AAR reports carload and intermodal gains for week ending February 18

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported this week that United States rail carload and intermodal container and trailer volumes each saw annual gains for the week ending February 18.

Carloads increased 7.6 percent annually to 263,620, which topped the week ending February 11 at 253,670 and were below the week ending February 4 at 269,994.

And seven of the ten carload commodity groups tracked by the AAR posted annual gains, including coal, up 18.6 percent to 90,927 carloads; nonmetallic minerals, up 11.1 percent to 33,732 carloads; and miscellaneous carloads, up 10.6 percent to 9,292 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2016 were motor vehicles and parts, down 10.3 percent to 17,590 carloads; petroleum and petroleum products, down 3.7 percent to 9,878 carloads; and forest products, down 3.2 percent to 10,113 carloads.

Intermodal containers and trailers saw a 6 percent annual increase to 267,503, which was ahead of the 264,761 recorded the week of February 11 and below the 271,480.

On a year-to-date basis through the first seven weeks of 2017, U.S. carloads are up 5 percent at 1,783,857, and intermodal containers and trailers are up 0.5 percent at 1,824,812.