The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported this week that United States rail carload and intermodal volumes each saw annual declines for the week ending May 11.
Rail carloads, at 258,641, fell 3.1%, which trailed the weeks ending May 4 and April 27 at 268,559 and 267,316, respectively.
AAR said that three of the 10 carload commodity groups posted annual gains, including: petroleum and petroleum products, up 2,900 carloads, to 13,048; miscellaneous carloads, up 475 carloads, to 9,570; and motor vehicles and parts, up 64 carloads, to 16,986. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2018 included nonmetallic minerals, down 6,963 carloads, to 35,393; metallic ores and metals, down 2,701 carloads, to 21,151; and coal, down 753 carloads, to 80,601.
Intermodal containers and trailers, at 270,622, fell 4.3%, topping the weeks ending May 4 and April 27 at 266,530 and 265,874, respectively.
Through the first 19 weeks of 2019, U.S. rail carloads are up 2.4% annually at 4,764,353, and intermodal units, at 5,069,755, are down 1.7%.