Weekly US Rail Traffic for the Week Ending 24 August, 2024

Total carloads for the week ending August 24 were 228 858 carloads, up 1.2% compared with the same week in 2023, while US weekly intermodal volume was 287,949 containers and trailers, up 17.1% compared to 2023.

Seven of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included grain, up 5519 carloads, to 18 914; petroleum and petroleum products, up 951 carloads, to 10 867; and miscellaneous carloads, up 602 carloads, to 9360. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 were coal, down 5785 carloads, to 62 543; nonmetallic minerals, down 329 carloads, to 32 891; and metallic ores and metals, down 212 carloads, to 21 812.

For the first 34 weeks of 2024, US railroads reported cumulative volume of 7 324 543 carloads, down 3.7% from the same point last year; and 8 811 085 intermodal units, up 9.1% from last year. Total combined US traffic for the first 34 weeks of 2024 was 16 135 628 carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 2.9% compared to last year.

North American rail volume for the week ending August 24, 2024, on 9 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 310 429 carloads, down 4.5% compared with the same week last year, and 350 204 intermodal units, up 7.1% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 660 633 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.3%. North American rail volume for the first 34 weeks of 2024 was 22,504,112 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.3% compared with 2023.

Canadian railroads reported 65 550 carloads for the week, down 22.0%, and 49 890 intermodal units, down 28.0% compared with the same week in 2023. For the first 34 weeks of 2024, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 5 385 867 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.5%.

Mexican railroads reported 16 021 carloads for the week, up 6.8 percent compared with the same week last year, and 12 365 intermodal units, up 5.7%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 34 weeks of 2024 was 982 617 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 3.8% from the same point last year.

Information provided by the Association of American Railroads (AAR)