Rail/Intermodal
For the rail carload sector, the week ended July 6 was basically a repeat of the same 2023 week in terms of overall volume although performance differed sharply by commodity group. North American rail carload traffic was up 0.4% y/y, according to the Association of American Railroads.
Three commodity groups – chemicals, grain, and petroleum/petroleum products – saw double-digit positive comparisons y/y. Two groups – coal and nonmetallic minerals – fell by nearly 10%. In all, five groups saw y/y gains while five saw declines.
The intermodal sector, meanwhile, was much stronger than it was in the same week last year. North American intermodal loads were up 16.7% y/y. The difference between carload and intermodal performance is an easy y/y comparison for intermodal due to due to a brief port strike in Western Canada.
While U.S. intermodal traffic was up y/y roughly to the degree it has been most of the year, Canadian intermodal volume was up 71.5% y/y. Last year’s port strike in Canada was not settled until July 13, so another strong y/y performance is likely this week.
Cumulative carload traffic for 2024 is down 3.2% from the same 2023 week. Only four commodity groups – petroleum/petroleum products, chemicals, grain, and motor vehicles and parts – are higher than they were during the first 27 weeks last year. Cumulative intermodal volume is up 8.2% y/y.
