The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has reported that U.S. rail traffic for the week ending November 5, 2016, totaled 543,377 carloads and intermodal units, a 0.7 percent increase compared to the same week in 2015.
U.S. carloads, which totaled 271,262 for the week, were down by 0.4 percent compared to the same week last year. U.S. intermodal volume for the week totaled 272,115 units, an increase of 1.7 percent compared to 2015.
Four of the 10 carload commodity groups that are tracked by the AAR posted an increase for the week ending November 5, 2016, when compared with the same week in 2015. Grain was up by 22 percent to 28,655 carloads; nonmetallic minerals were up 3.8 percent to 36,572 carloads; and motor vehicles and parts were up 2.9 percent to 18,403 carloads.
Petroleum and petroleum products showed the largest decrease in the commodity groups, with a drop of 16.3 percent to 10,877 carloads. Miscellaneous carloads declined by 10.8 percent to 8,812 carloads, and metallic ores and metals dropped 9.7 percent to 18,575 carloads.
For the first 44 weeks of 2016, U.S. rail volume totaled 22,507,019 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 6.4 percent when compared to last year. Carloads, with a total of 11,075,472, were down by 9.8 percent, and intermodal, with a total of 11,431,547, dropped by 2.9 percent.
On the 13 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads, combined North American rail volume for the week ending November 5, 2016, was 708,948 carloads and intermodal units, up 1.1 percent.
For the first 44 weeks of 2016, North American rail volume was down 6 percent, with a total of 29,461,164 carloads and intermodal units.