United States rail carload and intermodal volumes each saw annual declines, for the week ending September 12, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Rail carloads—at 214,142—fell 15.2% annually, trailing the weeks ending September 5 and August 29, at 222,298 and 225,703, respectively.
AAR said that one of the 10 carload commodity groups it tracks posted an annual gain, with grain, up 3,098 carloads, to 21,550. Other commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included coal, down 20,518 carloads, to 60,278; nonmetallic minerals, down 9,007 carloads, to 26,760; and metallic ores and metals, down 4,648 carloads, to 18,157.
Intermodal containers and trailers—at 260,643—fell 5% compared to the same week a year ago. This tally trailed the weeks ending September 5 and August 29, at 287,339 and 282,604, respectively.
Through the first 37 weeks of 2020, AAR reported that U.S. rail carloads—at 7,884,697—are down 15.8% annually, and intermodal units—at 9,158,459—are off 6.9%