Freight traffic in the month of April, at least so far, isn’t showing signs of improvement. For the week ending April 9, 2016, carloads and intermodal units were down 20% and nearly 8%, respectively, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on April 13.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 479,059 carloads and intermodal units, down 14.1% compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending April 9 were 229,704 carloads, down 20% compared with the same week in 2015, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 249,355 containers and trailers, down 7.8% compared to 2015.
Two of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2015. They were miscellaneous carloads, up 20.7% to 9,274 carloads; and motor vehicles and parts, up 0.9% to 17,986 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2015 included coal, down 44.9% to 58,166 carloads; petroleum and petroleum products, down 22.3% to 11,910 carloads; and grain, down 20.5% to 18,871 carloads.
For the first 14 weeks of 2016, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 3,372,955 carloads, down 14.2% from the same point last year; and 3,589,027 intermodal units, up 0.8% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 14 weeks of 2016 was 6,961,982 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 7.1% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending April 9, 2016, on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 315,661 carloads, down 18% compared with the same week last year, and 317,414 intermodal units, down 7.4% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 633,075 carloads and intermodal units, down 13%. North American rail volume for the first 14 weeks of 2016 was 9,127,695 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.6% compared with 2015.
Canadian railroads reported 70,683 carloads for the week, down 13.1%, and 56,907 intermodal units, down 8.1% compared with the same week in 2015. For the first 14 weeks of 2016, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 1,796,591 carloads, containers and trailers, down 6%.
Mexican railroads reported 15,274 carloads for the week, down 8.4% compared with the same week last year, and 11,152 intermodal units, up 7.2%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 14 weeks of 2016 was 369,122 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 0.4% from the same point last year.