The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported yesterday U.S. rail traffic for the week ended April 4, 2020.
For the week ended April 4, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 429,095 carloads and intermodal units, down -15.9% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for that week were 210,911 carloads, down -16.2% compared with the same week in 2019, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 218,184 containers and trailers, down -15.7% compared to 2019.
In the U.S. two of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2019. They were:
- miscellaneous carloads, up +1,369 carloads, to 10,336; and,
- forest products, up +127 carloads, to 9,916.
Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included:
- coal, down -17,587 carloads, to 57,504;
- motor vehicles and parts, down -14,389 carloads, to 3,171; and,
- nonmetallic minerals, down -4,526 carloads, to 31,527.
Canada Railcar Loadings: January to April 2020
For the first 14 weeks of 2020, Canadian railroads reported cumulative rail traffic volume of 1,976,487 carloads, containers and trailers, down -3.7 percent.
US Railcar Loadings: January to April 2020
For the first 14 weeks of 2020, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 3,203,962 carloads, down -7.1 percent from the same point last year; and 3,396,469 intermodal units, down -9.1 percent from last year.
Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 14 weeks of 2020 was 6,600,431 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of -8.1 percent compared to last year.
