U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes slip, for the week ending November 16, reports AAR
United States rail carload and intermodal volumes again saw annual declines for the week ending November 16, according to data issued this week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR)
Rail carloads, at 239,647, slipped 8.9% annually, trailing the week ending November 9 at 248,905 and the week ending November 2 at 245,319.
AAR reported that only one of the ten carload commodity groups it tracks saw an annual gain, with petroleum and petroleum products up 1,357 carloads to 13,977. Commodity groups that posted decreases compared with the same week in 2018 included coal, down 13,610 carloads, to 72,611; metallic ores and metals, down 4,729 carloads, to 19,017; and nonmetallic minerals, down 3,069 carloads, to 30,184.
Intermodal containers and trailers, at 261,602, were off 7.9% annually, trailing the weeks ending November 9 and November 2, at 266,364 and 264,693, respectively.
Through the first 46 weeks of 2019, AAR reported that U.S. rail carloads, at 11,577,275, were down 4.4% annually, and intermodal units, at 12,249,836, were down 4.6% for the same period.
