Written by: Carolina Worrell, Managing Editor Freight traffic in the month of April, at least so far, isn’t showing signs of improvement. For the week ending April 9, 2016, carloads and intermodal units were down 20% and nearly 8%, respectively, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported on April 13. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 479,059 carloads and intermodal units, down 14.1% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending April 9 were 229,704 carloads, down 20% compared with the same week in 2015, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 249,355 containers and trailers, down 7.8% compared to 2015. Two of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2015. They were miscellaneous carloads, up 20.7% to 9,274 carloads; and motor vehicles and parts, up 0.9% to 17,986 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2015 included coal, down 44.9% to 58,166 carloads; petroleum and petroleum products, down 22.3% to 11,910 carloads; and grain, down 20.5% to 18,871 carloads. For the first 14 weeks of 2016, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 3,372,955 carloads, down 14.2% from the same point last year; and 3,589,027 intermodal units, up 0.8% from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 14 weeks of 2016 was 6,961,982 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 7.1% compared to last year. North American rail volume for the week ending April 9, 2016, on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 315,661 carloads, down 18% compared with the same week last year, and 317,414 intermodal units, down 7.4% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 633,075 carloads and intermodal units, down 13%. North American rail volume for the first 14 weeks of 2016 was 9,127,695 carloads and intermodal units, down 6.6% compared with 2015. Canadian railroads reported 70,683 carloads for the week, down 13.1%, and 56,907 intermodal units, down 8.1% compared with the same week in 2015. For the first 14 weeks of 2016, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 1,796,591 carloads, containers and trailers, down 6%. Mexican railroads reported 15,274 carloads for the week, down 8.4% compared with the same week last year, and 11,152 intermodal units, up 7.2%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 14 weeks of 2016 was 369,122 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 0.4% from the same point last year. Continue reading...
