North American Rail Traffic Fell 3.6% in Week Ended Oct. 9

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic fell 3.6% last week, amid continued drops in shipments of grain and motor vehicles, along with slowing intermodal volume, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume rose 1.2% for the week ended Oct. 9 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, while intermodal traffic fell 7.8%, the trade group said Wednesday.

In the week ended Oct. 2, North American rail traffic fell 2%. For the first 40 weeks of the year, North American rail traffic is up 7.6%, compared with a year-to-date gain of 7.9% reported a week earlier.

The AAR said U.S. traffic fell 2.6% last week, as a 7.8% drop in the volume of intermodal containers and trailers more than offset a 4% rise in carloads. U.S. rail traffic is up 8.7% for the first 40 weeks of the year.

Canadian rail traffic fell 5.7% last week, amid a 4.2% decline in carloads and a 7.2% drop in intermodal units. Canadian rail traffic is up 4.7% for the first 40 weeks of the year.

Mexican rail traffic fell 8.8% last week, with carloads and intermodal units posting the same 8.8% drop. Mexican rail traffic is up 4.1% for the year to date, the AAR said.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 13, 2021 14:55 ET (18:55 GMT)

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