North American Rail Traffic Rose 0.2% in Week Ended Feb. 13

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic edged up 0.2% last week, as a rise in intermodal volume offset a drop in carloads to help railroads eke out a sixth straight weekly gain to start the year, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume fell 7.4% for the week ended Feb. 13 on a dozen reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, while intermodal traffic rose 7.8%, the trade group said Wednesday.

In the week ended Feb. 6, North American rail traffic rose 2.1%. For the first six weeks of the year, North American rail traffic is up 3.3%.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic rose 0.3% last week, amid a 6.9% rise in the volume of intermodal containers and trailers and a 7% decline in carloads. U.S. rail traffic is up 4% for the first six weeks of the year.

Canadian rail traffic rose 2.8% last week, as an 18.3% surge in intermodal units overcame an 8.4% drop in carloads. Canadian rail traffic is up 5.4% for the first six weeks of the year.

Mexican rail traffic fell 8.7% last week, with carloads down 7.8% and intermodal units off 9.7%. Mexican rail traffic is down 14.1% for the first six weeks of the year.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 17, 2021 13:04 ET (18:04 GMT)

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