North American Rail Traffic Fell 7.5% in Week Ended July 18

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic fell 7.5% last week, a marked improvement from a week earlier amid smaller declines in the U.S. and Canada and a positive showing in Mexico, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume fell 13.1% for the week ended July 18 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, while intermodal traffic slipped 1.8%, the trade group said Wednesday.

In the week ended July 11, North American rail traffic fell 14.2%. For the first 29 weeks of the year, North American traffic is now down 11.7%, compared with a year-to-date decline of 11.8% reported a week earlier.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic fell 8.8% last week, as carloads slid 15.7% and the volume of intermodal containers and trailers fell 1.7%. U.S. rail traffic is now down 12.8% for the year to date, the AAR said, compared with a decline of 12.9% reported a week ago.

Canadian rail traffic fell 9.4% last week amid a 13.1% drop in carloads and a 5.1% decline in intermodal units. Canadian rail traffic is down 8.5% for the first 29 weeks of the year.

Mexican rail traffic was up 13.7% for the week, as carloads jumped 16.7% and intermodal units rose 10%. Mexican rail traffic is now down 9.9% for the year, the AAR said.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 22, 2020 13:21 ET (17:21 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.