AAR reports rail traffic for the week ending September 21, 2024

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending September 21, 2024.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 522,112 carloads and intermodal units, up 6.0 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending September 21 were 232,818 carloads, down 0.6 percent compared with the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 289,294 containers and trailers, up 12.0 percent compared to 2023.

Six of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included grain, up 2,812 carloads, to 20,897; chemicals, up 2,071 carloads, to 33,139; and miscellaneous carloads, up 1,799 carloads, to 10,313. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 included coal, down 4,987 carloads, to 63,164; metallic ores and metals, down 2,699 carloads, to 19,979; and nonmetallic minerals, down 2,382 carloads, to 32,096.

For the first 38 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 8,244,994 carloads, down 3.3 percent from the same point last year; and 9,931,114 intermodal units, up 9.6 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 38 weeks of 2024 was 18,176,108 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.3 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending September 21, 2024, on 9 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 339,514 carloads, down 2.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 371,529 intermodal units, up 8.0 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 711,043 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.8 percent. North American rail volume for the first 38 weeks of 2024 was 25,298,477 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.6 percent compared with 2023.

Canadian railroads reported 92,505 carloads for the week, down 4.1 percent, and 69,836 intermodal units, down 4.1 percent compared with the same week in 2023. For the first 38 weeks of 2024, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,015,994 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.1 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 14,191 carloads for the week, down 16.0 percent compared with the same week last year, and 12,399 intermodal units, down 3.0 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 38 weeks of 2024 was 1,106,375 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 4.4 percent from the same point last year.