North American Rail Traffic Fell 2.8% in Week Ended Sept. 18

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic fell 2.8% last week amid continued declines in shipments of grain and motor vehicles and parts, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume rose 1.3% for the week ended Sept. 18 on a dozen reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, while intermodal traffic fell 6.2%, the trade group said.

In the week ended Sept. 11, North American rail traffic fell 2.7%. For the first 37 weeks of the year, North American rail traffic is up 8.5%, compared with a year-to-date gain of 8.9% reported a week earlier.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic fell 3.1% last week, as an 8.3% drop in the volume of intermodal containers and trailers more than offset a 3.5% rise in carloads. U.S. rail traffic is up 9.6% for the first 37 weeks of the year.

Canadian rail traffic fell 3.2% last week, with carloads down 6.8% and intermodal units up 0.8%. Canadian rail traffic is up 5.6% for the first 37 weeks of the year.

Mexican rail traffic rose 5.9% last week amid a 10.5% jump in carloads and a 0.3% increase in intermodal units. 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

September 23, 2021 07:31 ET (11:31 GMT)

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