The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending July 27, 2019.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 534,498 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.4 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending July 27 were 261,706 carloads, down 3.5 percent compared with the same week in 2018, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 272,792 containers and trailers, down 5.3 percent compared to 2018.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2018. They were nonmetallic minerals, up 2,381 carloads, to 38,326; miscellaneous carloads, up 880 carloads, to 10,399; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 500 carloads, to 12,642. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2018 included coal, down 6,517 carloads, to 81,255; grain, down 1,812 carloads, to 22,342; and forest products, down 1,576 carloads, to 9,490.
For the first 30 weeks of 2019, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 7,549,879 carloads, down 3.2 percent from the same point last year; and 7,963,475 intermodal units, down 3.6 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 30 weeks of 2019 was 15,513,354 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.4 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending July 27, 2019, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 366,406 carloads, down 2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 362,227 intermodal units, down 4.3 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 728,633 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.1 percent. North American rail volume for the first 30 weeks of 2019 was 21,160,196 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.3 percent compared with 2018.
Canadian railroads reported 83,805 carloads for the week, up 2.8 percent, and 70,776 intermodal units, down 0.9 percent compared with the same week in 2018. For the first 30 weeks of 2019, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 4,527,710 carloads, containers and trailers, up 2.1 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 20,895 carloads for the week, down 2.2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 18,659 intermodal units, down 1.7 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 30 weeks of 2019 was 1,119,132 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 3.3 percent from the same point last year.
