U.S freight carload traffic edged up 0.5% the week ending June 15, 2013, and U.S. intermodal volume advanced 1.7% for the week, measured against the comparable period in 2012, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday, June 20.
The improvement in both categories follows gains registered by both for the month of May, when monthly U.S. freight carload traffic compiled a 0.7% gain, whil U.S. intermodal volume, continuing its strong run, rose 3.05 for the full month, compared with May 2012.
AAR said just four of the 10 carload commodity groups it measures posted increases compared with the same week in 2012, not surprisingly led by petroleum and petroleum products, up 35.6%. Commodities showing a decrease compared with the same week last year once again included grain, down 12.1%.
Canadian freight carload volume also did well for the week, up 2.3% compared with the same week last year, while Canadian intermodal volume notched a 0.8% gain. Mexican freight carload volume rose 8.9% during the week ending June 15, but Mexican intermodal volume declined 1.8%.
Combined North American freight carload volume for the 24 weeks of 2013 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads was down 0.4%, measured against he comparable period in 2012. Combined North American intermodal volume, by contrast, was up 3.9% during the period.