For the week ending Jan. 16, 2016, total U.S. rail traffic was 506,433 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.2% compared with the same week in 2015, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Jan. 20. U.S. carloads fell nearly 17%; Canadian carloads dropped nearly 14%; North American (U.S., Canada, Mexico combined) intermodal up nearly 1%.
Total carloads for the week ending Jan. 16 were 242,670 carloads, down 16.6% compared with the same week in 2015, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 263,763 containers and trailers, up 1.1% compared to 2015.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2015. They were miscellaneous carloads, up 21.4% to 8,437 carloads; motor vehicles and parts, up 2.8% to 16,751 carloads; and chemicals, up 2.2% to 31,687 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2015 included coal, down 32.6% to 75,308 carloads; metallic ores and metals, down 24.2% to 18,690 carloads; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 18.5% to 12,852 carloads.
For the first two weeks of 2016, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 481,891 carloads, down 15.1% from the same point last year; and 522,702 intermodal units, up 4.2% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first two weeks of 2016 was 1,004,593 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 6% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Jan. 16, 2016, on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 328,028 carloads, down 15.2% compared with the same week last year, and 332,652 intermodal units, up 0.6% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 660,680 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.9%. North American rail volume for the first two weeks of 2016 was 1,310,999 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.7% compared with 2015.
Canadian railroads reported 68,470 carloads for the week, down 13.6%, and 58,209 intermodal units, down 0.9% compared with the same week in 2015. For the first two weeks of 2016, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 253,768 carloads, containers and trailers, down 5.6%.
Mexican railroads reported 16,888 carloads for the week, up 1.8% compared with the same week last year, and 10,680 intermodal units, down 3.4%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first two weeks of 2016 was 52,638 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 1.8% from the same point last year.