Weekly rail traffic for the week ending July 11, 2020

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending July 11, 2020.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 449,092 carloads and intermodal units, down 14.9 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending July 11 were 201,703 carloads, down 22.7 percent compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 247,389 containers and trailers, down 7.4 percent compared to 2019.
None of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2019. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included coal, down 29,221 carloads, to 51,684; metallic ores and metals, down 9,890 carloads, to 13,884; and nonmetallic minerals, down 6,365 carloads, to 30,317.
For the first 28 weeks of 2020, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 5,902,483 carloads, down 16.1 percent from the same point last year; and 6,684,174 intermodal units, down 9.9 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 28 weeks of 2020 was 12,586,657 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 12.9 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending July 11, 2020, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 289,808 carloads, down 20.4 percent compared with the same week last year, and 329,191 intermodal units, down 7.8 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 618,999 carloads and intermodal units, down 14.2 percent. North American rail volume for the first 28 weeks of 2020 was 17,395,055 carloads and intermodal units, down 11.8 percent compared with 2019.
Canadian railroads reported 68,300 carloads for the week, down 16.5 percent, and 65,797 intermodal units, down 8 percent compared with the same week in 2019. For the first 28 weeks of 2020, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 3,865,702 carloads, containers and trailers, down 8.5 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 19,805 carloads for the week, down 7.2 percent compared with the same week last year, and 16,005 intermodal units, down 13.3 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 28 weeks of 2020 was 942,696 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 10.8 percent from the same point last year.