For the week ending Jan. 9, 2016, total U.S. rail traffic was 498,160 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.7% compared with the same week in 2015, as carload traffic dipped and intermodal grew, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Jan. 13.
Total carloads for the week ending Jan. 9 were 239,221 carloads, down 13.5% compared with the same week in 2015, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 258,939 containers and trailers, up 7.5% compared to 2015.
Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2015. They included miscellaneous carloads, up 23% to 8,552 carloads; motor vehicles and parts, up 10.6% to 13,276 carloads; and chemicals, up 6.2% to 32,302 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2015 included coal, down 30.7% to 75,112 carloads; metallic ores and metals, down 18.1% to 19,419 carloads; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 15.1% to 13,096 carloads.
For the first week of 2016, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 239,221 carloads, down 13.5% from the same point last year; and 258,939 intermodal units, up 7.5% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first week of 2016 was 498,160 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.7% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Jan. 9, 2016, on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 323,005 carloads, down 11.8% compared with the same week last year, and 327,314 intermodal units, up 6.8% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 650,319 carloads and intermodal units, down 3.3%.
Canadian railroads reported 68,493 carloads for the week, down 8.3%, and 58,596 intermodal units, up 4.5% compared with the same week in 2015. For the first week of 2016, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 127,089 carloads, containers and trailers, down 2.8%.
Mexican railroads reported 15,291 carloads for the week, up 3.8% compared with the same week last year, and 9,779 intermodal units, up 4.8%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first week of 2016 was 25,070 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 4.2% from the same point last year.