North American Rail Traffic Fell 8.8% in Week Ended Jan. 18

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic fell 8.8% in the week ended Jan. 18 amid steep drops in Canadian volume, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume for the week on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads slid 9.6%, while intermodal traffic fell 8.1%, the trade group said Wednesday.

North American rail traffic was down 8.1% in the week ended Jan. 11. For the first three weeks of the year, North American volume is down 7.2%, the AAR reported.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic fell 8% last week, as carloads slid 8.4% amid a 20% drop in coal, the largest of the 10 commodity groups tracked. The volume of intermodal containers and trailers fell 7.7%.

U.S. rail traffic is down 7.8% for the first three weeks of the year.

Canadian rail traffic tumbled 16% last week, with carloads plunging 18.3% and intermodal units falling 13.3%, the AAR data showed. Canadian rail traffic is down 7.2% for the first three weeks of the year.

In a bright spot, Mexican rail traffic surged 10.3% for the week, paced by a 12.7% increase in carloads and a 7.7% rise in intermodal units. Mexican rail traffic is up 0.4% for the first three weeks of the year.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 22, 2020 12:50 ET (17:50 GMT)

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