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The Association of American Railroads reports July 2024 rail traffic, showing mixed trends, with strong early August growth ending on August 3, 2024.

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) has released data on U.S. rail traffic for the week ending August 3, 2024, along with figures for July 2024.

In July 2024, U.S. railroads originated 1,073,191 carloads, representing a 2.1 percent decrease (or 23,353 carloads) from July 2023. Conversely, U.S. railroads saw an 8.4 percent increase in the originations of containers and trailers, totaling 1,319,818 units, an increase of 102,549 units compared to the same month in the previous year. The combined originations for U.S. carloads and intermodal units in July 2024 reached 2,393,009, which is a 3.4 percent rise, equivalent to 79,196 more carloads and intermodal units than in July 2023.

Out of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked monthly by the AAR, 12 experienced an increase in July 2024 compared to July 2023. Notable gains were observed in grain (up 19,690 carloads or 26.5 percent), chemicals (up 4,797 carloads or 3.1 percent), and petroleum & petroleum products (up 4,048 carloads or 8.5 percent). Meanwhile, declines were noted in coal (down 35,167 carloads or 11.0 percent), crushed stone, sand & gravel (down 11,563 carloads or 10.6 percent), and motor vehicles & parts (down 6,436 carloads or 9.1 percent).

When excluding coal, carloads increased by 11,814 (or 1.5 percent) in July 2024 compared to July 2023. However, when both coal and grain are excluded, carloads saw a decrease of 7,876 (or 1.1 percent).

For the first seven months of 2024, total U.S. carload traffic stood at 6,642,565 carloads, marking a 4.1 percent decline (286,356 carloads) from the same period in the previous year. Intermodal units, however, increased by 8.6 percent, with 7,962,928 containers and trailers, a rise of 631,898 units from last year.

The total combined U.S. rail traffic for the first 31 weeks of 2024 reached 14,605,493 carloads and intermodal units, reflecting a 2.4 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Week Ending August 3, 2024

During the week ending August 3, U.S. rail traffic totaled 498,807 carloads and intermodal units, up 5.7 percent from the same week in 2023.

For that week, U.S. carloads reached 219,568, down 1.2 percent compared to the same week last year, while intermodal volume increased by 11.8 percent, with 279,239 containers and trailers.

Six out of ten carload commodity groups posted gains compared to the same week in 2023. These include chemicals (up 2,971 carloads to 33,218), petroleum and petroleum products (up 1,629 carloads to 11,016), and grain (up 1,368 carloads to 17,022). On the other hand, declines were observed in coal (down 5,528 carloads to 58,978), nonmetallic minerals (down 2,052 carloads to 31,312), and metallic ores and metals (down 1,357 carloads to 20,721).

North American rail traffic for the week ending August 3, 2024, across 10 U.S., Canadian, and Mexican railroads totaled 322,520 carloads, a decrease of 1.2 percent compared to the same week in the previous year, and 351,513 intermodal units, an increase of 6.1 percent compared to last year. The combined weekly rail traffic in North America amounted to 674,033 carloads and intermodal units, marking a 2.5 percent rise. For the first 31 weeks of 2024, North American rail volume reached 20,471,828 carloads and intermodal units, up 2.3 percent from the same period in 2023.

Canadian railroads reported 90,465 carloads for the week, up 1.6 percent, while intermodal units decreased by 10.6 percent, totaling 64,067 units, compared to the same week in 2023. Cumulative rail traffic on Canadian railroads for the first 31 weeks of 2024 reached 4,958,371 carloads, containers, and trailers, reflecting a 1.5 percent increase.

Mexican railroads reported 12,487 carloads for the week, a 17.3 percent decrease compared to the same week last year, and 8,207 intermodal units, down 15.8 percent. The cumulative volume for Mexican railroads during the first 31 weeks of 2024 was 907,964 carloads and intermodal units, showing a 4.2 percent increase from the previous year.