For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 485,329 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.6% compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending Feb. 8 were 232,116 carloads, down 4.2% compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 253,213 containers and trailers, down 8.8% compared to 2019.
Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2019. They included miscellaneous carloads, up 2,404 carloads, to 10,900; farm products excluding grain, and food, up 1,205 carloads, to 16,256; and chemicals, up 887 carloads, to 32,670. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included coal, down 10,686 carloads, to 64,996; non-metallic minerals, down 2,794 carloads, to 28,354; and motor vehicles and parts, down 694 carloads, to 16,376.
For the first six weeks of 2020, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 1,397,849 carloads, down 5.6% from the same point last year; and 1,498,293 intermodal units, down 6%from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first six weeks of 2020 was 2,896,142 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 5.8% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Feb. 8, 2020, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 327,509 carloads, down 1.3% compared with the same week last year, and 332,589 intermodal units, down 6.3% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 660,098 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.8%. North American rail volume for the first six weeks of 2020 was 3,974,361 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9% compared with 2019.
Canadian railroads reported 76,168 carloads for the week, up 6.6%, and 62,145 intermodal units, up 0.1% compared with the same week in 2019. For the first six weeks of 2020, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 858,212 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.7%.
Mexican railroads reported 19,225 carloads for the week, up 6.7% compared with the same week last year, and 17,231 intermodal units, up 13.8%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first six weeks of 2020 was 220,007 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 12% from the same point last year.
— From an Association of American Railroads news release. Feb. 12, 2020.
