The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending November 7, 2020.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 522,028 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.3 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending November 7 were 228,282 carloads, down 8.4 percent compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 293,746 containers and trailers, up 10.3 percent compared to 2019.
Three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2019. They were grain, up 5,577 carloads, to 27,426; chemicals, up 1,813 carloads, to 32,636; and farm products excluding grain, and food, up 608 carloads, to 16,419. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included coal, down 16,458 carloads, to 58,987; metallic ores and metals, down 4,852 carloads, to 17,522; and nonmetallic minerals, down 2,414 carloads, to 30,338.
For the first 45 weeks of 2020, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 9,708,857 carloads, down 14.4 percent from the same point last year; and 11,497,980 intermodal units, down 4.1 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 45 weeks of 2020 was 21,206,837 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 9.1 percent compared to last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending November 7, 2020, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 325,992 carloads, down 7.7 percent compared with the same week last year, and 385,564 intermodal units, up 9.2 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 711,556 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.8 percent. North American rail volume for the first 45 weeks of 2020 was 29,187,834 carloads and intermodal units, down 8.5 percent compared with 2019.
Canadian railroads reported 78,242 carloads for the week, down 6.1 percent, and 77,926 intermodal units, up 14.1 percent compared with the same week in 2019. For the first 45 weeks of 2020, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 6,423,284 carloads, containers and trailers, down 6 percent.
Mexican railroads reported 19,468 carloads for the week, down 5.7 percent compared with the same week last year, and 13,892 intermodal units, down 24 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 45 weeks of 2020 was 1,557,713 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, down 10.2 percent from the same point last year.
