AAR reports weekly rail traffic for week ending September 23, 2017
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending September 23, 2017, which set a new record for intermodal traffic in both the U.S. and Canada.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 548,204 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.6 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending September 23 were 263,200 carloads, down 2 percent compared with the same week in 2016, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 285,004 containers and trailers, up 5.1 percent compared to 2016.
Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2016. They included nonmetallic minerals, up 3,166 carloads, to 40,718; metallic ores and metals, up 2,528 carloads, to 25,392; and chemicals, up 487 carloads, to 30,669. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2016 included grain, down 5,517 carloads, to 19,612; coal, down 3,120 carloads, to 84,389; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 1,189 carloads, to 9,188.
For the first 38 weeks of 2017, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 9,833,998 carloads, up 4 percent from the same point last year; and 10,145,659 intermodal units, up 3.4 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 38 weeks of 2017 was 19,979,657 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.7 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending September 23, 2017, on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 360,341 carloads, down 1.2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 370,902 intermodal units, up 7.2 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 731,243 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.9 percent. North American rail volume for the first 38 weeks of 2017 was 26,492,241 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.1 percent compared with 2016.
Canadian railroads reported 81,470 carloads for the week, up 1.2 percent, and 73,056 intermodal units, up 18.2 percent compared with the same week in 2016. For the first 38 weeks of 2017, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,480,066 carloads, containers and trailers, up 11.5 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 15,671 carloads for the week, down 0.6 percent compared with the same week last year, and 12,842 intermodal units, down 2.6 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 38 weeks of 2017 was 1,032,518 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 0.6 percent from the same point last year.
