U.S. carload and intermodal volumes are mixed for week ending March 4, reports AAR

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported this week that United States rail carload and intermodal container and trailer volumes were mixed for the week ending March 4. 

Carloads increased 6.3 percent annually to 262,743, topping the week ending February 25 at 256,756 and trailing the week ending February 18 at 263,620.  

And five of the ten carload commodity groups tracked by the AAR posted annual gains, including coal, up 18.7 percent to 85,183 carloads; grain, up 7.5 percent to 23,991 carloads; and miscellaneous carloads, up 7.3 percent to 10,635 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2016 included petroleum and petroleum products, down 8.3 percent to 9,864 carloads; chemicals, down 2.7 percent to 32,057 carloads; and motor vehicles and parts, down 1.6 percent to 18,593 carloads.

Intermodal containers and trailers were down 2.3 percent annually at 258,864, which was below the week ending February 25 at 264,965 and the week ending February 18 at 267,503.

On a year-to-date basis for the first 9 weeks of 2017, U.S. carloads were up 5 percent compared to the same timeframe a year ago at 2,303,356, and intermodal containers and trailers were off 0.2 percent at 2,348,371.