Surging containerized imports helped railroads’ U.S. intermodal traffic to a double-digit increase as shippers raced to get end-of-year retail merchandise ahead of disruptions in the global supply chain.
Containers and trailers totaled 287,949 carloads, an increase of 17.1% for the week ending Aug. 24, compared with the same week in 2023, according to data released by the Association of American Railroads.
The summer has seen an early peak shipping season as logistics planners wrestle with the effects of attacks on Red Sea shipping by Houthi rebels, labor unrest, and congestion at Asia ports.
Total rail traffic was up 9.5% to 228,858 carloads as the start of the fall harvest boosted grain shipments by 41.2% and seven of 10 commodities saw gains, including petroleum, 9.6%; forest products, 5.4%; and chemicals, 1.2%.
Coal dropped 8.5%, or 5,316 carloads, leaving all freight with a narrow 1.2% increase from the same week in 2023.
For the first 34 weeks of this year, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 7,324,543 carloads, down 3.7%, and 8,811,085 intermodal units, up 9.1% from the same period in 2023. Total combined U.S. traffic was 16,135,628 carloads, a gain of 2.9%.
The data excludes the U.S. operations of CN and CPKC and Mexico’s GMXT.
North American volume on nine reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 310,429 carloads, down 4.5%, and 350,204 intermodal units, up 7.1% compared with the same week in 2023. Total combined traffic was 660,633 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.3%. North American rail volume for the first 34 weeks of 2024 was 22,504,112 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.3% from 2023.
Canadian railroads reported 65,550 carloads for the week, down 22%, and 49,890 intermodal units, down 28% from the year-ago week. Year-to-date Canadian railroads reported cumulative volume of 5,385,867 carloads, containers and trailers, up 0.5%. Intermodal traffic was weakened by the effects of CN and CPKC locking out union employees Aug. 22 during a contract dispute.
Mexican railroads reported 16,021 carloads for the week, up 6.8%, and 12,365 intermodal units, up 5.7%. Cumulative volume on Mexican railroads for the first 34 weeks of 2024 was 982,617 carloads and intermodal containers and trailers, up 3.8% from 2023.
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