The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported that U.S. rail traffic for the week ending August 6, 2016, totaled 531,595 carloads and intermodal units, a 5.5 percent decrease compared to the same week in 2015.
U.S. carloads, which totaled 268,006 for the week, were down by 7 percent compared to the same week last year. U.S. intermodal volume for the week totaled 263,589 units, a decrease of 3.9 percent compared to 2015.
Two of the 10 carload commodity groups that are tracked by the AAR posted an increase for the week ending August 6, 2016, when compared with the same week in 2015. Miscellaneous carloads increased 15.7 percent to 10,555, and grain was up 12.1 percent to 24,120 carloads.
Petroleum and petroleum products showed the largest decrease in the commodity groups, with a drop of 24 percent to 10,508 carloads. Coal declined by 15.7 percent to 89,310 carloads, and forest products dropped 7.2 percent to 10,008 carloads.
For the first 31 weeks of 2016, U.S. rail volume totaled 15,567,582 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 7.4 percent when compared to last year. Carloads, with a total of 7,588,589, were down by 11.7 percent, and intermodal, with a total of 7,978,993, dropped by 2.8 percent.
On the 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, combined North American rail volume for the week ending August 6, 2016, was 686,893 carloads and intermodal units, down 5.1 percent.
For the first 31 weeks of 2016, North American rail volume was down 7.2 percent, with a total of 20,367,175 carloads and intermodal units.