The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported that U.S. rail traffic for the week ending November 26, 2016, totaled 452,759 carloads and intermodal units, a 0.6 percent increase compared to the same week in 2015.
U.S. carloads, which totaled 229,866 for the week, were down by 0.4 percent compared to the same week last year. U.S. intermodal volume for the week totaled 222,893 units, an increase of 1.6 percent compared to 2015.
Five of the 10 carload commodity groups that are tracked by the AAR posted an increase for the week ending November 26, 2016, when compared with the same week in 2015. Grain was up by 20.2 percent to 22,438 carloads; metallic ores and metals were up 8.5 percent to 18,206 carloads; and miscellaneous carloads were up 7.8 percent to 7,461 carloads.
Petroleum and petroleum products showed the largest decrease in the commodity groups, with a drop of 23.2 percent to 9,150 carloads. Motor vehicles and parts declined by 15.3 percent to 12,773 carloads, and forest products dropped 8.4 percent to 8,511 carloads.
For the first 47 weeks of 2016, U.S. rail volume totaled 24,048,709 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 6 percent when compared to last year. Carloads, with a total of 11,848,889, were down by 9.2 percent, and intermodal, with a total of 12,199,820, dropped by 2.6 percent.
On the 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, combined North American rail volume for the week ending November 26, 2016, was 617,702 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.3 percent.
For the first 47 weeks of 2016, North American rail volume was down 5.5 percent, with a total of 31,506,124 carloads and intermodal units.