United States rail carload and intermodal volumes saw annual gains for the week ending January 12, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).
Rail carloads, at 266,240, headed up 10.3%, which was ahead of the weeks ending January 5 and December 29 at 221,759 and 210,333, respectively.
AAR said that ten carload commodity groups it tracks saw annual gains, including coal, up 11,218 carloads, to 87,228; metallic ores and metals, up 3,967 carloads, to 24,490; and petroleum and petroleum products, up 2,920 carloads, to 13,925.
Intermodal containers and trailers, at 288,887, increased 5.3% annually, topping the 214,344 for the week ending January 5 and the 201,343 for the week ending December 29.
For the first two weeks of 2019, U.S. carloads are up 8.4% annually to 487,999, and intermodal units rose 5.3% to 503,231.