Rail traffic for the week ending November 17, 2018
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) released U.S. rail traffic for the week ending November 17, 2018.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 546,541 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.04 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending November 17 were 262,514 carloads, down 1.1 percent compared with the same week in 2017, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 284,027 containers and trailers, up 1.1 percent compared to 2017.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2017. They were petroleum and petroleum products, up 2,440 carloads, to 12,623; grain, up 1,668 carloads, to 23,601; and miscellaneous carloads, up 164 carloads, to 9,897. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2017 included nonmetallic minerals, down 3,496 carloads, to 33,262; motor vehicles and parts, down 2,009 carloads, to 16,018; and farm products excl. grain, and food, down 613 carloads, to 16,141.
For the first 46 weeks of 2018, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 12,110,985 carloads, up 1.8 percent from the same point last year; and 12,845,306 intermodal units, up 5.6 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 46 weeks of 2018 was 24,956,291 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.7 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending November 17, 2018, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 370,321 carloads, up 0.6 percent compared with the same week last year, and 370,544 intermodal units, up 0.4 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 740,865 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.5 percent. North American rail volume for the first 46 weeks of 2018 was 33,694,979 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.4 percent compared with 2017.
Canadian railroads reported 86,834 carloads for the week, up 8.7 percent, and 69,418 intermodal units, up 1.7 percent compared with the same week in 2017. For the first 46 weeks of 2018, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,954,084 carloads, containers and trailers, up 3.8 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 20,973 carloads for the week, down 8.5 percent compared with the same week last year, and 17,099 intermodal units, down 14.2 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 46 weeks of 2018 was 1,784,604 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers.
