North American Rail Traffic Falls 1.4% in Week Ended Sept. 19

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic fell 1.4% last week, as a decline in carloads more than offset improved intermodal volume, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume fell 6.9% for the week ended Sept. 19 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, while intermodal traffic rose 3.7%, the trade group said Wednesday.

In the week ended Sept. 12, North American rail traffic fell 9.2%. For the first 38 weeks of the year, North American traffic is now down 10.2%, compared with a year-to-date decline of 10.5% reported a week earlier.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic fell 1.3% last week, with carloads down 9.6% and the volume of intermodal containers and trailers up 6.3%. U.S. rail traffic is now down 10.9% for the year to date, the AAR said, compared with a decline of 11.2% reported a week ago.

Canadian rail traffic rose 0.4% last week, with a 1.3% rise in carloads overcoming a 0.5% decline in intermodal units. Canadian rail traffic is down 7.9% for the first 38 weeks of the year.

Mexican rail traffic tumbled 11.7% for the week, with carloads down 6.5% and intermodal units sliding 17.2%. Mexican rail traffic is down 9.7% for the year so far, the AAR said.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 23, 2020 12:50 ET (16:50 GMT)

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