For the week ending June 6, 2015, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 550,037 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.2% compared with the same week last year, as carload traffic dipped and intermodal grew, the Association of American Railroads reported on June 10.
Total U.S. carloads for the week were 268,722 carloads, down 8.1% compared with the same week in 2014, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 281,315 containers and trailers, up 4.3% compared to 2014. Traffic for the year’s first 22 weeks remained relatively flat, compared to the prior-year period.
Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2014. They included: miscellaneous carloads, up 8% to 8,843 carloads; motor vehicles and parts, up 6.2% to 19,484; and grain, up 2.6% to 18,046 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2014 included: coal, down 18.6% to 88,346; metallic ores and metals, down 10.5% to 24,737 carloads; and nonmetallic minerals, down 4.2% to 37,911 carloads.
For the first 22 weeks of 2015, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 6,113,133 carloads, down 3.2% from the same point last year; and 5,769,195 intermodal units, up 2.1% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 22 weeks of 2015 was 11,882,328 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 0.7% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending June 6, 2015 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 359,988 carloads, down 8% compared with the same week last year, and 355,553 intermodal units, up 4.3% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America, was 715,541 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.3%. North American rail volume for the first 22 weeks of 2015 was 15,511,207 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.2% compared with 2014.
Canadian railroads reported 74,718 carloads for the week, down 9.4%, and 63,268 intermodal units, up 5.9% compared with the same week in 2014. For the first 22 weeks of 2015, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 3,041,979 carloads, containers and trailers, up 3.5%.
Mexican railroads reported 16,548 carloads for the week, up 1.3% compared with the same week last year, and 10,970 intermodal units, down 4.1%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 22 weeks of 2015 was 586,900 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.7% from the same point last year.