North American Rail Traffic Rose 0.6% in Week Ended Aug. 14

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic edged up 0.6% last week in a stretch marked by steep drops in shipments of grain and motor vehicles and parts, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume rose 2.9% for the week ended Aug. 14 on a dozen reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, while intermodal traffic fell 1.5%, the trade group said Wednesday.

In the week ended Aug. 7, North American rail traffic rose 1.1%. For the first 32 weeks of the year, North American rail traffic is up 10.3%, compared with a year-to-date gain of 10.7% reported a week earlier.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic ticked up 0.9% last week, with a 5.7% rise in carloads more than offsetting a 3% drop in the volume of intermodal containers and trailers. U.S. rail traffic is up 11.6% for the first 32 weeks of the year.

Canadian rail traffic rose 2.6% last week, with carloads down 2.3% but intermodal units rising 7.8%. Canadian rail traffic is up 6.9% for the first 32 weeks of the year.

Mexican rail traffic fell 10.7% last week, as carloads fell 7.7% and intermodal units slid 14.5%. Mexican rail traffic is up 6.5% for the year to date, the AAR said.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 18, 2021 13:40 ET (17:40 GMT)

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