United States rail carload and intermodal volumes each saw annual gains for the week ending August 25, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported this week.
Carloads, at 275,334, were up 1.8% annually, which trailed the week ending August 18 at 278,701 and topped the week ending August 11 at 271,718.
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 for the week ending August 25, at 290,372, rose 6% annually which was ahead of the week ending August 18 at 278,701 and the week ending August 11 at 285,169.
On a year-to-date basis through the first 34 weeks of 2018, AAR reported that U.S. carloads were up 1.7% at 8,901,367, and intermodal units are up 6% at 9,417,104.