Weekly rail traffic up 5.1 percent, report finds

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Rail traffic was up to 389,700 carloads, an increase of more than 5 percent compared to last year, according to a weekly traffic report from the Association of American Railroads.

The report showed that total carloads for the week ending Dec. 28 were 184,028, up 1.1 percent compared to the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 205,672 containers and trailers, up 9 percent compared to the same time in 2023.

A majority of carload commodity groups (60 percent) posed an increase compared to the same week last year, including miscellaneous carloads (up 2,130 carloads to 7,448), grain (up 1,727 carloads to 19,478), and nonmetallic minerals (up 1,102 carloads to 19,822). Commodity groups that posted decreases included metallic ores, coal, and forest products.

For the first 52 weeks of 2024, US railroad reported a cumulative volume of 11.3 million carloads, down 2.9 percent from the same time last year, and 12.8 million intermodal units, up 9.3 percent compared to 2023. Total combined US traffic for rail in 2024 was 25.1 million carloads and intermodal units, an increase of 3.4 percent compared to 2023.

North American rail volume for the week ending Dec. 28 was up 1.3 percent compared to the same week in 2023, and intermodal units were up 4.1 percent compared with the same time frames. Total combined weekly North American rail traffic, including Canada and Mexico, was up 2.6 percent, and North American rail volume was up 2.3 percent.