For the second straight week, U.S. intermodal volume slipped fractionally behind levels of 2014 even as total U.S. freight traffic gained ground, the Association of American Railroads said Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015.
AAR said U.S. freight carload traffic for the week ending Feb. 14, 2015 was up 6.7% measured against the comparable week in 2014. But U.S. intermodal volume fell, though only a modest 0.1%, for the week. Total U.S. weekly rail traffic for the week rose 3.5% compared with the same week last year.
All 10 carload commodity groups AAR measures on a weekly basis posted increases compared with the same week in 2014, led by grain, up 21.5%, nonmetallic minerals, up 17.9%, and chemicals, up 9.3%.
Canadian freight carload traffic for the week ending Feb. 14, 2015 rose 7.8%, while Canadian intermodal volume also advancec, up 9.5%. Mexican freight carload traffic advanced 2.2% for the week measured against the 2014 week, while Mexican intermodal rose 8.2%.
Combined North American freight carload traffic for the week ending Feb. 14, 2015 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads was up 6.8% measured against the comparable week in 2014. Combined North American intermodal volume was up 1.9%.