AAR reports rail traffic for the week ending November 23, 2024

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending November 30, 2024.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 439,362 carloads and intermodal units, down 13.8 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending November 30 were 189,746 carloads, down 19.9 percent compared with the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 249,616 containers and trailers, down 8.5 percent compared to 2023.

One of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. It was miscellaneous carloads, up 236 carloads, to 7,833. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 included coal, down 16,218 carloads, to 52,126; nonmetallic minerals, down 8,469 carloads, to 20,496; and metallic ores and metals, down 5,821 carloads, to 15,991.

For the first 48 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 10,468,228 carloads, down 3.1 percent from the same point last year; and 12,749,686 intermodal units, up 9.1 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 48 weeks of 2024 was 23,217,914 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.2 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending November 30, 2024, on 9 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 292,216 carloads, down 16.1 percent compared with the same week last year, and 331,822 intermodal units, down 6.6 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 624,038 carloads and intermodal units, down 11.3 percent. North American rail volume for the first 48 weeks of 2024 was 32,195,699 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.2 percent compared with 2023.

Canadian railroads reported 88,468 carloads for the week, down 9.5 percent, and 69,976 intermodal units, down 1.4 percent compared with the same week in 2023. For the first 48 weeks of 2024, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 7,607,064 carloads, containers and trailers, down 0.9 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 14,002 carloads for the week, up 3.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 12,230 intermodal units, up 6.5 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 48 weeks of 2024 was 1,370,721 carloads, containers and trailers, up 3.0 percent from the same point last year.