For the week ending Nov. 21, 2015, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 532,532 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.7% compared with the same week last year, the Association of American Railroads reported on Nov. 25. U.S. carloads fell nearly 10%; Canadian carloads dropped nearly 13%. Intermodal for some sectors saw modest gains.
Total U.S. carloads for the week ending Nov. 21 were 267,830, down 9.4% compared with the same week in 2014, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 264,702 containers and trailers, down 1.7% compared to 2014.
Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2014. They included miscellaneous carloads, up 12.3% to 9,597 carloads; motor vehicles and parts, up 5.9% to 19,105 carloads; and nonmetallic minerals, up 2.1% to 35,420 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2014 included petroleum and petroleum products, down a whopping 25.8% to 11,894 carloads; metallic ores and metals, down a painful 22.7% to 19,782 carloads; and coal, down a steep 16.8% to 92,998 carloads.
For the first 46 weeks of 2015, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 12,815,842 carloads, down 4.9% from the same point last year; and 12,311,269 intermodal units, up 1.9% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 46 weeks of 2015 was 25,127,111 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 1.7% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Nov. 21, 2015, on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 357,318 carloads, down 9.7% compared with the same week last year, and 334,360 intermodal units, down 0.7% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 691,678 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.6%. North American rail volume for the first 46 weeks of 2015 was 32,708,896 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.4% compared with 2014.
Canadian railroads reported 73,774 carloads for the week, down 12.8%, and 58,280 intermodal units, up 2.3% compared with the same week in 2014. For the first 46 weeks of 2015, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,328,374 carloads, containers and trailers down 0.9%.
Mexican railroads reported 15,714 carloads for the week, up 1.9% compared with the same week last year, and 11,378 intermodal units, up 8.6%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 46 weeks of 2015 was 1,253,411 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 1.5% from the same point last year.