North American Rail Traffic Fell 7.2% in Week Ended Aug. 8

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic fell 7.2% last week amid a sharp drop in carloads, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume fell 14.4% for the week ended Aug. 8 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, while intermodal traffic was flat, the trade group said Wednesday.

In the week ended Aug. 1, North American rail traffic fell 10.2%. For the first 32 weeks of the year, North American traffic is now down 11.5%, compared with a year-to-date decline of 11.6% reported a week earlier.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic fell 6.7% last week, as a 15.6% decline in carloads more than offset a 1.9% rise in the volume of intermodal containers and trailers. U.S. rail traffic is now down 12.4% for the year to date, the AAR said, compared with a decline of 12.6% reported a week ago.

Canadian rail traffic fell 8.2% last week, with carloads down 12.9% and intermodal units slipping 2.8%. Canadian rail traffic is down 8.5% for the first 32 weeks of the year.

Mexican rail traffic was down 10.5% for the week amid a 5.4% decline in carloads and a 15.9% drop in intermodal units. Mexican rail traffic is now down 10.8% for the year, the AAR said.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 12, 2020 13:31 ET (17:31 GMT)

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