For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 534,498 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.4% compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending July 27 were 261,706 carloads, down 3.5% compared with the same week in 2018, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 272,792 containers and trailers, down 5.3% 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% from the same point last year; and 7,963,475 intermodal units, down 3.6% 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% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending July 27, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 366,406 carloads, down 2% compared with the same week last year, and 362,227 intermodal units, down 4.3% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 728,633 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.1%. North American rail volume for the first 30 weeks of 2019 was 21,160,196 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.3% compared with 2018.
Canadian railroads reported 83,805 carloads for the week, up 2.8%, and 70,776 intermodal units, down 0.9% 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%.
Mexican railroads reported 20,895 carloads for the week, down 2.2% compared with the same week last year, and 18,659 intermodal units, down 1.7%. 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% from the same point last year.
— An Association of American Railroads news release. July 31, 2019
