AAR reports weekly rail traffic for week ending February 11, 2017
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending February 11, 2017.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 518,431 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.6 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending February 11 were 253,670 carloads, up 3.9 percent compared with the same week in 2016, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 264,761 containers and trailers, up 1.5 percent compared to 2016.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2016. They were coal, up 18.7 percent to 89,318 carloads; nonmetallic minerals, up 4.2 percent to 30,850 carloads; and metallic ores and metals, up 0.8 percent to 19,348 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2016 included petroleum and petroleum products, down 13.6 percent to 9,763 carloads; grain, down 8.5 percent to 20,477 carloads; and forest products, down 7 percent to 9,614 carloads.
For the first 6 weeks of 2017, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 1,520,237 carloads, up 4.5 percent from the same point last year; and 1,557,309 intermodal units, down 0.4 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 6 weeks of 2017 was 3,077,546 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 2 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending February 11, 2017, on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 345,752 carloads, up 4.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 337,597 intermodal units, up 1.3 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 683,349 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.9 percent. North American rail volume for the first 6 weeks of 2017 was 4,054,988 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.5 percent compared with 2016.
Canadian railroads reported 76,471 carloads for the week, up 7.6 percent, and 62,036 intermodal units, up 2.3 percent compared with the same week in 2016. For the first 6 weeks of 2017, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 829,412 carloads, containers and trailers, up 6.6 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 15,611 carloads for the week, down 1.7 percent compared with the same week last year, and 10,800 intermodal units, down 7.6 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 6 weeks of 2017 was 148,030 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 8.7 percent from the same point last year.
