The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending January 20, 2018.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 508,239 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.9 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending January 20 were 241,258 carloads, down 7.6 percent compared with the same week in 2017, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 266,981 containers and trailers, up 1.8 percent compared to 2017.
Two of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2017. They were forest products, up 478 carloads, to 10,217; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 338 carloads, to 10,554. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2017 included coal, down 8,153 carloads, to 82,683; nonmetallic minerals, down 3,923 carloads, to 26,377; and motor vehicles and parts, down 2,750 carloads, to 14,560.
For the first three weeks of 2018, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 691,255 carloads, down 5.7 percent from the same point last year; and 744,783 intermodal units, up 1.2 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first three weeks of 2018 was 1,436,038 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.2 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending January 20, 2018, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 339,190 carloads, down 6.5 percent compared with the same week last year, and 350,744 intermodal units, up 1.8 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 689,934 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.5 percent. North American rail volume for the first three weeks of 2018 was 1,943,895 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.7 percent compared with 2017.
Canadian railroads reported 76,447 carloads for the week, down 4.1 percent, and 65,369 intermodal units, up 2.9 percent compared with the same week in 2017. For the first three weeks of 2018, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 399,694 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.1 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 21,485 carloads for the week, down 1.9 percent compared with the same week last year, and 18,394 intermodal units, down 1.8 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first three weeks of 2018 was 108,163 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 0.4 percent from the same point last year.
