Weekly Rail Traffic for the week ending January 13, 2024

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending January 13, 2024.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 457,453 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.1 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending January 13 were 213,277 carloads, down 10.2 percent compared with the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 244,176 containers and trailers, up 1.9 percent compared to 2023.

Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They were chemicals, up 2,591 carloads, to 33,076; petroleum and petroleum products, up 389 carloads, to 10,374; and forest products, up 80 carloads, to 8,193. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 included coal, down 10,924 carloads, to 58,478; grain, down 8,017 carloads, to 18,776; and nonmetallic minerals, down 4,515 carloads, to 25,446.

For the first two weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported a cumulative volume of 421,453 carloads, down 5.0 percent from the same point last year; and 453,257 intermodal units, up 2.7 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first two weeks of 2024 was 874,710 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 1.1 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending January 13, 2024, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 316,875 carloads, down 9.1 percent compared with the same week last year, and 319,987 intermodal units, up 0.4 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 636,862 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.6 percent. North American rail volume for the first two weeks of 2024 was 1,222,708 carloads and intermodal units, down 1.5 percent compared with 2023.

Canadian railroads reported 86,253 carloads for the week, down 10.8 percent, and 64,295 intermodal units, down 8.3 percent compared with the same week in 2023. For the first two weeks of 2024, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 295,353 carloads, containers and trailers, down 4.9 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 17,345 carloads for the week, up 19.0 percent compared with the same week last year, and 11,516 intermodal units, up 25.8 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first two weeks of 2024 was 52,645 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 16.3 percent from the same point last year.