North American Rail Traffic Rises 25.6% in Week Ended May 15

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic rose 25.6% last week, continuing a string of strong gains as economies reopen following last year's shutdowns because of the coronavirus pandemic, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume surged 29% for the week ended May 15 on a dozen reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, while intermodal traffic rose 22.7%, the trade group said Wednesday.

In the week ended May 8, North American rail traffic rose 23.2%. For the first 19 weeks of the year, North American rail traffic is up 10.9%.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic jumped 28.3% last week, with carloads soaring 31.6% and the volume of intermodal containers and trailers rising 25.6%. U.S. rail traffic is up 12.1% for the first 19 weeks of the year.

Canadian rail traffic rose 18.7% last week amid a 21.6% rise in carloads and a 15.9% gain in intermodal units. Canadian rail traffic is up 8% for the first 19 weeks of the year.

Mexican rail traffic rose 18.6% last week, as carloads jumped 28.4% and intermodal units rose 7.9%. Mexican rail traffic is up 5.8% for the year to date, the AAR said.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 19, 2021 13:25 ET (17:25 GMT)

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