North American Rail Traffic Fell 8.7% in Week Ended Dec. 21

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic fell 8.7% in the week ended Dec. 21 amid a double-digit drop in U.S. volume, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads slid 9.2%, while intermodal traffic fell 8.2%, the trade group said.

North American rail traffic was down 7.4% in the week ended Dec. 14. For the first 51 weeks of the year, North American volume is now down 3.9%, compared with a year-to-date drop of 3.8% reported a week earlier.

U.S. rail traffic tumbled 10.5% in week ended Dec. 21 following an 8.5% drop a week earlier, the AAR said. U.S. carloads fell 11.5%, as shipments of coal, the largest of the 10 commodity groups tracked, dropped 23%. The volume of U.S. intermodal containers and trailers fell 9.5% for the week.

U.S. rail traffic is now down 4.9% for the year to date, compared with a year-to-date drop of 4.8% reported a week earlier, the trade group said.

Canadian rail traffic fell 3.7% during the week, as carloads slipped 2.6% and intermodal units fell 5.2%, the AAR said.

Mexican rail traffic fell 3.1% for the week, as a 7.2% drop in carloads more than offset a 1.7% rise in intermodal units.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 30, 2019 11:16 ET (16:16 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.