Carload traffic, intermodal on steady decline

For the week ending Dec. 12, 2015, total U.S. rail traffic was 544, 975 carloads and intermodal units, down 8% compared with the same week in 2014, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on Dec. 16. U.S. carloads fell 13%; Canadian carloads dropped 10%; North American (U.S., Canada, Mexico combined) intermodal units dropped 7.6%.

Total carloads for the week ending Dec. 12 were 270,953 carloads, down 13.2% compared with the same week in 2014, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 274,022 containers and trailers, down 2.3% compared to 2014.

Two of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2014. They were miscellaneous carloads, up 39.5% to 10,764 carloads; and motor vehicles and parts, up 1.8% to 19,502 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2014 included metallic ores and metals, down 27.2% to 20,935 carloads; coal, down 22.3% to 92,934 carloads; and petroleum and petroleum products, down 21.5% to 13,417 carloads.

For the first 49 weeks of 2015, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 13,589,488 carloads, down 5.4% from the same point last year; and 13,075,037 intermodal units, up 1.7% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 49 weeks of 2015 was 26,664,525 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.1% compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending Dec. 12, 2015, on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 360,775 carloads, down 11.9% compared with the same week last year, and 341,402 intermodal units, down 2.5% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 702,177 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.6%. North American rail volume for the first 49 weeks of 2015 was 34,724,092 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.8% compared with 2014.

Canadian railroads reported 73,531 carloads for the week, down 10.2%, and 57,493 intermodal units, down 3.8% compared with the same week in 2014. For the first 49 weeks of 2015, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,724,851 carloads, containers and trailers, down 1.1%.

Mexican railroads reported 16,291 carloads for the week, up 4.9% compared with the same week last year, and 9,887 intermodal units, down 2.9%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 49 weeks of 2015 was 1,334,716 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 1.5% from the same point last year.