Coal again led just three of 10 tracked commodity groups posting on-year carload gains for the week ending April 15, according to the Association of American Railroads.
Total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 519,318 carloads and intermodal units, a gain of 3.9% from the same week in 2016, which did not include the Good Friday holiday.
Total carloads were 255,485, up 6.2%, while intermodal volume was 263,833 containers and trailers, ahead 1.7%.
Coal led all gainers, up 29.7% to 81,942 carloads, followed by nonmetallic minerals, up 6.2% to 37,865 carloads, and grain, up 3.8% to 21,566 carloads.
Declines were seen in petroleum and petroleum products, down 14.9% to 9,267 carloads; motor vehicles and parts, off 12.3% to 16,247 carloads, and metallic ores and metals, down 4.4% to 22,621 carloads.
For the first 15 weeks of 2017, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 3,831,643 carloads, a gain of 6 percent from the same period a year ago, and 3,912,479 intermodal units, ahead 1.7% in that time. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 15 weeks of this year was 7,744,122 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.8% on-year.
North American rail volume for the week ending April 15 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 353,404 carloads, up 7.9%, and 334,847 intermodal units, up 1.5%. Total combined weekly rail traffic reached 688,251 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.7%. North American rail volume was 10,241,843 carloads and intermodal units, a gain of 4.6%.
Canadian railroads reported 83,898 carloads for the week ending April 15, up 18.2%, and 62,616 intermodal units, up 5.7% from the same week in 2016. Cumulative Canadian volume of 2,106,096 carloads, containers and trailers was ahead by 9.3%.
Mexican railroads reported 14,021 carloads for the week, down 12%, and 8,398 intermodal units, a decline of 25.8% Cumulative volume through the first 15 weeks of 2017 was 391,625 carloads, intermodal containers and trailers, off 1.5%.