United States rail carload and intermodal volumes were mixed for the week ending January 14, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Carloads rose 4.4 percent annually to 253,223, topping the weeks ending January 7 and December 31, which came in at 221,146 and 215,967, respectively.
Five of the ten carload commodities tracked by the AAR were up compared to the same week a year ago, including metallic ores and metals, up 17.6 percent to 21,979 carloads; miscellaneous carloads, up 17.3 percent to 9,895 carloads; and coal, up 13.3 percent to 85,133 carloads. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2016 included petroleum and petroleum products, down 14.7 percent to 10,960 carloads; forest products, down 5.8 percent to 9,492 carloads; and chemicals, down 5.8 percent to 29,864 carloads.
Intermodal containers and trailers fell 0.3 percent to 263,006, outpacing the week ending January 7 at 220,271 and the week ending December 31, which hit 210,031.
Through the first two weeks of 2017, carloads are down 1.6 percent annually at 474,369, and intermodal containers and trailers at 483,277 are down 7.5 percent.