(Source: Association of American Railroads press release, January 28, 2015)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Jan. 24, 2015.
Total U.S. weekly rail traffic for the week was 548,055 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.1 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending Jan. 24, 2015 were 294,738 carloads, up 5 percent compared with the same week in 2014 while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 253,317 containers and trailers, up 3 percent compared to 2014.
Nine of the 10 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2014, led by Coal with 115,369 carloads, up 3.8 percent; and Nonmetallic Minerals with 34,246 carloads, up 22.2 percent. The lone commodity group that posted a decrease compared with the same week in 2014 was the “Other” category of miscellaneous carloads, down slightly at 0.4 percent.
For the first three weeks of 2015, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 862,274 carloads, up 4.1 percent from the same point last year, and 755,157 intermodal units, up 0.8 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first three weeks of 2015 was 1,617,431 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.5 percent from last year.
North American rail volume for the week ending Jan. 24, 2015 on 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 391,407 carloads, up 5.5 percent compared with the same week last year, and 324,436 intermodal units, up 5.7 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 715,843 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.6 percent. North American rail volume for the first three weeks of 2015 was 2,106,174 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.9 percent compared with 2014.
Canadian railroads reported 79,867 carloads for the week, up 8.7 percent, and 59,673 intermodal units, up 19.1 percent compared with the same week in 2014. For the first three weeks of 2015, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 408,457 carloads, containers and trailers, up 10.2 percent
Mexican railroads reported 16,802 carloads for the week, down 0.5 percent compared with the same week last year, and 11,446 intermodal units, up 5.8 percent. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first three weeks of 2015 was 80,286 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 1.2 percent from the same point last year.