WASHINGTON —Weekly U.S. rail traffic continued to show overall gains compared to 2023 in the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads, thanks to the strength of intermodal volume.
For the week ending June 15, overall traffic was 493,138 carloads and intermodal units, a 3.4% increase over the corresponding week a year ago. That included 222,759 carloads, down 2.5%, and 270,379 containers and trailers, up 8.9%.
Year-to-date traffic, through 24 weeks of 2024, shows carload traffic down 4.9% and intermodal traffic up 8.8%, for an overall gain of 2.1% compared to the same period in 2023.
North American volume for the week, from 10 reporting U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads, includes 329,988 carloads, a decrease of 1.1% from the same week a year ago, and 357,355 intermodal units, a gain of 6.7%. The combined volume of 687,343 carloads and intermodal units represents a 2.8% increase. The year-to-date total for 24 weeks shows a 2% increase.
For Canadian traffic, carload traffic was up 4% and intermodal volume increased 2.6% for the week compared to 2023. Year-to-date volume is up 0.8%. In Mexico, carload traffic was down 8.9% and intermodal volume was down 10.7% compared to the corresponding week in 2023; year-to-date traffic still shows a 7.7% increase compared to a year ago.
