Rail traffic for the week ending November 21, 2020

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending November 21, 2020.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 534,607 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.5 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending November 21 were 233,478 carloads, down 7.2 percent compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 301,129 containers and trailers, up 11.5 percent compared to 2019.

Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2019. They were grain, up 2,976 carloads, to 25,187; farm products excluding grain, and food, up 1,515 carloads, to 16,890; and chemicals, up 920 carloads, to 32,721. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included coal, down 12,672 carloads, to 63,032; metallic ores and metals, down 3,330 carloads, to 19,680; and nonmetallic minerals, down 3,182 carloads, to 29,888.

For the first 47 weeks of 2020, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 10,174,481 carloads, down 14 percent from the same point last year; and 12,094,425 intermodal units, down 3.4 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 47 weeks of 2020 was 22,268,906 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 8.5 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending November 21, 2020, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 335,882 carloads, down 1.7 percent compared with the same week last year, and 393,779 intermodal units, up 11.9 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 729,661 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.2 percent. North American rail volume for the first 47 weeks of 2020 was 30,635,695 carloads and intermodal units, down 7.9 percent compared with 2019.

Canadian railroads reported 83,018 carloads for the week, up 18.3 percent, and 78,838 intermodal units, up 21 percent compared with the same week in 2019. For the first 47 weeks of 2020, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,742,404 carloads, containers and trailers, down 5.2 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 19,386 carloads for the week, down 3.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 13,812 intermodal units, down 17.7 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 47 weeks of 2020 was 1,624,385 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 10.2 percent from the same point last year.