North American rail traffic up 1.4% for the week ending April 13

The Association of American Railroads, or AAR, reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending April 13. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 466,463 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.5% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending April 13 were 208,381 carloads, down 8.2% compared with the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 258,082 containers and trailers, up 11% compared to 2023. Four of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included motor vehicles and parts, up 1,420 carloads, to 16,288; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,352 carloads, to 10,403; and farm products excl. grain, and food, up 788 carloads, to 17,002. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 included coal, down 17,826 carloads, to 45,218; metallic ores and metals, down 3,095 carloads, to 18,658; and nonmetallic minerals, down 1,301 carloads, to 31,631…North American rail volume for the week ending April 13, on 10 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 318,299 carloads, down 6.3% compared with the same week last year, and 343,760 intermodal units, up 9.7 percent compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 662,059 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.4%. North American rail volume for the first 15 weeks of 2024 was 9,789,570 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.2% compared with 2023. Publicly traded companies in the space include CSX (CSX), Canadian National (CNI), Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP), Norfolk Southern (NSC), Union Pacific (UNP), Trinity Industries (TRN), Greenbrier (GBX), FreightCar America (RAIL), Rail Vision (RVSN) and Wabtec (WAB).