North American rail volume on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads for the first 24 weeks of 2015 was 16,950,429 carloads and intermodal units, flat compared with the same period in 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on June 25, 2015 in its weekly freight traffic summary.
For the first 24 weeks of 2015, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 6,658,163, down 3.6% from the same period last year; and 6,329,465 intermodal units, up 2.2% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 24 weeks of 2015 was 12,987,628 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 0.8% compared to last year. Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 3,319,154 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.6%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 24 weeks of 2015 was 643,647 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.7% from the same point last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending June 20, 2015 totaled 368,270 carloads, down 6.9% compared with the same week last year, and 351,477 intermodal units, up 2.3% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 719,747 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.6%. Total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 550,839 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.4% compared with the same week last year. Total U.S. carloads were 273,932, down 6.1% compared with the same week in 2014, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 276,907 containers and trailers, up 1.6% compared to 2014. Canadian railroads reported 77,147 carloads for the week, down 11.3%, and 62,761 intermodal units, up 5.1% compared with the same week in 2014. Mexican railroads reported 17,191 carloads for the week, up 2.2% compared with the same week last year, and 11,809 intermodal units, up 5.1%.
For U.S. weekly traffic, four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2014. They included miscellaneous carloads, up 15.7% to 8,946 carloads; grain, up 3.4% to 18,271; and motor vehicles and parts, up 1.9% to 18,682 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2014 included: coal, down 13.7% to 95,095 carloads; metallic ores and metals, down 8.1% to 25,181 carloads; and forest products, down 7.3% to 11,119 carloads.