The U.S. rail industry witnessed mixed performance in carload and intermodal volumes for the week ending November 9, as detailed by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). During this period, total rail carloads fell by 3.7% year-over-year to 224,722 carloads, marking a decline from the volumes in the preceding weeks ending November 2 and October 26. Out of the carload commodity groups, six experienced annual increases. Farm products excluding grain and food increased by 1,659 carloads to 18,452, chemicals saw an uptick of 1,257 carloads to reach 31,935, and petroleum products grew by 978 carloads, numbering 11,084 carloads in total. However, there were notable declines in crucial sectors such as coal, which plunged by 9,941 carloads to 58,809, along with nonmetallic minerals and motor vehicles.
Upsurge in Intermodal Units
On a more promising note, intermodal containers and trailers achieved an 11.7% increase compared to the prior year, touching 294,393 units and exceeding the counts from previous weeks. For the first 45 weeks of 2024, cumulative rail carloads fell by 3.1% annually to stand at 9,824,787, but cumulative intermodal units enjoyed a 9.0% rise, totaling 11,916,081 units. The shift towards more container and trailer movements suggests a changing dynamic in the freight transportation industry. Diversification in transported goods is evident, with certain commodities like chemicals and petroleum products maintaining resilience. This mixed performance underscores the broader economic transitions and sector-specific factors shaping the transportation demands in the rail industry. The overall trend seems to point towards an increasing reliance on intermodal transportation over traditional carload volumes.
