North American Rail Traffic Rose 2.1% in Week Ended Feb. 6

By Colin Kellaher

North American rail traffic rose 2.1% last week, posting a fifth straight weekly gain to start the year despite a weak showing in Mexico, data from the Association of American Railroads showed.

Carload volume fell 2.4% for the week ended Feb. 6 on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, while intermodal traffic rose 6.5%, the trade group said Wednesday.

In the week ended Jan. 30, North American rail traffic rose 0.7%. For the first five weeks of the year, North American rail traffic is up 3.9%.

The AAR said U.S. rail traffic rose 2.2% last week, as a 6.4% rise in the volume of intermodal containers and trailers more than offset a 2.5% decline in carloads. U.S. rail traffic is up 4.7% for the first five weeks of the year.

Canadian rail traffic jumped 7.4% last week, powered by a 15.2% surge in intermodal units and a 1.1% rise in carloads. Canadian rail traffic is up 5.9% for the first five weeks of the year.

Mexican rail traffic slid 18.6% last week, as carloads fell 15.8% and intermodal units tumbled 21.9%. Mexican rail traffic is down 15.3% for the first five weeks of the year.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 10, 2021 13:29 ET (18:29 GMT)

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