Rail carload and intermodal volumes remained mixed for the week ending April 14, according to data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Carload volume—at 276,789—was down 6.4 percent annually and ahead of the week ending April 7 at 270,974 and below the week ending March 31 at 286,962.
Eastern carloads were down 2 percent, and out west carloads were down 9.4 percent.
Intermodal volumes—at 234,157—were up 1.6 percent annually and ahead of the week ending April 7 at 231,153 and below the week ending March 31 at 247,772.
Of the 20 commodity groups tracked by the AAR, 12 were up annually. Petroleum products were up 39 percent, and metallic ores were up 16.7 percent. Coal was down 18.2 percent, and grain was down 16.3 percent.
Carloads for the first 15 weeks of 2012—at 4,226,853—were down 3.1 percent compared to the first 15 weeks of 2011, and intermodal was up 2.4 percent at 3,393,755 trailers and containers.
Estimated ton-miles for the week at 31.6 billion were down 5.7 percent, and for the year-to-date it is down 2.3 percent at 480.9 billion.