For the week ending Sept. 19, 2015, total U.S. rail traffic was 566,734 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.5% compared with the same week in 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Sept. 23, 2015.
Total carloads for the week were 285,320 carloads, down 5.5% compared with the same week in 2014, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 281,414 containers and trailers, up 0.6% compared to 2014.
Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2014. They were grain, up 19% to 22,977 carloads; miscellaneous carloads, up 7.7% to 9,061; and motor vehicles and parts, up 5.8% to 18,695. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2014 included: metallic ores and metals, down 22.9% to 22,044 carloads; petroleum and petroleum products, down 13.1% to 14,090 carloads; and coal, down 9.1% to 103,244 carloads.
For the first 37 weeks of 2015, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 10,304,555 carloads, down 4.4% from the same point last year; and 9,854,405 intermodal units, up 2.5% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 37 weeks of 2015 was 20,158,960 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 1.1% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Sept. 19, 2015 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 374,623 carloads, down 7.1% compared with the same week last year, and 351,204 intermodal units, down 0.2% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 725,827 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.9%. North American rail volume for the first 37 weeks of 2015 was 26,262,586 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.7% compared with 2014.
Canadian railroads reported 74,525 carloads for the week, down 12.8%, and 59,545 intermodal units, down 2.1% compared with the same week in 2014. For the first 37 weeks of 2015, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,098,750 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.3%.
Mexican railroads reported 14,778 carloads for the week, down 7.7% compared with the same week last year, and 10,245 intermodal units, down 8.3%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 37 weeks of 2015 was 1,004,876 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.1% from the same point last year.