For the week ending September 14, 2019, the Association of American Railroads reports that “…total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 526,734 carloads and intermodal units, down 4.8 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending September 14th were 252,310 carloads, down 6.1 percent compared with the same week in 2018, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 274,424 containers and trailers, down 3.5 percent compared to 2018.
One of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2018. It was motor vehicles and parts, up 299 carloads, to 17,339. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2018 included coal, down 4,950 carloads, to 80,753; grain, down 2,915 carloads, to 18,337; and metallic ores and metals, down 2,360 carloads, to 22,766.
For the first 37 weeks of 2019, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 9,363,002 carloads, down 3.5 percent from the same point last year; and 9,833,164 intermodal units, down 4 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 37 weeks of 2019 was 19,196,166 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.7 percent compared to last year.”