U.S. Rail Traffic Steams Ahead: Association Of American Railroads Report Reveals 1.6% Surge in Weekly Volume Setting 2024 on Track for Growth

Thursday, April 11, 2024

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) issued its latest report on U.S. rail traffic, covering the week ending April 6, 2024.

During this period, total U.S. weekly rail traffic reached 450,142 carloads and intermodal units, marking a 1.6 percent increase compared to the corresponding week in 2023.

Breakdown reveals that total carloads for the week amounted to 209,142, declining by 4.5 percent from the same week in 2023. Meanwhile, U.S. weekly intermodal volume saw a notable rise, reaching 241,000 containers and trailers, up by 7.6 percent from the previous year.

Among the ten carload commodity groups, six experienced growth compared to the same week in 2023. Noteworthy increases were seen in grain, with a rise of 3,221 carloads to 22,000; motor vehicles and parts, with an increase of 1,983 carloads to 16,315; and chemicals, with an uptick of 1,574 carloads to 31,907. Conversely, commodity groups such as coal, nonmetallic minerals, and metallic ores and metals witnessed declines.

For the first 14 weeks of 2024, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 2,982,969 carloads, marking a 4.2 percent decrease from the same period last year. Intermodal units, however, surged by 9.0 percent to 3,509,647, resulting in a total combined U.S. traffic increase of 2.5 percent compared to last year.

In North America, rail volume for the week ending April 6, 2024, on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 321,182 carloads, a slight decrease of 1.3 percent from the same week last year. Intermodal units, on the other hand, saw a significant uptick of 11.2 percent compared to last year. Overall, combined weekly rail traffic in North America showed a 4.6 percent increase.

Canadian railroads reported 95,326 carloads for the week, up 5.5 percent, and 72,636 intermodal units, up 12.7 percent from the same week in 2023. Cumulative rail traffic volume for the first 14 weeks of 2024 witnessed a marginal decrease of 0.1 percent.

Mexican railroads reported 16,714 carloads for the week, marking a 3.6 percent increase from the same week last year. Intermodal units skyrocketed by 146.5 percent. Cumulative volume for the first 14 weeks of 2024 on Mexican railroads displayed an 11.7 percent increase compared to the previous year.

« Back to Page

• U.S. rail traffic down slightly in Jan, but now up considerably