Newly released data from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) “confirms that the industry’s safety-centered approach to investments and operations delivered overall improvements that have made the past decade the safest ever for
U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Feb. 24, 2024 (Week 8), came in at 483,656 carloads and intermodal units, rising 7.7% from the same week last year, based on 224,251 carloads—up 2.6% from 2023—and intermodal volume of 259,405 containers and trailers—up 12.6%, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported Feb. 28.
Through the first seven weeks of 2024 (ending Feb. 17), total North American carload and intermodal traffic was down 0.2%—virtually flat—compared with the same point last year, according to the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) Feb. 21 report. While Mexico saw a gain, Canada experienced a decline and U.S. traffic was virtually flat.
Through the first six weeks of 2024 (ending Feb. 10), total North American carload and intermodal traffic was down 0.8%—virtually flat—compared with the same point last year, according to the Association of American Railroads’ (AAR) Feb. 14 report. While Mexico saw a gain, Canada experienced a decline and U.S. traffic was virtually flat.
Union Pacific (UP) on Feb. 8 announced that it has appointed Andrew Brady to Vice President-External Relations, following the retirement of Printz Bolin at the end of February.
“In January, severe winter weather significantly disrupted railroad and rail customer operations in much of the country,” said Association of American Railroads (AAR) economist Dan Keen. “Moreover, uncertainty remains in the economy, especially in sectors that are important to railroads, like manufacturing. Because of these factors, January is not necessarily a harbinger of what’s to come for rail traffic in the months ahead.”
U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Jan. 27, 2024 (Week 4) was virtually flat with the prior-year period, as carload losses offset intermodal gains, according to the Association of American Railroads’ latest report.
Last year, the Railway Supply Institute (RSI) and the rail community experienced its fair share of challenges and successes. Notable among the highs were strides made by RSI committees to educate the public and advocate for greater industry safety.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) on Jan. 30 announced that Dr. Rand Ghayad has been appointed as Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Policy and Economics. He succeeds John Gray, who is retiring after almost 16 years of dedicated service at AAR.
Since the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment, America’s freight railroads acted quickly and decisively to pursue voluntary actions to help prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future. Over the past 12