AAR reports mixed U.S. carload and intermodal volumes for week ending January 20

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes were mixed for the week ending January 20, according to data issued by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Carloads fell 7.6% annually to 241,258, which was slightly below the 241,351 recorded for the week ending January 13 and ahead of the 208,646 recorded for the week ending January 6

AAR said that two of the ten carload commodity groups it tracks were up annually, including: forest products, up 478 carloads, to 10,217; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 338 carloads, to 10,554. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2017 included coal, down 8,153 carloads, to 82,683; nonmetallic minerals, down 3,923 carloads, to 26,377; and motor vehicles and parts, down 2,750 carloads, to 14,560.

Intermodal containers and trailers saw a 1.8% annual gain to 266,981, which was below the 270,586 for the week ending January 13 and ahead of the 207,216 recorded for the week ending January 6.

For the first three weeks of 2018, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 691,255 carloads, which is down 5.7% annually. And intermodal at 744,783 units, rose 1.2% annually. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first two weeks of 2018 was 1,436,038 carloads and intermodal units, marking a 2.2% annual decline.