AAR reports rail traffic for the week ending August 17, 2024

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending August 17, 2024.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 516,819 carloads and intermodal units, up 8.0 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending August 17 were 231,081 carloads, up 1.0 percent compared with the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 285,738 containers and trailers, up 14.3 percent compared to 2023.

Eight of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included grain, up 5,861 carloads, to 21,651; chemicals, up 2,008 carloads, to 33,599; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,849 carloads, to 11,267. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 were coal, down 7,409 carloads, to 62,194; and nonmetallic minerals, down 2,110 carloads, to 31,897.

For the first 33 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 7,095,685 carloads, down 3.9 percent from the same point last year; and 8,523,136 intermodal units, up 8.9 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 33 weeks of 2024 was 15,618,821 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 2.7 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending August 17, 2024, on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 333,194 carloads, down 0.2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 367,264 intermodal units, up 11.6 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 700,458 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.6 percent. North American rail volume for the first 33 weeks of 2024 was 21,843,479 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.4 percent compared with 2023.

Canadian railroads reported 86,349 carloads for the week, down 4.6 percent, and 69,111 intermodal units, down 2.6 percent compared with the same week in 2023. For the first 33 weeks of 2024, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5,270,427 carloads, containers and trailers, up 1.2 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 15,764 carloads for the week, up 7.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 12,415 intermodal units, up 49.1 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 33 weeks of 2024 was 954,231 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 3.7 percent from the same point last year.