Rail News

U.S. Railroads Report Mixed Traffic Toward End of January

February 1st, 2013

Major U.S. railroads originated 265,839 carloads in the week ending Jan. 26, down 6.3% compared with the same week last year, according to figures released by the Association of American Railroads. Intermodal volume was up 1.6% versus the same week last year, at 238,789 trailers and containers.

Short lines’ intermodal traffic jumped 58.2% in the week, compared with the same week in 2012, at 21,378 carloads. Other traffic was down, falling 1.4% to 116,332.

The AAR said 10 of the 20 carload commodity groups posted increases compared with the same week in 2012, with petroleum products up 56%; farm products, excluding grain, up 16.9%; and primary forest products up 12%. The groups showing a decrease in weekly traffic included metallic ores, down 20.4%; iron and steel scrap, down 16.8%; and coal, down 14.6%.

Canadian railroads reported 75,764 carloads for the week, up 0.5% compared with the same week last year, and 52,028 trailers and containers, up 11% compared with 2012. Mexican railroads reported 15,394 carloads for the week, up 10.5% compared with the same week last year, and 9,709 trailers and containers, down 2.3%.

For further details, consult the AAR’s weekly rail traffic charts and RMI’s RailConnect Index of Short Line Traffic.

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