Rail traffic for the week ending January 4, 2020

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending January 4, 2020.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 414,014 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.1 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending January 4 were 215,564 carloads, down 2.8 percent compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 198,450 containers and trailers, down 7.4 percent compared to 2019.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2019. They were chemicals, up 1,093 carloads, to 31,006; petroleum and petroleum products, up 997 carloads, to 13,063; and miscellaneous carloads, up 282 carloads, to 7,543. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included nonmetallic minerals, down 2,836 carloads, to 22,803; motor vehicles and parts, down 2,210 carloads, to 7,004; and coal, down 1,103 carloads, to 69,757.
For the first week of 2020, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 215,564 carloads, down 2.8 percent from the same point last year; and 198,450 intermodal units, down 7.4 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first week of 2020 was 414,014 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 5.1 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending January 4, 2020, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 303,410 carloads, down 3.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 266,263 intermodal units, down 5.6 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 569,673 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.4 percent. North American rail volume for the first week of 2020 was 569,673 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.4 percent compared with 2019.
Canadian railroads reported 75,918 carloads for the week, down 1.3 percent, and 56,430 intermodal units, up 4.4 percent compared with the same week in 2019. For the first week of 2020, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 132,348 carloads, containers and trailers, up 1 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 11,928 carloads for the week, down 20 percent compared with the same week last year, and 11,383 intermodal units, down 16.2 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first week of 2020 was 23,311 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 18.2 percent from the same point last year.