Carload and intermodal traffic both saw gains for the week ending February 22 according to data released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Carloads—at 281,678—were up 3.1 percent compared to the same week a year ago and ahead of the weeks ending February 15, February 8, and February 1, which were at 270,632, 261,254, and 270,903, respectively.
Intermodal was up 6.4 percent annually at 253,358 containers and trailers and, like carloads, was also ahead of the previous three weeks that came in at 236,625, 246,114, and 247,109, respectively.
Of the ten main commodity groups tracked by the AAR, six saw annual increases for the week ending February 22.
Grain was up 29.7 percent, and coal was off 3.9 percent.
For the first eight weeks of 2014, carloads are down 0.5 percent at 2,158,748, and intermodal is up 0.9 percent at 1,919382 trailers and containers.