United States rail carload and intermodal volumes saw annual declines, for the week ending April 17, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
AAR officials noted that annual comparisons for this week are inflated, due to “the widespread economy-wide shutdowns—and subsequent large reduction in rail volumes—a year ago at this time.
Rail carloads—at 237,607—headed up 25.2% annually, edging out the week ending April 10, at 233,300, and the week ending April 3, at 229,814.
AAR said that nine of the 10 carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual gains, including: coal, up 13,166 carloads, to 61,600; motor vehicles and parts, up 10,606 carloads, to 12,549; and metallic ores and metals, up 7,533 carloads, to 24,803. The one commodity group with an annual decline was petroleum and petroleum products, down 120 carloads, to 10,829.
Intermodal containers and trailers—at 295,610—rose 38.3% annually, outpacing the weeks ending April 10 and April 3, at 280,424 and 285,478, respectively.
Through the first 15 weeks of 2020, AAR reported that U.S. carloads—at 3,382,004—are up 0.2% compared to the same period a year ago, with intermodal units—at 4,195,580—up 15.7%, for the same period.