U.S. rail carload and intermodal units see annual declines for week ending June 13, reports AAR

United States rail carload and intermodal volumes saw annual declines for the week ending June 13, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

Rail carloads—at 198,437—slipped 22.8% annually, topping the week ending June 6, at 192,494, and the week ending May 30, at 190,639.

Only one of the ten carload categories tracked by the AAR saw annual gains, with miscellaneous carloads rising 1,030 carloads, to 10,259. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2019 included coal, down 27,681 carloads, to 50,034; metallic ores and metals, down 8,684 carloads, to 14,549; and nonmetallic minerals, down 7,460 carloads, to 30,344.

Intermodal containers and trailers—at 250,854—were off 7.3% annually, topping the week ending June 6, at 240,671, and the week ending May 30, at 215,741.

For the first 24 weeks of 2020, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 5,104,688 carloads, down 15.4 percent from the same point last year; and 5,678,161 intermodal units, down 11.1 percent from last year. Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 24 weeks of 2020 was 10,782,849 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 13.2 percent compared to last year.