Rail and intermodal volumes are mixed for week ending February 9, reports AAR

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported this week that carload and intermodal volumes were once again mixed for the week ending February 9.

Carload volume—at 273,369—was down 2.3 percent annually and slightly below the week ending February 2 at 274,000 and ahead of the week ending January 26 at 265,839.

Intermodal volume—at 244,679 containers and trailers—was up 7.7 percent compared to last year, which was below the week ending February 2 at 249,231 and ahead of the week ending January 26 at 238,789.
Total weekly traffic for carloads and intermodal units—at 518,048—was up 2.2 percent annually.

Effective this week, the AAR has changed how it reports weekly commodity loadings. Its former process was comprised of 20 distinct commodity groups, which have now been grouped together.

The new commodity categories are: chemicals; coal; farm and food products, excluding grain (which includes farm products, excluding grain, grain mill products and food & kindred products); forest products; grain; metallic ores and metals (which also includes metallic ores, coke, metals & products, iron & steel scrap); motor vehicles and parts (which also includes motor vehicles and equipment); nonmetallic minerals and products (which also includes crushed stone, sand, and gravel; nonmetallic minerals; stone, clay & glass products); petroleum and petroleum products); and other (which includes waste and nonferrous scrap and all other carloads).

For the week ending February 9, six of the ten commodity groups showed gains, including petroleum products up 6.5 percent and nonmetallic minerals and products up1.4 percent. Grain was down 17.3 percent, and metallic ores and metals were down 13.5 percent.

On a year-to-date basis, carloads are down 5.7 percent at 1,612,973 and intermodal is up 5.7 percent at 1,413,309 containers and trailers.

Estimated ton-miles for the week ending January 26 were down 6.0 percent at 31.2 billion and down 6.7 percent at 124.2 billion ton-miles year-to-date. And total U.S. traffic year-to-date—at 3,026,282 carloads and intermodal units—is down 0.7 percent annually.