AAR reports rail traffic for the week ending December 14, 2024

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending December 14, 2024. Due to the upcoming holidays, the Weekly Rail Traffic reports for the weeks ending December 21, 2024, and December 28, 2024, will be released on December 27, 2024, and January 3, 2025, respectively.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 526,166 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.8 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending December 14 were 228,400 carloads, down 2.4 percent compared with the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 297,766 containers and trailers, up 11.1 percent compared to 2023.

Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included farm products excl. grain, and food, up 599 carloads, to 17,143; nonmetallic minerals, up 596 carloads, to 29,740; and chemicals, up 374 carloads, to 32,862. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 included coal, down 3,899 carloads, to 61,291; metallic ores and metals, down 2,444 carloads, to 18,770; and motor vehicles and parts, down 785 carloads, to 16,009.

For the first 50 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 10,921,527 carloads, down 3.1 percent from the same point last year; and 13,343,447 intermodal units, up 9.2 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 50 weeks of 2024 was 24,264,974 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.3 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending December 14, 2024, on 9 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 334,768 carloads, down 4.0 percent compared with the same week last year, and 379,155 intermodal units, up 7.0 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 713,923 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.5 percent. North American rail volume for the first 50 weeks of 2024 was 33,629,011 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.2 percent compared with 2023.

Canadian railroads reported 91,690 carloads for the week, down 5.9 percent, and 67,922 intermodal units, down 6.7 percent compared with the same week in 2023. For the first 50 weeks of 2024, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 7,927,769 carloads, containers and trailers, down 1.0 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 14,678 carloads for the week, down 14.8 percent compared with the same week last year, and 13,467 intermodal units, down 0.3 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 50 weeks of 2024 was 1,436,268 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 3.0 percent from the same point last year.