Weekly rail traffic for the week ending July 25, 2020

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending July 25, 2020.

For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 481,331 carloads and intermodal units, down 9.9 percent compared with the same week last year.

Total carloads for the week ending July 25 were 215,171 carloads, down 17.8 percent compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 266,160 containers and trailers, down 2.4 percent compared to 2019.

One of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2019. It was farm products excl. grain, and food, up 218 carloads, to 16,406. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included coal, down 23,517 carloads, to 57,769; metallic ores and metals, down 8,690 carloads, to 15,464; and nonmetallic minerals, down 7,369 carloads, to 30,946.

For the first 30 weeks of 2020, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 6,332,339 carloads, down 16.1 percent from the same point last year; and 7,217,246 intermodal units, down 9.4 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 30 weeks of 2020 was 13,549,585 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 12.7 percent compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending July 25, 2020, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 307,496 carloads, down 16.3 percent compared with the same week last year, and 351,825 intermodal units, down 2.9 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 659,321 carloads and intermodal units, down 9.7 percent. North American rail volume for the first 30 weeks of 2020 was 18,721,081 carloads and intermodal units, down 11.6 percent compared with 2019.

Canadian railroads reported 72,440 carloads for the week, down 13.9 percent, and 70,698 intermodal units, up 0.2 percent compared with the same week in 2019. For the first 30 weeks of 2020, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 4,148,487 carloads, containers and trailers, down 8.5 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 19,885 carloads for the week, down 7.8 percent compared with the same week last year, and 14,967 intermodal units, down 21.6 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 30 weeks of 2020 was 1,023,009 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 10 percent from the same point last year.