AAR reports weekly rail traffic for the week ending December 19, 2015

Posted on Dec 23, 2015 in Nuts & Bolts

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Dec. 19, 2015.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 525,555 carloads and intermodal units, down 9.5 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending Dec. 19 were 262,070 carloads, down 14.9 percent compared with the same week in 2014, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 263,485 containers and trailers, down 3.5 percent compared to 2014.

Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2014. They included miscellaneous carloads, up 38.3 percent to 10,718 carloads; motor vehicles and parts, up 12.9 percent to 19,773 carloads; and chemicals, up 6.1 percent to 31,187 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2014 included coal, down 29.9 percent to 85,021 carloads; metallic ores and metals, down 25.3 percent to 20,647 carloads; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 20.7 percent to 13,137 carloads.

For the first 50 weeks of 2015, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 13,851,558 carloads, down 5.6 percent from the same point last year; and 13,338,522 intermodal units, up 1.6 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 50 weeks of 2015 was 27,190,080 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.2 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending Dec. 19, 2015, on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 353,391 carloads, down 13.6 percent compared with the same week last year, and 330,120 intermodal units, down 4.3 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 683,511 carloads and intermodal units, down 9.4 percent. North American rail volume for the first 50 weeks of 2015 was 35,407,603 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.9 percent compared with 2014.

Canadian railroads reported 74,224 carloads for the week, down 13.6 percent, and 57,502 intermodal units, down 6.1 percent compared with the same week in 2014. For the first 50 weeks of 2015, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,856,577 carloads, containers and trailers, down 1.3 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 17,097 carloads for the week, up 10.7 percent compared with the same week last year, and 9,133 intermodal units, down 14.5 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 50 weeks of 2015 was 1,360,946 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 1.4 percent from the same point last year.