The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending January 9, 2021.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 525,253 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.7 percent from the comparable week of 2020, which was Week 2 – ended January 11, 2020.
Total carloads for the week ending January 9 were 235,404 carloads, down 1.6 percent compared with the comparable week in 2020, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 289,849 containers and trailers, up 10.4 percent compared to 2020.
Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2020. They included grain, up 9,386 carloads, to 27,650; metallic ores and metals, up 2,524 carloads, to 23,600; and chemicals, up 2,458 carloads, to 36,195. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2020 included coal, down 10,088 carloads, to 60,780; nonmetallic minerals, down 4,640 carloads, to 25,395; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 3,144 carloads, to 11,167.
North American rail volume for the week ending January 9, 2021, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 330,520 carloads, down 2.5 percent compared with the comparable week last year, and 378,856 intermodal units, up 8.3 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 709,376 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.0 percent.
Canadian railroads reported 77,465 carloads for the week, down 3.3 percent, and 73,933 intermodal units, up 6.6 percent compared with the comparable week in 2020. For the first week of 2021, Canadian railroads reported a cumulative rail traffic volume of 151,398 carloads, containers, and trailers, up 1.3 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 17,651 carloads for the week, down 10.7 percent compared with the comparable week last year, and 15,074 intermodal units, down 15.6 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first week of 2021 was 32,725 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 13.0 percent from the same point last year.
Click here for the U.S. Rail traffic report.
