percent compared to 2017.
Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2017. They included nonmetallic minerals, up 3,668 carloads, to 30,530; chemicals, up 2,028 carloads, to 31,879; and forest products, up 244 carloads, to 9,748. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2017 included coal, down 8,992 carloads, to 76,001; grain, down 2,444 carloads, to 21,957; and metallic ores and metals, down 1,443 carloads, to 20,518.
For the first two weeks of 2018, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 449,997 carloads, down 4.6 percent from the same point last year; and 477,802 intermodal units, up 1 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first two weeks of 2018 was 927,799 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 1.8 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending January 13, 2018, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 337,232 carloads, down 3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 352,867 intermodal units, up 5.2 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 690,099 carloads and intermodal units, up 1 percent. North American rail volume for the first two weeks of 2018 was 1,253,961 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.3 percent compared with 2017.
Canadian railroads reported 75,043 carloads for the week, down 0.8 percent, and 63,495 intermodal units, up 5.6 percent compared with the same week in 2017. For the first two weeks of 2018, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 257,878 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.4 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 20,838 carloads for the week, up 2.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 18,786 intermodal units, up 6.6 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first two weeks of 2018 was 68,284 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 0.4 percent from the same point last year.
