North American rail traffic up 4.1% for the week ending March 9

The Association of American Railroads, AAR, reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending March 9. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 472,662 carloads and intermodal units, up 5% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending March 9 were 214,585 carloads, down 3.7% compared with the same week in 2023, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 258,077 containers and trailers, up 13.5% compared to 2023. Five of the 10 carload commodity groups posted an increase compared with the same week in 2023. They included chemicals, up 1,916 carloads, to 33,713; petroleum and petroleum products, up 1,399 carloads, to 9,930; and metallic ores and metals, up 685 carloads, to 18,882. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2023 included coal, down 8,963 carloads, to 55,963; nonmetallic minerals, down 2,691 carloads, to 28,505; and miscellaneous carloads, down 726 carloads, to 7,791. North American rail volume for the week ending March 9, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 321,441 carloads, down 3.2% compared with the same week last year, and 342,181 intermodal units, up 12% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 663,622 carloads and intermodal units, up 4.1%. North American rail volume for the first 10 weeks of 2024 was 6,467,217 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.4 % compared with 2023. Publicly traded companies in the space include CSX (CSX), Canadian National (CNI), Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Norfolk Southern (NSC), Union Pacific (UNP), Trinity Industries (TRN), Greenbrier (GBX), Wabtec (WAB), Rail Vision (RVSN) and FreightCar America (RAIL).