Weekly US rail traffic remains up

Intermodal traffic continues to drive overall increase

Intermodal traffic remains high. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

This story originally aired on Trains.com.

WASHINGTON — U.S. rail traffic was up 5.2% over the same week in 2023, according to the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads.

For the week ending Aug. 10, 2024, U.S. railroads moved 496,509 carloads and intermodal units. That included 222,039 carloads, down 0.9% compared to the corresponding week a year ago, and 274,470 containers and trailers, up 10.6%.

Through 32 weeks, carload volume is down 4% compared to the same period in 2023, while intermodal traffic is up 8.7%. The combined traffic through 32 weeks of 15,102,002 carloads and intermodal units represents a 2.5% increase compared to the same period a year ago.

North American totals for the week, from 10 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, include 326,804 carloads, down 0.2% from the same week a year ago, and 353,768 intermodal units, up 7.7%. The total of 680,572 carloads and intermodal units represents a 3.7% increase.

The North American total for 32 weeks is 21,143,021 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.3% from the same period in 2023. In Canada, year-to-date totals of 5,114,967 carloads and intermodal units are up 1.4%, while Mexico’s total of 926,052 carloads and intermodal units is up 3.3%.

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