United States rail carload and intermodal volumes each saw annual gains for the week ending August 11, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported this week.
Carloads, at 271,718, were up 1.8% annually, which was below the week ending August 4 at 279,907 and the week ending July 28 at 271,234.
AAR said that seven of the ten carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual gains, including: petroleum and petroleum products, up 3,212 carloads, to 11,897; grain, up 2,690 carloads, to 21,770; and metallic ores and metals, up 1,367 carloads, to 23,817. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2017 were coal, down 3,937 carloads, to 90,645; nonmetallic minerals, down 1,084 carloads, to 38,287; and miscellaneous carloads, down 227 carloads, to 9,403.
Intermodal containers and trailers increased 3.8% annually to 285,169, which trailed the 291,088 recorded for the week ending August 4 and the 287,920 recorded for the week ending July 28.
Through the first 32 weeks of 2018, the AAR reported that U.S. carloads are up 1.6% annually at 8,347,332, and intermodal units are up 6% at 8,837,956.