North American Rail Traffic Fell 1.5% in Week Ended Aug. 21

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic fell 1.5% last week amid continued declines in shipments of grain and motor vehicles and parts, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume edged up 0.6% for the week ended Aug. 21 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, while intermodal traffic fell 3.3%, the trade group said Wednesday.

In the week ended Aug. 14, North American rail traffic rose 0.6%. For the first 33 weeks of the year, North American rail traffic is up 9.9%, compared with a year-to-date gain of 10.3% reported a week earlier.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic fell 2.6% last week, as a 5.1% drop in the volume of intermodal containers and trailers more than offset a 0.4% rise in carloads. U.S. rail traffic is up 11.1% for the first 33 weeks of the year.

Canadian rail traffic rose 5.2% last week amid a 3.1% rise in carloads and a 7.4% gain in intermodal units. Canadian rail traffic is up 6.9% for the first 33 weeks of the year.

Mexican rail traffic fell 10.3% last week, with carloads down 6.1% and intermodal units tumbling 15.2%. Mexican rail traffic is up 6% for the year to date, the AAR said.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 25, 2021 12:57 ET (16:57 GMT)

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