Canadian Pacific Kansas City was the fastest-growing railroad in the second quarter, with its overall volume up 6%.
CPKC’s industry-leading growth was due to double-digit increases in intermodal (14%), grain (16%), and coal (10%).
Union Pacific ranked No. 2 for the quarter, with its volume up 4% overall, led by a 31% increase in coal traffic and a 16% bump in grain volume.
Norfolk Southern came in third, with 3% growth for the quarter. NS’s gains were propelled by 4% growth in merchandise traffic and a 13% gain in coal volume.
BNSF Railway saw a 1.6% gain for the quarter. Coal volume was up 12%, leading all major traffic groups for the quarter.
CSX eked out a 0.5% volume gain, with intermodal up 2%, coal up 3.3%, and merchandise down 2%.
CN’s overall volume declined 1% for the quarter despite a 26% increase in grain traffic. CN’s merchandise traffic sagged 4%, while its coal volume was flat, and intermodal was up 1%.
Union Pacific (1%) and Norfolk Southern (4%) were the only Class I railroads to show growth in merchandise traffic.
With the exception of CPKC, intermodal growth was anemic: CSX and UP up 2%, CN and NS up 1%, and BNSF up 0.4%.
Four of the six systems also saw their coal traffic grow by double-digits during the quarter.
Overall, North American rail volume was up 3% for the quarter, with intermodal up 2%, merchandise down 1%, and coal and grain both up 6%.
Share this article
