Total US weekly rail traffic was 502 583 carloads and intermodal units, up 7.6% compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending 16 December were 234 449 carloads, up 6.5% compared with the same week in 2022, while US weekly intermodal volume was 268 134 containers and trailers, up 8.6% compared to 2022.
All of the 10 carload commodity groups reported an increase compared with the same week in 2022. They included coal, up 3873 carloads, to 65 450; grain, up 2599 carloads, to 24 275; and chemicals, up 2337 carloads, to 32 483.
For the first 50 weeks of 2023, US railroads reported cumulative volume of 11 288 867 carloads, up 0.3% from the same point last year; and 12 222 775 intermodal units, down 5.5% from last year. Total combined US traffic for the first 50 weeks of 2023 was 23 511 642 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 2.8% compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending 16 December 2023, on 12 reporting US, Canadian and Mexican railroads totalled 347 860 carloads, up 4.7% compared with the same week last year, and 352 485 intermodal units, up 6.7% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 700 345 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.7%. North American rail volume for the first 50 weeks of 2023 was 32 902 626 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.7% compared with 2022.
Canadian railroads reported 97 399 carloads for the week, up 4.3%, and 72 910 intermodal units, up 2.4% compared with the same week in 2022. For the first 50 weeks of 2023, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 8 004 143 carloads, containers and trailers, down 3.0%.
Mexican railroads reported 16 012 carloads for the week, down 13.5% compared with the same week last year, and 11 441 intermodal units, down 7.3%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 50 weeks of 2023 was 1 386 841 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 2.3% from the same point last year.
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